Primary only vs Primary and Secondary

[Morrey]

Greetings! Reaching out to ask opinions as I brewed two test Pilsners with beer one in primary only, and beer two in primary then racked to secondary. I like Pilsners and enjoy them especially in the warmer months. I did a test of sorts or maybe I should call it a shortcut.

We all agree that a Pilsner needs to be especially well managed since there are no places for off flavors to hide. I have always been a traditionalist in that I felt a need to rack from primary and take them off the primary yeast cake. This is how I learned to do it.

For both beers, I used the same grain bill, hops, yeast, grain mill settings....all the same. Ferm temps 50F for the duration EXCEPT one beer I allowed to stay in the Primary FV the entire two weeks, whereas beer two I racked to secondary (still at 50F) for the second week. Both beers had two weeks in the ferm chamber, only difference one beer was racked to secondary after week one while the other stayed in primary both weeks.

I keg lagered 6 weeks on both, and honestly, I cannot tell one spec of difference in these beers. Racking into secondary poses infection risks as well as adds a step to the process that I think I proved to myself may be unnecessary. The color is identical, clarity is same....I can't tell the difference except I marked them A and B. My wife could not tell the difference either.

Long story short....have I proved to myself racking to secondary is an unnecessary step and is being re-evaluated by home brewers?

 

[mongoose33]

Your evidence is consistent with a lot of other evidence I've read. I don't rack into secondary, and my beers taste good. On the other hand, I haven't been brewing lagers.

 

[emcfarden]

Its good to hear about real home brewing experiments on primary vs. secondary. My last two brews I didn't rack to secondary and they turned out great. I've seen in multiple threads that racking to secondary is becoming less and less about potential off flavors from the yeast cake and more about equipment restrictions. Claiming equipment restrictions is even a stretch due to the low cost of fermenting buckets. I just talked with a guy the other day that has had his SMaSH IPA in primary for 2 months. I don't see myself racking to secondary in the future unless I have some special reason.

 

[kh54s10]

The only time I use a secondary anymore is when bulk aging for long periods of time. (a few months). I also did a secondary when adding fruit. (only once so far). I dry hop in primary without problems.

 

[Kharnynb]

for only 2 weeks it would be rather pointless to secondary short of fruit additions.
Most current homebrew tests have shown that even 6-8 weeks is really not enough to get autolysis in the kind of volumes we do.

 

[Morrey]

Your evidence is consistent with a lot of other evidence I've read. I don't rack into secondary, and my beers taste good. On the other hand, I haven't been brewing lagers.

I think my test was even more convincing in that lagers will show you in a hurry if mistakes are made. Unless I plan to do something special with a beer, I think I will start skipping the secondary. I am experimenting with Gose sours, and after the initial fermentation, I'll add hibiscus flower petals to the beer for subtle flavors and coloration. In this example, I'll use a secondary. But for a standard brew, I am going to start going primary only.

 

[Morrey]

for only 2 weeks it would be rather pointless to secondary short of fruit additions.
Most current homebrew tests have shown that even 6-8 weeks is really not enough to get autolysis in the kind of volumes we do.

I think autolysis was on my mind when I tried to detect any off flavors like vegemite in the lager I made that sat on the yeast cake the entire time. But, only two weeks at a cool 50F certainly factors into that. I'm wondering if autolysis develops more readily if fermentation temps are considerably higher and not controlled as with a lager? I'm not sure??

 

[Kharnynb]

autolysis happens with everything, just slower depending on factors.

1. weight, a few gallons is pretty light on top of a yeast cake, a few hundred in a commercial brewery is a whole different thing.
2. age, with homebrewing, i would consider 3 months about the limit where I personally would move it to a secondary just for autolysis.
3. heat, warmer means everything happens faster, but not that much that it is a major factor for us(outside of a overly hot attic or such)

 

[Homercidal]

Lagers are especially resilient to Autolysis, I imagine, since the temperature that are lagered at is really good at keeping things from going bad.