Secondary fermentation

sundaypunch · Dec 16, 2014

I'm wanting to do a secondary fermentation and don't have a carboy in hand or the money to get one. Would it hurt to use large bucket, 5 or 6 gallons, to do it in? I'm told the seal won't be as good. What are talks thoughts?

Yooper · Dec 16, 2014

sundaypunch said:
I'm wanting to do a secondary fermentation and don't have a carboy in hand or the money to get one. Would it hurt to use large bucket, 5 or 6 gallons, to do it in? I'm told the seal won't be as good. What are talks thoughts?

Yes, it will hurt to use a large bucket for a clearing vessel. The reason is that once fermentation ends and no new c02 is produced, you want to do everything in your power to prevent any oxygen uptake or even contact if possible.

By moving the beer, that's already a slight risk. Still, many people do it and rack to a carboy with good results. But by moving it into a vessel with a very wide headspace, that makes it a huge risk and not just flavor wise but also more vulnerable to contamination via oxygen loving bacteria, mold, and wild yeast.

sundaypunch · Dec 16, 2014

Thanks for the info. Think I'll forgo the secondary this time.

pvault98 · Dec 17, 2014

Definitely agree with Yooper. Another thing to consider is what you are hoping to accomplish by moving your beer to secondary. Many people on here skip secondary and just do primary and then package.

Oxygen and unnecessary transferring are your enemy.

sundaypunch · Dec 18, 2014

I was looking to clarify the final product, eliminate sediment a little.

flars · Dec 18, 2014

Leave your beer in the primary for at least three weeks. You will have clear beer, as long as you keep your siphon out of the trub layer and don't move the fermentor to much before racking.