Is there any Value in Secondary Fermenting?

[Seville65]

I want to get some home brew equipment and I keep running across all these kits with a secondary fermenter.. I am wondering if they are necessary and/or useful?
It seems that storing in bottles or kegs serves the same purpose?
Also, is it better to ferment in the plastic bucket or a glass carboy?
I want to get the equipment I need while skipping any unnecessary stuff!
Thanks for your input!
Mike

 

[Newsman]

A lot of people prefer plastic. There's a couple threads on the dangers of glass carboys... lots of people have received really nasty cuts from carboys failing at a really bad time. Also a lot of beer wasted due to said glass carboy failures. I have one 6.5 gallon carboy and I'm probably never going to use it again as I have a plastic BMB and a Fast Ferment conical on-order. Also have a "milk can" fermenter on it's way, so I can probably get rid of that 6.5 gallon glass carboy.

Edit: As to your original question, it can help clear your brew or if you want to get it off the yeast and dry hop, that's a good reason for a secondary, but for most things, you don't need a secondary.

 

[mmb]

A secondary fermentation vessel is very handy if you want to dry hop, age in bulk off of the trub/yeast, add fruit or syrup/sugar that would have aroma contributions that would be blown off in a vigorous primary fermentation, or any number of reasons.

Is it needed for every beer? No. Is it helpful when there is a need? Yes.

Plastic v glass is a preference thing. I use plastic buckets for most primaries simply because they're easier to clean than a narrow necked carboy.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I believe it's a grievous error providing new brewers with secondary fermentors. They really aren't needed, for the most part. You'd be well served getting two primary fermentors instead of a primary and a secondary when you're just starting out homebrewing. Later on you may find a need for them, but for starting out, no.

Glass carboys are superior to plastic buckets in every single way and ANYBODY THAT SAYS DIFFERENT IS A LIAR AND YOU SHOULD NOT LISTEN TO THEM.

I just threw in that part to anger the pro-bucket people. But seriously...there have been a thousand debates on which is better, plastic or glass, and there are no solid answers, only preferences. Are you a bit of a klutz? If so, then glass carboys are not a wise choice.

So you say you want to avoid buying unnecessary equipment. Ha! Good one. I got news for ya - you're probably going to buy some equipment that you'll regret buying afterwards. It's a hobby. It's expected.

 

[BroStefan]

+1 - Glass carboys are not worth the danger.

The concept of "secondary fermentation" is a hold over from the early days of home brewing when we were trying to reverse engineer what AB was doing. On a home brew scale there are many advantages to leaving the in the yeast cake. I leave my beers on in the primary for a minimum of 3 weeks and have gone much longer with no ill effects.

There is a role for for a 5 gal carboy for bulk aging high alcohol beers, lagering, and for spicing or adding fruit. You want a carboy for this rather than a bucket so you can minimize head space to avoid oxidation.

 

[ASantiago]

I want to get some home brew equipment and I keep running across all these kits with a secondary fermenter.. I am wondering if they are necessary and/or useful?
It seems that storing in bottles or kegs serves the same purpose?
Also, is it better to ferment in the plastic bucket or a glass carboy?
I want to get the equipment I need while skipping any unnecessary stuff!
Thanks for your input!
Mike

Plastic over glass when it comes fermentors. Glass it too heavy and a huge safety risk. Yes, lots of people use glass. You are starting out, get plastic.

Bucket is fine.

A secondary vessel will come in handy soon enough. I'm reluctant to call it a secondary fermentor simply because they are not always used for a secondary fermentation. Get it and you'll be glad you did.

For several techniques, bottles and kegs *do not* take the place of a secondary vessel.

 

[Seville65]

Thanks for the info.. I think I will stick to the primary for now and get a carboy when I move on to projects that require it.

 

[Newsman]

Seville65 - good plan, although I'd still recommend a Better Bottle or something like that made out of plastic if you're going to "secondary" for any reason. About the only reason I'd use glass, myself, would be if I were going to age something in the carboy for an extended period of time (months, rather than days/weeks)

 

[thejuanald]

I have two 6 gallon glass carboys and love them over plastic. I get the worry some people have about breaking the glass but I still say glass is better.

I had a 5 gallon carboy as well for a secondary but it broke in the long moving trip across the country. I haven't had the need for it yet, as I haven't made an IPA or fruit wheat since I moved here, but I do wonder if I will need one for my next batch as I am dry hopping a big IPA.

If you don't mind my asking the other forum members in this thread, how necessary is it to rack to secondary for dry hopping, using fruit? Can I just add the hops/fruit to the primary and be okay with that, or is the issue of head space going to be a problem in the primary? Or would it be an issue with adding hops/fruit to the yeast cake in the primary? Sorry for the threadjack.

