Newbie needing advice with Secondary ingredients

[Runruh130]

I am totally new to brewing. This is my second brew and first BIAB. I am brewing a Key Lime Pie Pale Ale that has ingredients which are suppose to be added to the secondary. The secondary ingredients for my brew is key lime juice, key lime zest, cinnamon sticks, graham cracker extract.

Knowing that a secondary is not recommended would you add these to a primary or transfer to a secondary and then add them? If you stick with just the primary when would you add those? The brew has been in the fermenter for 10 days. My FG is at 1.011.

 

[TechFanMD]

This is a very bold move to do a beer with so many additions, especially ones which are unusual and finicky while being a VERY new brewer. You're still figuring out the equipment, and now adding the BIAB variable since it is new to you. I would think about brewing something standard for the next few brews before doing this - even if they are just kits. HBT is full of posts with new brewers trying complex recipes - and when there is an off taste or problem, we can't help much because of all of the flavor and process confusion added with juices, fruit, and flavorings.

Hopping down off of my soap box (and stopping being a jerk) - Many may not agree but for a Pale Ale and just starting out - I would wait until fermentation is almost (but not completely) done and add everything right in the primary. It will reduce risk of oxygenation (not transferring) while not driving off all of the delicate aromas and flavors with the CO2. This beer isn't going to be in the fermenter that long really......you can probably add this stuff on day 5-6 and package a week -2 weeks later.

That said, and this is where what you're doing is more difficult- You're adding fermentables - especially with the juice, so a standard OG-FG calculation isn't going to work. Also because you're newer: If you bottle, I highly suggest taking FG readings 3 days apart and only packaging if it is stable. You do not want surprises or bottle bombs. If you keg - just throw that in the keg and start chilling on day 10.

 

[Runruh130]

I appreciate the advice, soap box or not. I know I’m diving into the deep end. I am currently on day 10 of the beer being in the fermenter. I will add the secondary ingredients to the fermenter tonight and bottle in a couple weeks. I will report back in a few weeks with the results