Secondary Fermentation

[IcaBrew]

I have a kit coming and plan on doing doing secondary fermentation. From reading and my very limited knowledge is that secondary fermentation is mainly for clarifying the brew. My question is, how clear will it get? Should I expect sediment in the bottles even if I leave it in the secondary for 2 weeks or so? Is there a down side to leaving the brew in the secondary for a longer time to try for a clearer brew? Will it get any clearer by letting it sit longer? Lots of questions, hope someone has some good insight for me. Thanks in advance.

 

[BrianP]

When you rack from primary to secondary, you try to leave as much trub behind, but some will get into the secondary. During secondary, additional yeast will settle, and you will try to not siphon this off when you rack to your bottling bucket (or keg, if you're into that kind of thing).

Adding fining agents like Irish moss or whirlflock will also help precipitate out more yeast than you would without it, making your beer quite clear.

Longer waits probably help a little, but you'll get pretty good results with a week or two.

There is an old saying: 1-2-3; 1 week in primary, 2 weeks in secondary, 3 weeks in a bottle. I use it and it works pretty well. Others will primary for 2 weeks and bottle without secondary, with good results.

I hope this helps.

Good luck with your brewing.

 

[Reno Homebrewer]

Are you planning on using any clarifying agents? I use Super Irish Moss in the boil, and after it is done fermenting, I rack it to a secondary for roughly two weeks before bottling, and it gets pretty clear. As far as bottle sediment, you will definately have Yeast sediment, but it shouldn't be too much, and if you pour your beer correctly, it will stay in the bottle. The amount of time you let the beer sit in the secondary depends on the type of Beer you are brewing. As an example, if you are brewing a Pilsner, it should stay in the secondary for six to twelve weeks. If you are brewing an Ale, two weeks is enough time for the Beer to clear about as much as can be expected.

 

[Nurmey]

Your beer will get crystal clear if you let it rest long enough. You will get some yeast sediment in the bottles no matter how long you keep it. It is a function of using yeast to carbonate but my beers have no more sediment that a purchased bottle conditioned beer. You will reduce the amount of gunky sediment in bottles by letting it settle completely in the carboy.

I tend to leave mine 3 or 4 weeks in both primary and secondary but that's me. It's really hard to leave the first one for that long so plan on starting another brew as soon as you move your first brew into the secondary.

You can leave it in the secondary for weeks or months without problems. It will be about as clear as possible within a couple weeks in the secondary. I'm a big believer in bulk aging for flavor so I like to leave mine longer but it is not necessary.