Primary only vs doing a secondary fermentation

[Thedude907]

I do apologize if this topic has been hammer on in the past. I don't know how to search forum topics. I've tried.

I'm new and would like to know what the community thinks on this matter. I've been listening to brew strong and they go on about primary only unless secondary fermentaion is needed.

So my question I guess is use a primary only fermentaion unless aging. For me I have 3 x 6.5 gal and 4 x 5 gal car boys. I would like to take 2 of my beers out of my primary to secondary just for having an open fermentor for my next set of beers. Really no other reason. I recon two of my beers in primary can go a bit longer until I can free up a few kegs.

According to brew strong the reasonings for using a primary only is introducing bugs/ bacteria, oxthen, and a few trivial reasons. I figure if I purge a secondary with co2 and practice good sanitizing methods all should be well. They also go on to say that your beer isn't cleaning up all that much by going to secondary.

DL;DR: thoughts on primary only vs doing primary to secondary.

 

[kh54s10]

I only secondary if I add something that I don't want on the cake. So far that has been oak chips, and blueberries. In the case of the oak chips it was at the end of a 2 month aging. For the blueberries there were 6 pounds of them. They would have overflowed the primary. I had to take some and bottle it without the blueberries.

There are 2 main reasons that I don't secondary. One is that I am a bit lazy and don't want another vessel to clean as well as the equipment an additional time. The second is the small chance of infection.

If all 3 of your 6.5 gallon carboys are full, you could transfer to secondary, or if fermentation is done, just bottle or keg a batch to free up the carboy.

Me... I would sell 3 of the 5 gallon carboys and buy three 6 gallon Better Bottles. Glass vs plastic is another story and if you read my replies in other threads you will find my position on that!!!

 

[SpeedYellow]

You nailed it OP. No reason to "secondary" the beer; there's no such thing as "secondary fermentation." You're just wasting time and introducing bugs and oxygen. Do it only if you need months of aging.

But if you need to use your primary fermenter, then fine go ahead. But I'd probably transfer before the yeast are completely done, so they can process all the oxygen you pick up. And I'd purge the airspace afterward too.

 

[Thedude907]

I'm on my third month of brewing and have 4 batches done. So I can't say in good confindance to take a stand on either of the two methods. I would rather take the advice of a seasoned brewer and roll with that. My friend o the other hand he's been brewing for 7 years swears by racking to a secondary. I just want to develop decent habits.

I would like to get away from glass all together. Some of the broken glass horror stories are freaking awful.

I think I'm going to just keg the two I have fermenting when I get home today. Providing my fg is good. Should be. It's been a few weeks. If not may just transfer.

Also debating about using some of my 5 gal carboys to do wine. Figure I'd start those in a bucket and move to carboy latter in their life.

This is an expense hobby. And I've even kept it cheap...

 

[kh54s10]

Your friend probably learned that way and is reluctant to change.
Develop decent habits. There is no "right" way. My 6 years have told me that secondary is just a waste of energy and time.
Most wine kits are for 6 gallons so your 5 gallon carboys will be too small.

 

[beernutz]

I think the use of a secondary fermenter for ales is a legacy of Papazian's book and not a practice copied from commercial brewers.

 

[Kharnynb]

General opinion has pretty much turned to only using secondary in case of fruit additions or aging.

Plastic vs glass is another discussion, I personally don't want to handle something that could put me in the hospital due to bad manufacturing or stress cracks...

 

[TheHopfather]

I used a secondary when I first started out brewing. I am completely self taught and all of the literature I read always said to rack to a secondary, so that's what I did. It wasn't until I was a little deeper into the hobby with a bit more experience that I stumbled across this site, that was right around the same time you started hearing more and more about primary only. I ended up giving it a shot and it works great.

Less risk of contamination, no oxygen exposure and one less vessel to clean; what's not to like? I've never looked back, there is no reason to use a secondary unless you are aging or adding fruit/wood to the beer. Give it a shot, I think you'll be pleased.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

This is an expense hobby. And I've even kept it cheap...

Well, you mentioned that you're already kegging, and trying to get away from glass. So there are a few options:

1) Buy more kegs. Instead of "secondary", just consider it bulk aging in a keg while you're waiting for room in the kegerator to open up. You have to transfer to a keg eventually, right? This way you get to bulk age the beer as would be occurring in a secondary, you're doing it in an opaque vessel (so you don't have to worry about it skunking/being lightstruck), and you only have to transfer once. And you can have them carbonating while aging too, so they're ready to drink immediately after putting them on tap.

2) If clarity is what you're after, buy more kegs but cut the dip tube ~1" short in those kegs. You can use those as secondary / brite tanks. You get all the advantages of bulk aging, but you can eventually transfer the beer under pressure (no O2 pickup) into your serving kegs, and the beer will be VERY clear because all of that trub will have settled on the bottom of the keg and won't be picked up by the shorter dip tube. You can even carbonate prior to the transfer (either force carb or natural), so as soon as you transfer to the serving keg it's ready to drink.

