First All Grain Batch - When to rack to secondary?

[craft_beer_fan]

Hey home brewers! I have a question....

I have done several full extract and partial mash beers up to this point and last week I finally broke my all grain cherry doing a Stone Ruination IPA clone. I am happy to report that my conversion went well...hit the O.G.; actually just slightly above at 1.0799 (recipe called for 1.078). Anyway, the recipe says to rack to secondary when fermentation stops or has slowed. I have my 5 gallon batch in a food grade 6 gallon fermenting bucket. The airlock piston is "popping" about once every 20 seconds which it has definitely slowed down. Would you suggest racking now to the secondary carboy or wait? I am going to dry hop the beer over 2 oz. of magnum full hop leaves. On my extract brews and partial mashes I have typically racked after 7 days in the primary; I would assume all grain would be no different, however, I am using different yeast this time around. This time I am using White Labs liquid English Ale Yeast WL002. In my previous batches I have only used dry yeast and heard the liquid yeast ferments at a slower rate....I just don't want to "disturb" my brew too early.

Any suggestions out there? Thanks in advance and cheers!!

 

[freisste]

Wait until gravity is stable. Airlocks mean nothing. Then wait another week or two for the beer to settle out clear or slightly misty (that's for you, union). Then to secondary for dry hop (or just dry hop in primary. Your choice.

 

[ThatGeekGuy]

Skip the secondary and dry hop in the primary. I've done it with great results, dry hopping for 5 days after three weeks in the primary. I've since read that you can get even better results by starting dry hopping slightly before fermentation ends. Going to try that on my next IPA.

 

[freisste]

I've since read that you can get even better results by starting dry hopping slightly before fermentation ends. Going to try that on my next IPA.

Really? I always heard that you lost the effect of the dry hop. Something about the alpha acids coating yeast or CO2 pulling it out and making it evaporate or something along those lines. Never tried, so I wouldn't know.

 

[C-Rider]

Three weeks in the primary, dry hop and use the secondary to start another brew. No need secondary unless you are adding someting like fruit. I alway dry hop in primary. I make a funnel of paper and remove the air lock, pour in the hops and replace the airlock.

 

[Cyclman]

+1, no secondary.

 

[craft_beer_fan]

Thanks for the feedback.I have read and heard that you should rack the beer into a secondary to get it off the trub which can cause of flavors. Is that not true?

 

[C-Rider]

Thanks for the feedback.I have read and heard that you should rack the beer into a secondary to get it off the trub which can cause of flavors. Is that not true?

Not true. Old wife's tale. Unless you are talking about months and months in primary.

 

[RM-MN]

Thanks for the feedback.I have read and heard that you should rack the beer into a secondary to get it off the trub which can cause of flavors. Is that not true?

The trub can give you off flavors but it takes some special conditions that we homebrewers mostly don't have. You need a large conical fermenter so you get a huge mass of yeast stuck down in the bottom with a lot of weight of beer on top of it (lots more than 5 or 10 gallons). This mass of yeast will heat up, killing some of the yeast which then stink like a dead body would. I've heard from another brewer that after 8 months in the primary there were still no off flavors from the trub.

 

[craft_beer_fan]

That's good to know. So, I guess I will make my secondary carboy another primary fermenter and do two batches at a time rather than one.

One last question though, why do kits (specifically, ones from MidwestSupplies) mention to rack the beer into a secondary over top your hops (dry hopping)? If racking to a secondary is not necessary, or even not recommended, why do people go to all the trouble in order to do so? I'm sure like many other things in home brewing (and in life for that matter), it is a preference thing; some brewers probably believe in racking to a secondary while others, like those of you that posted, prefer to leave the beer in the primary and just dry hop there. Understandably, it will be less work not having to rack to a secondary, on top of which I would imagine it would reduce the risk of introducing an infection; although with the alcohol content of fermented beer, maybe an infection at that point is reduced or eliminated anyway.?.

In any case, thanks to all of you who responded! I appreciate it.

Cheers!

 

[jdhasse]

Keep taking hydrometer readings as to know when to rack to secondary or when to know when the beer is done fermenting.

If u mashed at a low temperature it may attenuate out on you and be too thin for the style or your preference, so monitoring the gravity will be best way to know when fermentation is complete.

I like to rack to secondary to let beer settle out and clear as well as to slow fermentation if I have reached my target FG. I know racking to secondary won't stop fermentation all together but will slow it some.