primary as secondary after rack, santizing, and reracking?

[TxBlackLager]

I have 5.5gallons of an ale in my primary(6gal glass carboy) right now. I am wanting to add some flavoring and then leave in secondary for a while.

The problem is that I only have one carboy and don't know how long it will be before I will be able to bottle the ale after secondary which is why I am wanting to use the original primary for secondary.

The question is, is it advisable to rack the beer from primary into a temporary secondary , then clean and sanitize the primary carboy add flavoring and then rack back the beer into the original carboy?

I have a 6 gallon bucket that until recently was holding an Irish stout which I have clean and sanitized. The seals on the buckets are not very good which is why I bought my carboy in the first place. I understand that you want a smaller carboy for secondary if it is going to sit a long time because it will have reduced surface contact with the air inside the secondary.

On a side note, The irish stout tastes pretty great after 7 days in bottles, obviously not fully carbed and a little green but it isn't half bad.

Thanks in advance,

 

[BradleyBrew]

Can't you just get a few more carboys? I would not move a beer 2x's. I don't ever move my beers until I rack to bottle. Next time ferment in the bucket then move the the carboy.

 

[eastoak]

just add the flavoring, skip the secondary. you don't need an airtight seal on a bucket so you could use it if you really want to do a secondary. so those are the 2 things you don't need; a secondary or an airtight seal on the bucket.

 

[Rowdy]

Just add your additional stuff to primary no need for secondary.

 

[TxBlackLager]

Can't you just get a few more carboys? I would not move a beer 2x's. I don't ever move my beers until I rack to bottle. Next time ferment in the bucket then move the the carboy.

Of course I could just go buy more but the idea is to not spend more, I have already spent plenty. I would have fermented in the bucket but the bucket had beer fermenting in it when I started this batch, so it wasn't free to be used. I may do that nice time, but I haven't decided what I am brewing next.

It is okay to just add the flavoring to the primary, how do I ensure that it mixes evenly without aerating it?

 

[Rowdy]

What are you adding?

 

[cullen]

If you add the flavoring to the carboy and just let it sit for several days, the normal process of diffusion should take care of this. If not, you should get additional mixing when you siphon it off to the bottling bucket or keg.

 

[McGlothan]

Yes, you can rack into your bucket and clean the carboy. Make sure you don't aerate the beer as you rack. keep everything sanitized. Rack back into your carboy and you are good to go. Just make sure your siphon stream is steady. Ive done this before, and my beer turned out great! I like to do a secondary fermentation, although this topic is very back and forth. Its a matter of personal preference. I have found the beer starts clearing very rapidly after siphoned to secondary.

 

[Stauffbier]

What exactly is the flavoring that you're adding? Depending on what it is you can just add it to the primary or you could add it to the bottle bucket during bottling...

 

[TxBlackLager]

It is just some of that "Brewers Best " flavoring stuff. I am just playing around with the flavoring testing how it effects the beer. Nothing special, it isnt like I am racking onto fresh fruits or wood or anything.

 

[Stauffbier]

It is just some of that "Brewers Best " flavoring stuff. I am just playing around with the flavoring testing how it effects the beer. Nothing special, it isnt like I am racking onto fresh fruits or wood or anything.

If it's just and extract like chocolate, or vanilla or something then just add it to the bottling bucket on bottling day. No need to add it to fermentation...

 

[TxBlackLager]

Yeah it is just an extract. It just says 4-5 oz per 5 gallons is all. No real directions as to when it is to be added.