Secondary, Keg or Carboy

[milldoggy]

All,
Pretty new to homebrewing. I have been following the 1-2-3 rule, 1 one primary, 2 weeks on the secondary, then 3 weeks in the keg. I am getting thirtsy and would love to try the toad spit stout I made recently. I was wonder if I could skip the secondary in my carboy and go right from primary to keg. If I do so, I would assume I would get some sediment in my keg. Should I cut my dip tube? Will it be a better brew if I just wait and open a miller lite from the fridge(womens beer, yuck). From some reading, it looks like the longer it sits in the secondary, the clearer it will get and some of the flavours may mellow out. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Nothing on tap at the moment, fishing trip wiped me out. A jockey box is great and evil at the same time

 

[Hagen]

You can skip the secondary if you keep it in primary for 3 weeks. Either way, you'll be waiting the same amount of time. Wait it out, you'll be much happier with the finished product.

And welcome to the forum!

 

[cudaman]

You can skip the secondary and leave it in the primary carboy for 2 to 3 weeks without any worries. Then, fill you keg, carbonate, and wait as long as you can before cracking the tap! The longer you wait, the better. I've done it this way for years, it saves a transfer step and reduces risk of contamination. That's my 2 cents...pour the miller lite down the drain and drink some real beer.

 

[milldoggy]

Thanks. so it looks like I should wait the 3 weeks, no matter if I transfer to a secondary or just wait longer on my primary. BTW, I did have one guisness left in the fridge. Went with that over the m-lite.

 

[The Pol]

A stout cannot really be rushed... mine took 6 months to really hit its potential.

 

[GIusedtoBe]

Milldoggy I see your using recipes from Papazian's book. Let me know how the Phat Fired Weizenbock turns out. I did a clone Brew version of Adventinus wheat weizenbock last year and it takes a while for these big beers to mellow in the bottle. Mine are pretty good now but it's been 9 mos since I brewed it.

Good Luck, part of the fun is in the experimenting.
Al

 

[milldoggy]

Will do. Just did that today. Transfered the stout to the secondary then made the phat fired. Thats what got me thinking about skipping the secondary with the stout. I was out of homebrew and wanted one bad. I am going to keg the phat fired, I hate bottling, but I think I should bottle a few of these. Would it be better to keep this in the secondary for a month or two or in the keg with priming sugar for two months.

 

[GIusedtoBe]

I don't remember how long I secondary fermented my weizenbock but I left it in there a while. All of my kegs, I've force carbed but the sugar deal might not be a bad idea since you'll probably need to wait on this one. To me adventinus is a beer you have every now and again. I won't sit down and slug back 2-3 like I will with a PA or some such. Thats why i did'nt keg mine but I'd love to hear how yours works out.

Good Luck,

BTW when are your Cats going to beat UT in football? They tease me pretty much every year but still find a way to lose. I live in Knoxville but am NOT a UT fan.

Al

 

[milldoggy]

I got three taps on my kegerator. I figured this one will sit on the third handle. Thanks for the info. Maybe I will bottle most of this one

Actually from Delaware, so not a big cats fan. but I know alot of people who are. I will ask them

 

[GIusedtoBe]

I got three taps on my kegerator. I figured this one will sit on the third handle. Thanks for the info. Maybe I will bottle most of this one

Actually from Delaware, so not a big cats fan. but I know alot of people who are. I will ask them

Sorry, I was thread mixing! There was another thread last night where someone from KY responded to another dude from KY about UK. For some reason I thought it was you.

Anyway good luck on your stout and the weizenbock.

Al

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

I prefer to keep my brew in the carboy as long as I can physically stand it. Reason being... when beer is in a carboy and uncarbonated, you are not tempted to "just have one, just a little taste". It is my experience, that when I have access to my beer I drink it. Keep it in the secondary for a month, then transfer it to a keg, and drink it once carbonated. You will be glad you did, your beer will be significantly better.

