Secondary Fermentation?

[Beodude123]

Hey guys, I was wondering what you would use for a secondary. Would it be the same thing as what you use for a primary?

I know that the secondary is for conditioning and clearing the beer. Is there something you have to add to the secondary to get it going? As in more sugar or something like that? If not, then why even have a secondary? You could do the same thing in the primary couldn't you?

 

[Yooper]

The purpose of the secondary is basically to utilize a clearing tank. You could leave it longer in primary, and it would kind of serve the same purpose. After fermentation is done, I siphon the beer above the trub (junk on the bottom) into a 5 gallon glass carboy and stick an airlock on it. In about two weeks, the beer is much clearer and there is trub on the bottom again. Then, I siphon it off the trub into my bottling bucket. Some people never use a secondary and make great beer. I always use one.
I like a secondary for a couple of reasons- one is that I'm basically very lazy and I can just put it in secondary and forget about for a week or even three or more. Then I bottle when I feel like it. Secondly, I make mostly amber or lighter ales, and the beer is clear when I bottle. Some people even use finings to clarify their beer further. If I made stouts and porters, I probably wouldn't care as much. Also, I LOVE beer. Putting it in secondary for a while keeps it out of my hands and allows it to age some before I drink it all.

You can bottle after only a week or so in the primary (but not recommended), or you can bottle after 3 weeks in the primary, or you can bottle after the secondary. It's really a matter of personal preference and time constraints.

Lorena