Secondary Fermantation

[RollingStone]

Hello Everyone,

So far, you guys have been helping a lot, so I have to thank you all. I have got a question. I have brewed an IPA and beer smith says rack it secondary at 4th day after the brewing day. However usualy fermantation slows down pretty much, but this time it is still going well. like 4-5 bubbles every min. Should I rack it for secondary anyway or should I wait for bubbles to slow down ?

 

[bajaedition]

Wait for the 4 or 5 days, bubbling will be really slow by then and the the yeast will have dropped out to the bottom, that way you can rack off the crud into the secondary

 

[Sammy86]

There is no need to secondary...leave it in primary 2-3 weeks, cold crash and keg/bottle.

You don't need a secondary unless you are adding a fruit/other adjunct or moving it to a vessel like a barrel.

Let fermentation do its thing, check the gravity and package...as many here on HBT will tell you why risk moving a beer and introducing oxygen when you don't have to?

 

[yourlastchance89]

You'll find differing opinions on racking towards a secondary fermenter and variances of when people find it appropriate to do so if they do. Always racking to a secondary is an old school method that has virtually been abandoned. Some still use a secondary to add to clarity of certain beers or for adding ingredients like fruit additions. For an IPA I wouldn't sweat racking to a secondary and avoid the exposure to oxygen or elevated risk of infection. As for fermentation, you should always gauge it from gravity readings, never by airlock activity, and never by what instructions say. Good rule is 3 consistent gravity readings over 3 days usually indicates the ending of yeast fermenting sugar to alcohol, however alot of other off-flavor compounds will continue to be cleaned up weeks later in the fermenter, and possibly weeks, months, or years later in the bottle depending on the brew

 

[Calder]

Unless you know why you are racking to a Secondary there is no need to. Leaving in Primary will do fine, and is less work

Always racking to a secondary is an old school method that has virtually been abandoned.

Then I guess I'm a relic. I probably transfer 95% of my beers. Why:

- I always harvest the yeast (whether I have a plan to use it or not) and want to do so before I add anything to the beer.
- I always add gelatin to the secondary, so want to harvest the yeast before that.
- If it's a hoppy beer, I want to get the yeast before the dry hops go in.
- If it's a Belgian/Farmhouse style. I've probably ramped the temp up to the high 80s to finish it off, and want to get the yeast before it deteriorates too much.

All my recipes contain some sugars (extract or simple sugars) that are added when I rack to secondary to provide some CO2 protection in the fermenter.