Until then, through out that swill or donate it to a thirsty bum. Go out and by some beer of quality, or I shall taunt you a second time, you silly English knnnnigit.

 

[discgolfin]

I like to use my secondarys as well so it will open the primary for more brewing. I try to keep them in the primary as long as possible and shorter time in secondary to crash cool and than keg. I also think the longer u can keep it out of the keg the better..if we are talking a beer that does better with some aging.

j

 

[WBC]

Ales can be fermented in the primary until you keg. This gives time to let the yeast clean up and condition the ale. I repeat, "You do not need a secondary".

 

[milldoggy]

WBC,
Really, did not know that, Thanks for the tip. I used to keep them on the primary for two weeks, but a few freinds advised me to take it off the primary after a week., becuase sitting on the yeast could affect the falvour. Thanks for the tip. I want to keep my brewing processing going, so I think I will transfer to my secondary, but keep it there for a while.

This is a great forum, I am glad I found it. You guys have a lot of great info.

 

[GIusedtoBe]

I have left mine in primary for up to three weeks and as a rule go at least two. To me, the key to not getting too anxious to try a beer is to have enough in your pipeline. If you need another carboy, buy one. They are not that pricey. The only time I get antsy now is with lagers since it screws up my beer fridge in the garage and they ferment for so dang long.

BTW Papazian claims in his book that he has had beers on primary for well over a month with no ill effects.

Regards,
Al

 

[WBC]

If you have enough kegs, they serve as the secondary. If you use a secondary carboy you ar transfering one more time and every time you do that you are risking infection. I keep my ales in the primary 10 to 14 days then keg.

 

[discgolfin]

If you have enough kegs, they serve as the secondary. If you use a secondary carboy you ar transfering one more time and every time you do that you are risking infection. I keep my ales in the primary 10 to 14 days then keg.

This is very true..but some of us have more secondaries and the risk of infection is very minimal..(star san does the job..) I like to transfer into secondary with all of my bigger beers to let age..and anything I dry hop as well I like to use my secondary..I still leave in primary a minimun 7 days after reaching FG. I crash cool and have very little yeast into keg at all and crystal clear beers from the first pull of the keg. I also have limited space in my keezer..


Jay

 

[farmbrewernw]

+1 on letting it age more, sure you can skip the secondary a lot of people on here do but you got to realize that with beer it's going to get way better if you let it sit at least a month and a half or so. I know I know it's hard but it's worth it in the end. I have met lots of guys that will let me try there brews and if it tastes really green to me I'll ask them how long ago did they brew it, believe it or not I have had people say "oh 3 weeks or so" and it's a RIS. Trying to be nice I say "you know you should really be aging this at least 6 months for it to be good" they just look at me like how could you ever do that, but believe me well aged beer is all kinds of better than green beer.

 

[homebrewer_99]

If you have enough kegs, they serve as the secondary. If you use a secondary carboy you ar transfering one more time and every time you do that you are risking infection. I keep my ales in the primary 10 to 14 days then keg.

This is true, but not always the best option.

For me, I like to get the brew as clear as possible before kegging.

The reason is because I have to move my kegs from the keezer in the garage to the kegerator in the basement. If I secondary in the keg then I will be stirring up the dropped out yeast as I carry it downstairs. Doing this rouses the yeast and it can take another day or two to get clear again.

If it's already clear before going into the keg then I can start with (fairly) clear brew.
Granted, if you "rack where you tap" I can see it working for you. :rockin:

Something for you new guys to think about.

 

[jesse]

You can skip the secondary if you keep it in primary for 3 weeks. Either way, you'll be waiting the same amount of time. Wait it out, you'll be much happier with the finished product.

And welcome to the forum!

What if it is a lager??? i have one that's been in primary for a month and I was thinking to bring it up to 68 and crash cool it to 33 where i would then rack it to a keg after a couple of days when the yeast settles.