 

[Newsman]

Caveat: I've never done dry-hopping or adding fruit, however, my concern would be as you suggest the hops, etc disappearing into the yeast cake.

 

[brewprint]

I haven't been brewing that long and I bought a kit many years ago that came with a secondary.

I like it because I can ferment in the bucket for a week or a week and a half and then put it in the secondary. It reduces a lot of sediment and clears the beer. I can also get a new batch going in the primary. I now have 2 primaries and 2 secondaries. I am aging a winter ale that will remain in the glass for at least 2 months.

It's also nice to just look at the beer in the glass.

 

[ASantiago]

I have two 6 gallon glass carboys and love them over plastic. I get the worry some people have about breaking the glass but I still say glass is better.

A few months ago I was washing a plastic Better Bottle in my garage with the garage door open. A wasp flew in and came up suddenly from below my left side and right onto my face. It startled the heck out of me so bad I dropped the fermentor. Good thing it wasn't made of glass. This event was enough to convince ME.

how necessary is it to rack to secondary for dry hopping, using fruit? Can I just add the hops/fruit to the primary and be okay with that, or is the issue of head space going to be a problem in the primary? Or would it be an issue with adding hops/fruit to the yeast cake in the primary? Sorry for the threadjack.

In the case of dry hopping, the question is what are you going to do with the beer after it sits on the hops for whatever length of time you set? If your plan is to rack straight to a keg or bottle it, then a secondary vessel is of no use to you. But you will be taking the chance of transferring "stuff" along with the beer.

On the other hand, if you'd prefer to allow the beer to clarify before packaging, perhaps crash cooling it and/or using gelatin, and having a better chance of transferring beer without "stuff", then a secondary vessel is required. You can crash cool the beer in the same vessel, but you may be leaving the beer on top of the hops (or fruit, or whatever) for way longer than it should be and racking may still transfer "stuff".

It's a technique to be applied as needed.

 

[JimRausch]

OP- you can always think of that 'secondary fermenter' that comes with the kit as a Second Fermenter. In other words you can have two batches going at the same time.

 

[mmlipps]

I use a secondary when I want to rack into wood chips or fruit. Other than that I bought 2 larger GLASS carboys 6.5 gallon for primary so I can easily have 2 batches going without having to rack to secondary. I bought glass right from the start. I'm careful when moving them. Never thought about potentially breaking them. I'm a chemist in the Navy and prefer glass equipment over plastic.


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[ASantiago]

At the risk of being accused of beating that dang glass vs plastic dead horse...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/i-have-joined-brotherhood-broken-carboy-482739/

 

[mmlipps]

Gotta be careful with glass, but it's the better option if you can handle it


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[Puddlethumper]

As long as you stick with simple recipes of medium to low gravity beer you can leave the beer in the fermenter for a couple weeks or so without any problem. But the longer you leave the beer on the yeast cake the more that yeast will impact the flavor of the beer. When that yeast contact becomes a problem is a matter of personal taste and is therefore both highly variable and debatable.

I have two 5 gal. carboys, one PET and one glass, and I use them frequently. I prefer to use a secondary vessel for any beer that needs to be conditioned for a few weeks following fermentation. For example, I'll be making an ESB soon that will finish fermenting in about 10-14 days. I will rack that beer to a 5 gal. carboy filled all the way into the neck (to reduce headspace and o2 exposure) where it will be held at 67F for about three weeks.

If the beer requires long term aging, such as an imperial stout, the glass carboy becomes the only choice. Glass is completely impermeable to o2 penetration while PET is not. Beer can age in a glass carboy for as long as you need to hold it there.

Cheers and good luck!

 

[BrewmeisterSmith]

I want to get some home brew equipment and I keep running across all these kits with a secondary fermenter.. I am wondering if they are necessary and/or useful?
It seems that storing in bottles or kegs serves the same purpose?
Also, is it better to ferment in the plastic bucket or a glass carboy?
I want to get the equipment I need while skipping any unnecessary stuff!
Thanks for your input!
Mike

Get yourself a few kegs. Ferment primary for about 10 days, use a starter, sample at day 10 and take reading. If it tastes clean and you hit your FG, put it in the keg. I dry hop in my keg. Just put your hops in a hop sock and toss in the keg. If you want really clear beer, use gelatin for about 3-4 days and start drinking. You'll never look back. Dont worry about grassy flavors from the hops. you could also build a tube with two outs and then jump kegs. You could roll it down the street after jumping and still pour clear beer