Primary/Secondary question?

[capt82]

Is the secondary fermenter just your bottling bucket? Can some describe the basics of the secondary. I read some experienced guys saying you don't ever need a secondary. I haven't use one yet but if it's what I'm thinking it's for, wouldn't it help to clarify the beer before bottling?


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[Captain Damage]

Secondary and bottling bucket are different things. I never secondary unless I'm adding fruit. I even dry hop in primary. The instruction to secondary all your beers comes from a time when high quality yeast was hard to come by. The belief was that leaving your beer on an unhealthy yeast cake would cause off flavors. We've found that with the quality of the yeast we now have easy access to, this "autolysis" is not a concern. Further, we've found that the yeast will clean up some other less-desirable flavors if it's just left alone. Lastly, there's the reduced likelihood of oxidation and contamination by just leaving your beer where it is, rather than transferring it to secondary.

 

[McLovinBeast57]

Put simply, the primary is used for the majority of fermentation and conversion of sugars into alcohol.

The secondary, on the other hand, is used for adding special flavors to the beer towards the end of fermentation (via hops, cocoa nibs, flavor extracts, etc.) and is most commonly used for conditioning the beer to get rid of any off flavors. It also clears the beer up a bit more if you have a lot of loose sediment.

You don't really NEED to use a secondary because you can also condition your beer by keeping it in your primary for an extra week or 2 before bottling. Home brewing is not an exact science so everyone will have their theories and processes. Do whatever works best for you!


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[unionrdr]

I have a 6 gallon better bottle I use for secondary. But only if I'm oaking or the like. I also strain the chilled wort into my fermenters,thus eliminating a lot of extra gunk & aerating the wort nicely. What winds up at the bottom of primary after the beer hits a stable FG & settling out clear or slightly misty averages about 3/8". I get clear beer after fridge time more often as not. Im into pb/pm biab as of now,so dissolved proteins are from the mash & delt with at that point. So most of the time,a secondary really isn't needed for clear beer,but you can if you like. Just make sure the beer is at FG before racking anywhere,& make sure anything that touches the beer is cleaned & sanitized.

 

[tayclem]

Related question: how long is too long to leave a beer on the grub cake that forms during primary? Thelongest I ever left mine was 2.5 weeks. It probably could have stood to go another day or two at least, but I was worried about autolysis.

 

[unionrdr]

We don't have to worry about autolysis on our scale of brewing. The commercial brewers still do,since they have silo-sized fermenters that exert a lot of pressure on the yeast/trub cake at the bottom of those huge conicals. We don't have that problem. I've left beers in primary some 5 weeks with no problems of that nature. So 3-4 weeks in primary is safe & fine for getting the beer to a stable FG & letting it settle out clear or slightly misty.

 

[tkerugger]

I used to do secondaries but, honestly, it was just too much work for me to do for too little perceived reward. Now I just do 28 days in primary before kegging/bottling and my beers are better than ever!

But, I haven't ever dry hopped or added oak or fruit - that would probably make a difference.

Neil

 

[mredge73]

The only difference that I saw in my beers when doing a secondary was clarity of the final product.
I assume this was due to having more time to settle and partially attributed to my siphoning skills.
Once I gained the ability to cold crash the primary, using a secondary has become obsolete.

 

[Captain Damage]

I normally do a 3 week primary, then bottle. If I'm dry hopping, I'll put them in the last 5-7 days before bottling.

A secondary would have to change the laws of physics to make your beer more clear than the same time in primary. Gravity works the same everywhere, all the time. Commercial brewers use secondaries, called "bright tanks," partly because temperature management issues and pressure and on the yeast is much greater on a commercial scale than what we have to deal with. But largely it's because of the economic need to keep the fermenters fermenting. A commercial fermenter is a very specialized piece of equipment, a bright tank, not so much. Moving the beer to the bright tank for lagering keeps the fermenter(s) making money. Most of them filter their beer for clarity anyway.

 

[grem135]

Related question: how long is too long to leave a beer on the grub cake that forms during primary? Thelongest I ever left mine was 2.5 weeks. It probably could have stood to go another day or two at least, but I was worried about autolysis.

I normally go about 3-4 weeks in primary before bottling but due to life getting in the way my German Alt went 8 weeks and turned out fantastic.
Today I finally bottled a NB Winter Warmer I brewed on 12-4-13 (10 weeks ago).
The warm flat beer tasted very good and I will test a few in 3 weeks or so and save the rest for next winter..... if I can hold out that is. wish me luck on that.

 

[pjj2ba]

Related question: how long is too long to leave a beer on the grub cake that forms during primary? Thelongest I ever left mine was 2.5 weeks. It probably could have stood to go another day or two at least, but I was worried about autolysis.

Only you can be the judge. Leaving the beer on the yeast cake longer will not result in strong off flavors (assuming decent temperature control - not too warm). It will influence the flavor though. Some folks like these flavors, other prefer to move the beer off of the yeast cake as they prefer to not have the additional flavors in their beer. Totally YOUR call. Try it both ways and decide for yourself