IPA secondary fermentation

[NHhomebrewer]

I recently bought an IPA extract kit at my local homebrew store. The directions say nothing about secondary fermentation. I was planning on doing the primary in the bucket and the secondary in the Carboy. Any suggestions on the length of time I should leave it in the Carboy, If at all?

 

[OldStyler]

Depends on what you want to do with it. If you want to dry hop, I think you'll find a lot of people leave the beer in the secondary for 7-10 days (or more) and dry hop for between 5-7 days. If you don't want to use the secondary, you can also just leave the brew in your primary for 3 weeks, then in bottles for 3 weeks.

If you do decide you want to use the carboy, I typically employ a 3/2 rule - 3 weeks in primary, 2 weeks in secondary.

 

[lpstudio18]

i just recently did an IPA extract kit as my first batch. I left it in the primary for 3 weeks with a dry hop at the 2 week mark...it turned out well. I went back and forth whether to use secondary, but it seems that the risk/effort outweighs the benefits, even when dry hopping. However, I will defer to those who are much wiser in the ways of brewing than myself. I will say though, that my method produced a clear, good tasting IPA.

 

[BradleyBrew]

I just dry hop in the primary it always works out... the key is to obviously wait to 99% of the fermentation has taken place. I just boil a hop bag to sanitize it put the hops in and toss them in the primary. Makes racking way less of a pain. Good Luck... I'm bottling my IIPA tomorrow

Also I do not dry hop for more then 5 days... In MY experience any longer and you start to get a grassy taste. I'm sure you will find many arguments for the length of time to dry hop, but it ultimately it boils down to your taste. I would start at 5 days and sample you can always wait longer but you can't reverse the clock!

 

[D_Struct]

I typically just dry hop in the primary for a week. To me, I'd rather not risk contamination through racking to a secondary. That's just my preference, though.

 

[SouthernCross]

I learned the brewing process using a secondary, and old habits die hard. I still do, typically, if nothing other than for better clarity. For an IPA I usually primary for 7-10, then secondary for 10-14. Though secondary time is relative. When it looks good, smells good, and tastes good flat, it's bottling time. I try not to over-engineer my brewing...

 

[geer537]

boil a hop bag to sanitize it put the hops in and toss them in the primary. Makes racking way less of a pain

Big +1

Although lately I have considering using a bucket for secondary instead of my Carboys like I have been. It's easier to pull out a hop bag from a bucket than squeezing it through the neck of a carboy.

 

[NHhomebrewer]

The advice is great. I think I'll dry hope in the primary for 5 to 7 days. What hops so you suggest I use for dry hopping? I was thinking maybe East Kent? My kit also came with oak chips. Which they want in the primary fermenter. Should I put those in a bag as well? Sorry for all the questions. This is my first batch and I want it to turn out awesome. Thanks again for all your help!

 

[kegdawg]

Cant go wrong with cascades...

 

[BradleyBrew]

I like cascade & centennial.

Don't worry about bagging oak cubes they will not end up in the final product like hop particles can. In the future I would add the oak chips after the fermentation just like the hops. Oak cubes can take a while to fully extract their flavors like 3 to 6 months so you might not be getting the effect with your current time line..

 

[OldStyler]

Everybody likes Cascades. Centennial gets a bump too. And I've never done it, but maybe Williamette?

 

[geer537]

Cascade and Amarillo are great. If you don't have access to anything but the East Kent, you'll be fine.

 

[akimbo78]

i racked my racer 5 clone last night and added amarillo, centennial, columbus and cascade to the secondary.

 

[lpstudio18]

I used Cascades, mainly because that's what was used as the aroma hops during the boil and I wanted to get a feel for what kind of flavor they would impart before adding other varieties.