As for me, I'm one of those who don't see much benefit of secondary. I age a beer in corny kegs if I need to age something, and then serve it straight out of those kegs.

 

[Bluebane]

So, it's fine to dry hop and do whatever secondary additions you want in your primary? I'm a novice, but I have been using a secondary for most brews since a lot of recipes call for it.

 

[SpeedYellow]

Oh wait, Thedude907 you use kegs?? Then like the ^^-- above post, your kegs ARE your "secondary" vessels. Primary, keg, age (if desired), drink.

Some folks cut their dip tube, but I don't bother. Just bend it a bit and you'll leave behind enough yeast room to ensure clear beer.

 

[SpeedYellow]

So, it's fine to dry hop and do whatever secondary additions you want in your primary? I'm a novice, but I have been using a secondary for most brews since a lot of recipes call for it.

Yes absolutely!

And if you keg, you have the option of dry hopping in the keg too. Whatever floats your boat. Keep it simple.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

So, it's fine to dry hop and do whatever secondary additions you want in your primary? I'm a novice, but I have been using a secondary for most brews since a lot of recipes call for it.

Yes. I dry hop in primary constantly. I even do it using pellets without a hop bag, and still get pretty darn clear beer going into the keg. It helps if you can cold crash your beer for a few days for the hops and other material to drop out of suspension.

 

[mlafnitzegger]

Haven't used a secondary in years. Used to but cracked secondary one brew session, looked up primary only to make sure no issues and decided to let it ride. Happy day with one less item to clean,

 

[Coathanger]

Yes. I dry hop in primary constantly. I even do it using pellets without a hop bag, and still get pretty darn clear beer going into the keg. It helps if you can cold crash your beer for a few days for the hops and other material to drop out of suspension.

I wonder if it becomes more difficult to keep beer clear if you're bottling instead of kegging, all that start/stop motion, etc.?

I've always used secondary, but would absolutely love changing that. Maybe I'll give it a shot next brew...I'm just a real sucker for clarity (for beers I make - not necessarily for purchased beers, oddly enough)

 

[MSK_Chess]

I also regularly use a secondary. I secondary when I clarify using PVPP (polyclar 730) for chill haze (also an antioxidant/stabiliser) and gelatin especially when making a lager. Never had a contaminated batch and don't seem to suffer from oxidisation either. Then again I do closed transfers where possible as all my vessels are fitted with taps. Beers are crisp and tasty. Yes I understand that all this can be done in the primary but I like to cold crash in secondary and then clarify off the cake. I certainly would never dream of putting gelatin in my kegs, now way or anything else for that matter. I want as little yeast as possible in those kegs and sometimes filter using a 5 and 1 micron filter directly into kegs after fining.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

I wonder if it becomes more difficult to keep beer clear if you're bottling instead of kegging, all that start/stop motion, etc.?

I've always used secondary, but would absolutely love changing that. Maybe I'll give it a shot next brew...I'm just a real sucker for clarity (for beers I make - not necessarily for purchased beers, oddly enough)

Well, when I still bottled I would always transfer using a siphon to a bottling bucket prior to filling the bottles. So I wouldn't have any issues due to "start/stop motion."

But the thing I didn't like about it was that to siphon from fermenter to bottling bucket, I had to lift the fermenter onto a higher surface, which disrupted the trub. My current system transfers under CO2 pressure, so I never move the primary once it's in the fermentation fridge.

If you're a sucker for clarity, though, you'd do even better with a keg setup. Even if you still bottled for serving, you could siphon to the keg (with shortened dip tube), carbonate in the keg, possibly even add a fining agent in the keg, and then bottle brilliantly *clear* beer off the keg. The only time I bottle or fill growlers any more is from my kegs, and thus it's beer that's already dropped clear. Granted, that's a decent cost impact, at which point you might as well just build a kegerator!

 

[Clef051]

I only do it if i want to use the yeast cake for something else. I've never seen any benefits

 

[bendog15]

Transferring to secondary only increases your chance of infection. Read brulosophers great trub exbeeriment. I've been brewing for 4 years. Never once transferred to secondary. My beers always come out fine.
I also cold crash my beers and fine with gelatin. They are crystal clear and great tasting.

 

[brandonlovesbeer]

No to secondary.

And to clarify the misnomer, "Secondary Fermentation". In 99% of the cases it's not actually 2ndary FERMENTATION. It's just a secondary vessel. Fermentation has ceased by the time most choose to transfer.

In homebrewing, you are not leaving anything on the yeast long enough to get any off Flavors. So just leave it.

And PS:
You are correct. This topic has been done to death. Just do a search.

 

[Seattle2k]

there's no such thing as "secondary fermentation."

Pitching a higher-attenuating yeast, after the first one finishes up would qualify. But, you might as well do that in the Primary too.