Secondary fermentation

[Lemieuxp]

I brewed my second batch of beer.. Chocolate Coffee Stout ( gonna call it Sweet Jittery Buzz). Anyway, I had it in the primary for 9 days and transferred to my secondary. It's been in there for 7 days and It is still showing some week signs of fermentation (one little bubble every 30seconds or so).

I guess my question is, how long do I keep it in my secondary before racking? Any rule of thumb? I've been hesitant to open it to check the FG due to the potential of contamination.. Any comments will help!

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[vinylrooster]

I brewed my second batch of beer.. Chocolate Coffee Stout ( gonna call it Sweet Jittery Buzz). Anyway, I had it in the primary for 9 days and transferred to my secondary. It's been in there for 7 days and It is still showing some week signs of fermentation (one little bubble every 30seconds or so).

I guess my question is, how long do I keep it in my secondary before racking? Any rule of thumb? I've been hesitant to open it to check the FG due to the potential of contamination.. Any comments will help!

Thanks in advance for your help!

Check the SG three days in a row, if it doesn't change you are done. Also, the chance of infection is much lower at this point because the alcohol in the beer is anti microbial. As a side note,I normally wait two weeks minimum in primary and only rack tosecondary for adjuncts such as dry hops

Cheers

-Rooster

 

[Lemieuxp]

Check the SG three days in a row, if it doesn't change you are done. Also, the chance of infection is much lower at this point because the alcohol in the beer is anti microbial. As a side note,I normally wait two weeks minimum in primary and only rack tosecondary for adjuncts such as dry hops

Cheers

-Rooster

Thanks for the feed back.. That will work out perfect! Check today through Sunday.. And hopefully rack then! I've seen a lot of debates about using a secondary. Do you use one or should I just leave it in the primary for 21-25 days?

 

[Trox]

You don't hav eto check 3 days in a row (personally I find that to be a waste of beer), but instead take one reading wait 2 days and take a second; you'll get the same results but less flat beer that isn't going to taste quite right being consumed.

I'll let it sit in the primary for 14-21 days before checking the FG; once its stable then I'll bottle it (usually the next weekend after it is stable). Only thing I'll use a secondary for is to bulk age a big beer or add adjuncts to it. Whenever you transfer the beer around you run the risk of infection or oxidizing it, so the less you mess with it the better off you are.

 

[vinylrooster]

I've seen a lot of debates about using a secondary. Do you use one or should I just leave it in the primary for 21-25 days?

It's one of the most debated things on this forum. I personally don't use secondary unless I have post-fermentation adjuncts such as dry hops. That being said, I keg my beer so you can think of kegging as an extended secondary cold crashing. I do know that some people who bottle like to do this:

primary 2-3 weeks >> secondary (preferably cold crashing) 2 weeks >> bottle

Obviously this can vary greatly depending on your style, but this tends to be what I read a lot of.

EDIT: looks like Trox beat me to it

 

[bajaedition]

As said, there is a lot of debate about secondary fermentation around here

I do it, I like to get my beer off the trub as soon as the primary fermentation seems to have slowed down

about a week for an ale

then I put it into secondary were it will sit for about 2 weeks. then it hits the keg, if it is a ale

Lagers take a lot more time in either mode, and they usually are 3 weeks in primary and 8 weeks in secondary/lagering

next I put in Poly clear and let sit 4 days and then I filter. get the temp down to around 38 and carbonate.

I think if you do a few experiments you will come up with your own opinion about primary/secondary fermentation. It seems to be a personal thing

I brew a lot of lighter beers and they come out a lot cleaner when you use a secondary, no off flavors from the trub.

and that is why I do it, but I admit with heavier beers you do not taste that,

So, play around, this is a HOBBY and you are allowed to have your own ideas. If we all did things the same there would only be 1 style of beer