first brew. questions in secondary ferm.

[HootHootHoot]

I have moved my beer into the secondary about half a week ago. Since then the beer is losing its hazy look and has progressively gotten clearer. I read tha this is normal and good to clear the beer, which is why you secondry it. So I will let that be.

My questions are:

1. The driections say 2-4 weeks in the secondary. Yet I read where some people "rush" their beer through this process. Should I wait until its completely clear or just go at 2 weeks or is it ok to bottle after just 1 week in the secondry?

2. What are some optimal temps for secondary fermentation? I have both primary and econdary in the tub taking a cold bath to keep the temp of my primary downb and thought I saw somewhere that a lower temp in secondary fermentation is good too. My secondary holds a wheat honey weis and my primary has an english pale ale

Thanks for the help. Still new to this so its all an eperience for me

 

[Walker]

This is likely to (re)spark the debate about whether or not there are actually any benefits to using secondaries, so I am going to avoid that particular item. But, since you are using a secondary....

Fermentation is really done when you rack to a secondary vessel. All you are doing is waiting for the beer to clear and mature a little. You can pretty much leave it in a secondary as long as you want.

As for temps.... Since fermentation has already completed prior to racking, temps are not as crucial as compared to primary ("real") fermentation, but I would at least try to keep it under 75*F. Lower temps are probably better, but keeping it at the same temp as your primary is fine.

 

[KingKegII]

1. Clarity of the beer is no indication of it's readiness to bottle. Only gravity readings done with a hydrometer will tell you when it's time to bottle or keg. Check the directions and see what the final gravity is supposed to be. Leave it alone for 2 weeks in the secondary, then check the gravity. If it's still a bit high, wait 1 week then check again; if it's on target go ahead and bottle it.

2. Optimal temps for fermentation depend on the yeast you're using. Hefe yeasts can go anywhere from 58 to 74 F, if you ferment higher you may get some esters. With the fermenter in the cold bath you should be just fine. Typical pale ale yeasts like temps in the 60 to 73 F range; again, with the fermenter in the cold bath you'll be fine.

The bottom line is to be patient, great beer is never rushed. You've got 2 beers in your homebrewing pipeline, and once you keep going, you should always have some homebrew on hand. This will make it easier to be patient with your brews.

Cheers.

 

[Walker]

1. Clarity of the beer is no indication of it's readiness to bottle. Only gravity readings done with a hydrometer will tell you when it's time to bottle or keg. Check the directions and see what the final gravity is supposed to be. Leave it alone for 2 weeks in the secondary, then check the gravity. If it's still a bit high, wait 1 week then check again; if it's on target go ahead and bottle it.

But the point is that you shouldn't even rack it into a secondary until the beer is done fermenting.

Racking into a secondary before fermentation is done is almost guaranteed to bring active fermentation to a snail's pace and you'll be waiting for a loooooong time for it to finish.

 

[BendBrewer]

I remember reading a post on here awhile back that read:

"Secondary is something noobs do."

I didn't understand that post then.

I do now.

 

[BigBlueDog]

Advocates of leaving the beer in the primary past active fermentation (as opposed to racking to a secondary) often mention the benefit of letting the yeast "clean up after themselves," i.e., to get rid of off-flavor producing by-products of fermentation.

Does that process require that the beer be sitting on the original yeast cake in the primary or might there be enough suspended yeast that make it over to the secondary to continue tidying up?

 

[Walker]

I remember reading a post on here awhile back that read:

"Secondary is something noobs do."

I didn't understand that post then.

I do now.

I'm not sure I understand it. I use secondaries. Always have.

Perhaps I am still a noob after 13 years?

 

[BendBrewer]

Not that it really has to do with being a noob. I have just found it to be an unnecessary step. I guess it could be a factor with certain styles of beer but I am a hop head and stick with Ales and haven't noticed any difference by skipping that step.

And if anyone's in the market, I have a couple of 5 gallon carboys for sale!

 

[Walker]

Not that it really has to do with being a noob. I have just found it to be an unnecessary step. I guess it could be a factor with certain styles of beer but I am a hop head and stick with Ales and haven't noticed any difference by skipping that step.

For me, the reason I started off using secondaries was because of the "fact" (I put that in quotes on purpose) that it helps the beer clear faster. That may or may not be true, and I have my doubts that it is true.

But... I still have a need to use secondaries and that is because of my fermentation chamber. It's an old fridge in the garage. I can put two 6.5g carboys in there just fine, but if I want to have three carboys in there at once, one of them has to be 5g in size.

So, I rack everything into a 5 gallon after a couple of weeks and this allows me to keep three batches in motion at all times.

 

[iron_city_ap]

I think the term 'secondary' is misleading. If the term 'clarifier' or something along those terms was used, it still wouldn't be quite right either so I don't know what to call it. That being said, I do secondary some of my beers if I want extra clarity or want to infuse some fruit flavor, but I do agree that its really unnecessary. Like cheese on pasta. Unnecessary, but in certain cases, makes it a little mo better.

 

[802VermontHomebrew]

Not that it really has to do with being a noob. I have just found it to be an unnecessary step. I guess it could be a factor with certain styles of beer but I am a hop head and stick with Ales and haven't noticed any difference by skipping that step.

And if anyone's in the market, I have a couple of 5 gallon carboys for sale!

willing to ship? If so how much for both shipped to 05701 thanks..