Is secondary fermenter necessary?

[Chaco_the_dog]

I brewed my first extract kit of Irish red ale the day after Xmas. Being a total novice I failed to buy a hydrometer or even think about readings. The kit instructions said to primary for 1-2 weeks and secondary for 2-4 weeks then bottle for 4 weeks. I primaried for 10 days, about a week after visible bubbling stopped, because I had no hydrometer. I thought the transfer to secondary was to filter out dead yeast but now I'm reading that subtle forms of fermentation and flavor conditioning continue for weeks. Should I just leave in primary from now on? Is the secondary really necessary? Sorry for the sloppy iPhone typing.

 

[unionrdr]

Yeah,just leave it in primary. Secondary is just a bright tank anyway,which is better done in primary I think. After the beer reaches FG,give it another 3-7 days to clean up by products of fermentation & settle out clear or slightly misty. Then bottle.

 

[Chaco_the_dog]

Awesome. Thanks. Sorry for the repetitive question.

 

[dickproenneke]

Just leave your beer in the primary for 3-4 weeks. Don't work about the dead yeast giving your beer off flavors. You'll be fine.

Do a search bud. This topic gets covered day in day out! Tons of threads on it.

Hey ScotBrew, I noticed "Salaignac Brewing" in your signature. You wouldn't happen to be in Manayunk would you?

 

[ScotBrew]

Yes bud. I live on W Salaignac St!

 

[dickproenneke]

Yes bud. I live on W Salaignac St!

Neighbor! I'm on Dawson!

 

[kpr121]

A secondary makes an excellent primary for a new batch!

 

[pjj2ba]

As you will discover, there are lots of ways to ferment a beer. You can do a secondary as you did, or not.

There are two stages in the fermenter, the first being actual fermentation where the yeast are very actively converting the sugars to alcohol, CO2 and some other byproducts. This is typically over in under 7 days (for a normal ABV beer). After that the conditioning phase starts where the sugars are gone and the yeast are consuming some of the other byproducts produced during the active fermentation. At this point you can leave the beer on the yeast in primary, or transfer to a secondary. Either way works just fine. It is the yeast that are still floating around that are doing the byproduct clean up, not the settled out yeast, so don't think you HAVE to leave the beer in primary to properly condition.

Do which ever way YOU like. There are subtle differences in the flavor between primary only beer and secondaried beer. Some folks prefer the flavors of one method, others prefer the other way. Over the course of several batches, try it both ways and decide for yourself. You might even find it varies with the beer style.

 

[Chaco_the_dog]

Wow. Thanks for the excellent explanation. I will try it both ways.