Newbe question about Primary and Secondary Fermenting

[coachburke14]

First let me introduce myself. My name is Brendan and I'm from South Jersey. I'm new to brewing after a 10 year layoff. The only thing I was able to salvage from my first kit 10 years ago was the glass carboy. I wanted to get back into brewing because I love Beer. So I got a new kit and a beginners malt extract pub-kit. I've been doing some reading and my question is, as a beginner is it worth it to go to a secondary fermenter after a couple of days or should I keep it the plastic fermenter? Or should I just siphon the wort from the pot to the glass carboy?

Thanks for any help
Burke

 

[Brewmoor]

You should never go to secondary after a couple of days. If you are going to use a secondary, you should wait until it is fully fermented. Wait at least a week but more like 2 weeks to make sure the yeast is done. Take gravity ready before transfer.

Do you need to secondary? If you need the bucket for another brew.....sure. If you are going to dry hop or put some other material in there then it is a good idea to rack to secondary first.

I have just started only using a primary. I wanted to see what the difference might be. I could not tell a difference. My beer was clear so I decided to quit racking to secondary unless I needed to for other reasons.

I would siphon your wort right to the carboy and ferment in there. Then it frees up your bucket for bottling.

 

[Natron008]

Unless I'm brewing something light and super-concerned about clarity, I never secondary mine. Most people will probably tell you different, but I've never had any problems with letting it sit on the trub. And the biggest + to me is the lowered risk of contamination. Any way I can reduce that is worth it to me. But again, that's just me.

 

[Pappers_]

Your glass carboy is probably 5 gallons, and your kit probably makes 5 gallons, so there wouldn't be enough room in the carboy to allow for active fermentation (krausen would go into your airlock or out your blowoff tube). But you could use it, you just might lose some beer.

So, I'd suggest using your plastic fermenter for fermentation. Many here just leave the beer in the fermenter for 3, 4 or more weeks, until they are ready to bottle. I tend to rack my beer after 2 or 3 weeks to a glass carboy and use it as a "bright tank" - I'll often leave the beer there for another two weeks.

Many methods and preferences on this. The one area of agreement is to err on the side of patience - don't rus to bottle or keg, give it a mont or more.

Cheers!

 

[TipsyDragon]

keeping it in the fermenter on the yeast for 2 weeks is the minimum before going straight into the bottle. i prefer to keep all my fermentations in glass but plastic is just fine.

 

[coachburke14]

Thanks for the quick help.

Your glass carboy is probably 5 gallons, and your kit probably makes 5 gallons, so there wouldn't be enough room in the carboy to allow for active fermentation (krausen would go into your airlock or out your blowoff tube)
The bottom of the carboy says its a 6 gal. So I'm going to use the carboy for the primary. Should I combine the wort with the top off water in the other bucket and pitch the yeast in there, then siphon it to the carboy?

 

[Pappers_]

Thanks for the quick help.

Your glass carboy is probably 5 gallons, and your kit probably makes 5 gallons, so there wouldn't be enough room in the carboy to allow for active fermentation (krausen would go into your airlock or out your blowoff tube)
The bottom of the carboy says its a 6 gal. So I'm going to use the carboy for the primary. Should I combine the wort with the top off water in the other bucket and pitch the yeast in there, then siphon it to the carboy?

Great! If its 6 gallons, you should be fine! I ferment in a plastic carboy, a Better Bottle and I believe it is either 6 or 6 1/2 gallon.

I would add the cooled wort to the carboy, then add the top off water and mix well. Then pitch the yeast and you're good to go.

 

[TipsyDragon]

i recommend, if possible, to top off in the brew pot then siphon to your carboy. then pitch yeast there. of course this is all done after the wart is cooled to below 80F. if you siphon then top off you will dilute your brew and lower its SG below its target SG. this may or may not be a problem but its something to consider.

 

[Pappers_]

Not if you add the same amount of water. When or into which vessel you add the water will not affect the OG.

i recommend, if possible, to top off in the brew pot then siphon to your carboy. then pitch yeast there. of course this is all done after the wart is cooled to below 80F. if you siphon then top off you will dilute your brew and lower its SG below its target SG. this may or may not be a problem but its something to consider.

 

[TipsyDragon]

i beg to differ. when you siphon you will leave some amount of wart behind. if you top off in the carboy you have to make up that amount of liquid as well as top up to 5 gallons. this will result in a lower OG than if you just topped off in the brew pot and then siphoned because you don't have to make up for the amount of wart that was lost during the siphoning into the carboy. granted this difference may not be enough to worry about but it is there.

 

[Pappers_]

There is no reason to leave anything in the brew kettle when you transfer it to the carboy. Most brewers who do partial boils do not use a brew pot large enough for a full five gallons, so they cannot top off in their brew pot. If they can, there is no harm in doing so.

i beg to differ. when you siphon you will leave some amount of wart behind. if you top off in the carboy you have to make up that amount of liquid as well as top up to 5 gallons. this will result in a lower OG than if you just topped off in the brew pot and then siphoned because you don't have to make up for the amount of wart that was lost during the siphoning into the carboy. granted this difference may not be enough to worry about but it is there.