Secondary 1 week?

[barhoc11]

I am making a second batch of the northern brewer's Cream Ale and want to avoid having so much yeast in my beer this time. The recipe calls for 2 weeks in primary and then bottle.

My question is, would it be ok for me to do 10 days primary and 1 week in secondary to clear things up a bit and remove some of the extra yeast? I know that secondarying is not required for most beers and the longer you leave it in secondary the better but I really want to avoid too much yeast in this batch. I am going out of town for 2 weeks so i am need to get this bottled before then, that is why I am only shooting for 1 week in secondary.

 

[janivar123]

Id suggest storing cold a week before botteling as an option
(dont know if secondary will have any added effect on so short time)

 

[northernlad]

Leave it in the primary the whole time. racking it off after 10 days is just going to scare up a bunch of yeast that has already settled. If you have too much yeast in your beer, you may need to look at your racking procedure or your level of patience.

 

[barhoc11]

Thanks, I think my issue the last time I racked was that I had moved the better bottle primary to the place I was doing my bottling and shook up the yeast. I plan to move the primary a day before I bottle to hopefully avoid this. I had a bitter taste in my brew last time I made this so I want to avoid that.

Also, Better Bottles have ridges that seem to trap the yeast on and get disturbed when I move my better bottle, dose this happen to you guys?

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

Thanks, I think my issue the last time I racked was that I had moved the better bottle primary to the place I was doing my bottling and shook up the yeast. I plan to move the primary a day before I bottle to hopefully avoid this. I had a bitter taste in my brew last time I made this so I want to avoid that.

Also, Better Bottles have ridges that seem to trap the yeast on and get disturbed when I move my better bottle, dose this happen to you guys?

yeah even my glass carboys that have ridges catch the yeast. if you have the room in a fridge for a carboy, I would rack to secondary after 2-3 weeks ( making sure the fermentation has been done for a few days to give the yeast all the time they need). Then stick the carboy in a fridge for 3-4 days. You will be surprised how much more stuff falls out od suspension when you cold crash it....Take it out of the fridge and bottle like normal...according to everyone on here, a secondary is not necessary.. I do it because my primarys will not fit in my beer fridge... that and I leave a tablespoon of beer behind and get almost zero trub in my bottling bucket.

 

[Calder]

If you rack to secondary (as opposed to leaving it in primary all the time), any yeast you stir up during the racking process will have time to settle out before you bottle, but if you go straight to bottling, you will have to be extra careful not to stir up any yeast at bottling time.

You want it clear! Put some gelatin in the secondary and rack onto it, and then leave it for 3 weeks. Use half a teaspoon of unflavored gelatin (buy at supermarket in desert section), sprinkle on cold water and leave for 30 minutes, then heat to about 150 F (do not boil), and then add to fermenter. I sometimes add an ounce of table sugar to get generate some CO2 in the fermenter.

 

[birvine]

I just kegged this morning from a six-week-long primary. It was like the yeast was glued to the carboy. Give it time.

B