secondary... just need your thoughts on this

[promontory]

Ok so I did my primary fermentation, chilled out the beer for 3 days, racked into my secondaries, and was going to get it into a room at about 64'.

But is there any reason to have it be in a 64' place vs a frig? Isn't it just aging... I mean relatively speaking...

thoughts?

thanks

 

[Bob]

If you store it cold, you're basically lagering. Whatever the style, it can't hurt!

Cheers,

Bob

 

[iparks81]

the warmer the beer, the faster it will "age"...im deffiatly not saying go put your beer i 90deg area, but beer at room temp-72-78 will mature quicker than a beer at 50deg...personally I think 64 is a great temp to keep it for secondary...your just lagering and waiting for everything to fall out of suspesion..no worries at all

 

[promontory]

so as long as fermentation is done, its not a problem to store it at a wider range of temps.

thanks

 

[kanzimonson]

I like for the beer to get a few days in warmer temps after fermentation just to keep the yeast active and clean it up, but then I drop it to 40* while still in the carboy so I can clear it up some.

 

[funkswing]

promontory - if all you are doing is keeping it for a week longer at 64 F, then next time you might as well save yourself a step and just leave it in the primary. I mean, what temp did you ferment at? 64 F can't be much cooler.

The lower the temp you hold your beer at, the slower oxidation (aging) will occur. That is one of the many benefits of having a fridge. 64 F is a great primary ferm. temp., not an aging temp.

Most ppl "crash cool" in their primary fermenters to drop out solids before kegging/bottling. They just turn the temp down on their fridge after fermentation completes.

Secondaries IMO are over-rated if you aren't planning on leaving it there for a while (> month?) and can't control the temp to at least 55 F.

 

[cheezydemon3]

Did he say he is lagering???????

Fridge storage stops almost all conditioning, especially with ale yeast.

I would NOT lager an ale.

A beer at 1 month will invariably be soooo much better at 3 months unless you had it in the fridge, then it will have slightly less flavor and maybe be slightly clearer.

I will be damned if I will ever sacrifice the improvement in flavor you get from warm conditioning (64F is perfect) for a slightly clearer beer.

 

[promontory]

Cool, I am still new to the whole thing so I had to check. My current process is to ferment using a starter, then chill the beer for 24-72 hrs, rack to secondary, then age for 2-4 weeks. But I wanted to make sure that the last step is necessary and it is so thanks for the answer on that. I am not lagering, this is just ale yeast...

thanks for the help.

 

[funkswing]

I would skip the secondary for now. Its really just a pathway for oxidation (from poor siphoning) and maybe contamination if you aren't sound in your brewing practices.

Your brew process sounds great. I would just bottle at the time you go to a secondary, unless you want to dry hop or add fruit or something.

Cheezy - no, he isn't lagering, he is keeping a beer in a secondary at primary fermentation temperatures, which I don't think is necessary. He should just bottle it, let it reach carbonation, then drink it when it tastes the best to him. Why waste the time in a secondary when you are going to have to wait 2-3 weeks for carbonation anyways? Might as well kill two birds with one stone. I mean, he probably wants to drink his homebrew asap. And he should, b/c that is part of the learning process....drinking green beer, then drinking that beer when its fully ready. How else does one learn why ppl do certain things in brewing? Not from reading forum posts.

Storing your beer cold (55 F) = less oxidation = longer time you can secondary it/store it. Of course there are a lot of other variables that affect this (%alcohol, hops, etc.), but he can read a book if he wants to learn those sorts of things.

 

[promontory]

Thanks for all the help. I am meticulous about cleaning and I co2 both carboys before I rack, so the beer in the primary has co2 on top of it to keep it away from ox. Then I fill the secondary with co2 as well to keep the racked beer off ox. The secondary process has just been to clear, and age. I am going to keep secondary'ing, but I understand the need to keep it off oxygen and appreciate that advice again. I was just thinking about it yesterday. I secondary at another location and its not always easy to get there so I was thinking I could cut a piece of the process. I am also not bottling, kegging. Much easier.

thanks for all the help.

 

[funkswing]

Awesome, I dont' know why I thought you were bottling. Kegging is def. the way to go.

Secondaries are one of those things in the brew process where all the old literature told you that its a beneficial b/c you are getting the beer of the yeast, to avoid autolysis. But in reality the yeast homebrewers get these days is extremely pure and I have never had an experience with it (even leaving beers in the plastic primary for a month at room temp.).

So, just know that it isn't necessary; you can "age/clear" a beer in the primary with no ill effects at all. Ppl here call it "crash cooling" and you do it before you got to keg your beer to flocculate out/clear up the beer for serving. And its easier on you, the homebrewer!

The next thing to try is to use a corny keg as a secondary, that works great. You do the process listed above, just don't carb the keg (just enough co2 to seal the lid). Then after the aging you can transfer using a jumper cable/hose to a serving keg in a o2-free environment. That's real sexy.

 

[cactusgarrett]

A beer at 1 month will invariably be soooo much better at 3 months unless you had it in the fridge, then it will have slightly less flavor and maybe be slightly clearer.

Did you mean to say a beer at 3 will be better than a beer at 1?

 

[funkswing]

I'm pretty sure the Cheese Demon was being sarcastic. Or he just really likes putting "o's" on the end of the word "so."