Secondary Fermentation

[BartJY]

Hello Folks,

My Brewer's Best directions says to do a Secondary Fermentation.

Should I do it? Does it matter? Does anyone do a Secondary Fermentation any more?

Your thoughts.

Thanks
Bart

 

[histo320]

Hello Folks,

My Brewer's Best directions says to do a Secondary Fermentation.

Should I do it? Does it matter? Does anyone do a Secondary Fermentation any more?

Your thoughts.

Thanks
Bart

Lots of people still use secondary fermentation for both dry hopping and to help clarify the beer.

Many do not use secondary since there is a risk of oxidation which causes off flavors. It is also acceptable to dry hop after fermentation has ceased.

In my opinion there is no reason to secondary a basic beer kit. See the fermentation section of the forum for now information.

 

[thehaze]

I never did secondary, not even for Imperial Stouts or IPAs loaded with 10 oz in the dryhop.

 

[Lefou]

I've only done secondary with mead to allow for clarification, never with beer.
On the other hand, if a fruit beer or something like that was on my "to do" list, it might be an option.

 

[TwistedGray]

I do secondary a lot with beers that I add stuff to, and I have not had an oxidized beer yet (knock on wood). I'm either stupid, lucky, or stupid lucky Just take care of your set-up and you'll be fine, or just skip it all together and see how that comes out.

 

[A_McG]

I've always done a secondary, from my first Irish red kit to mid level recipe ipa. I have the siphon hose at the bottom of the carboy, eliminates splashing.

Very first beer was near crystal clear and didn't have any oxidation problems. I also like to be able to see when beer has cleared, can't do that with a bucket. Make sure you store it somewhere dark, or put a box around it. Don't want that glass getting blasted by sunlight

 

[marose67]

What kind of beer is it?

 

[waldoar15]

All my beers get 30 days primary, cold crashed, kegged. Lagers get cold conditioned in the keg.

 

[whiskeyjack]

Secondary is optional for most beers, besides beers with additives like fruit/hops, and beers that are huge and will sit for several months like a barleywine. Pros and cons, possibly clearer beer and this is debatable, and the risk of adding infection and or oxydation. The pros dont outweigh the cons to most. One of the old school thoughts were to get the beer off the yeast asap to stop autolysis or the yeast dying off from adding unwanted flavors. This has kind of been debunked, it takes longer then your average beer is fermented for this to happen. From my understanding this does happen to wines if left on the lees for months

 

[Iseneye]

You won't find many homebrewers who use secondaries anymore (not saying that there aren't any - just that they are in the minority).

 

[PADave]

I've never done a secondary, and don't plan on starting anytime in the future.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I always do a secondary fermentation.
It consists of me adding priming sugar in the bottling bucket and then transferring it into bottles where it ferments the additional sugar.