Racking to Secondary

[dunard2]

Ever since my second or third batch, I've been racking to a secondary (glass carboy).

All but one of my batches have been ales, and I do understand why this step is needed for a lager. Other than clarity (perhaps?) am I getting anything out of this step that I wouldn't if I went right to bottling?

Are there certain ale styles that benefit from this more than others?

Thanks for the input folks!

 

[jsweet]

This is a controversial topic, and if you ask ten brewers you'll probably get eleven different answers.

I'd encourage you to search around for pros and cons, but one thing I can tell you, if you are dubious about the benefit you are getting, feel free to skip that step and see how you like your results. It's not crazy by any means, and many people think that's just the thing to do. You mention an improvement in clarity -- many people don't even believe that.

My personal preference: I don't typically secondary, although I did it once when adding flavorings, and I will probably experiment with it some more when dry hopping, etc. (though many people don't even use a secondary even then). But, I prefer leaving a beer in the primary for a solid 3 weeks if I can. A minimum of 2 weeks to be sure.

 

[Pappers_]

You might find this helpful or interesting https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/vs-pro-con-analysis-109318/#post1204663

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I would say that you only need a secondary fermentor if you're doing post fermentation additions or plan to age the beer. Mind you I'm saying this after racking an IPA to secondary this morning, but that was to dry hop, I didnt have a keg available and it had been in primary for 4 weeks. It was crystal clear and I really would've preferred to skip secondary and dry hop in the keg.
Like a previous poster said, it's a controversial topic. Everyone does things their way and has their opinion of why or why not to use a secondary fermentor. Play around with both and see what works best for you and the specific beer you're fermenting.

 

[NyPDFustercluck]

I secondary all the time, but nine times out of ten it's just to open up space in my primary to make room in the larger Carboy for an incoming batch. One thing I do is purge the secondary with co2 to reduce risk of oxidation