Secondary fermentation

[giantmetfan]

I've been browsing around home brew forms lately and have been coming across again and again not to use a secondary fermentation. All the beers I've done have gone done a secondary but I also have been dry hoping and adding oak wood and stuff to it. So basically I want to hear people's opinions about secondary fermentation and if you don't do a secondary when should you bottle?

 

[m1k3]

No secondary for me. I dry hop at the end of primary for IPAs... and I lager in a keg for lagers (that is kinda like a secondary).

edit: forgot part two.... When do you bottle? For me... I can see when the yeast flocks through the side of my buckets. After that I warm up a few degrees for 2-3 days and then cold crash for a few days. Time to package.

 

[Redmond_Fil]

Reasons I *sometimes* use a secondary
- I want to harvest the yeast before I add something (hops, fruit, molasses, spices, etc.). By moving the beer off the yeast cake I avoid contamination of the harvested yeast.

- I need to use the fermenter for a new batch but want to continue conditioning the beer before bottling. Strictly speaking this isn't a secondary fermentation since the beer is "finished".

Reasons I *don't* use to rack to a secondary
- I need to get the beer off the trub while conditioning. Nope! The beer is happy. The trub is happy. Let it sit for three weeks. All will be happy and clear.

- I need to get the beer in a smaller fermenter so the surface doesn't oxidize. Nope! Stop messing with the beer and leave the airlock on. The fermenter is full of C02 that is keeping beer happy and safe from oxidation.

 

[Vandulus]

I've tried it both with and without a secondary fermentation and haven't noticed a huge difference with the ales I've been doing, but I'm also fermenting 3-4 weeks on average. If you're making a beer with a very clean taste or fermenting something for 6+ weeks, it wouldn't hurt to move to a secondary vessel. Just be careful of the transfer method to reduce oxygen.