Secondary or Bottle Condition

[Mytus]

New to brewing...this kit is # seven. I've learned a lot in the last few months, but find myself searching the internet more on each brew. So, I just checked gravity on a Tripel and it's at 1.012 (OG 1.077) after 3 weeks (already tastes AMAZING!). I had planned on racking to secondary but I wonder if bottling would be better. I have to order the Belgian bottles, but have several carboys available now to rack into for secondary. It's not as clear as I'd like to see it, but I won't complain about it either. Thoughts?

 

[user 246304]

I'd suggest taking a gravity reading over several days, and if it stays at 1.012, you're done. Prime and bottle then. You're racking anyway, into a mixing bucket, right?

 

[flars]

Your SG seems high for a finished gravity of a tripel. How long has the beer been in the primary? Which yeast did you use?

I would tend to say this beer needs more time in the primary to finish. Perhaps even a temperature increase to help it along.

 

[MaxStout]

If the beer has hit FG (and you've taken a couple readings over a few days to confirm that), then it's done. No need to secondary--that's just adding another step that risks infection and oxidation. Bottle and let it condition. A big beer like that will taste even better after some time in bottles. If you are waiting to get your bottles, leave it in the primary until then--it won't hurt staying in primary a while longer.

 

[Calder]

All good advice. Leave in Primary if you can.

If you need to free up the fermenter, then by all means rack to secondary. Should be no issues, and 8.5% beer is not going to have an issue with minor contamination.

If you rack, I would recommend adding 4 to 8 ozs of plain table sugar dissolved in a little water to the beer. This will restart fermentation and create CO2 to fill the head-space in the secondary.

The longer you leave the beer in the fermenter, the less sediment you will get in the bottle. But, remember ...... if you rack to secondary, all those small particles that have taken a couple of weeks to almost reach the bottom of the fermenter in Primary, will be mixed up again, and have to start the slow drop to the bottom all over again. Beer will clear quicker if left in the primary rather than transferred to a secondary fermenter.

If you want to try and clear the beer more, you could try adding gelatin. I do it on all my brews and it seems to help.

 

[RM-MN]

All good advice. Leave in Primary if you can.

If you need to free up the fermenter, then by all means rack to secondary. Should be no issues, and 8.5% beer is not going to have an issue with minor contamination.

If you rack, I would recommend adding 4 to 8 ozs of plain table sugar dissolved in a little water to the beer. This will restart fermentation and create CO2 to fill the head-space in the secondary.

The longer you leave the beer in the fermenter, the less sediment you will get in the bottle. But, remember ...... if you rack to secondary, all those small particles that have taken a couple of weeks to almost reach the bottom of the fermenter in Primary, will be mixed up again, and have to start the slow drop to the bottom all over again. Beer will clear quicker if left in the primary rather than transferred to a secondary fermenter.

If you want to try and clear the beer more, you could try adding gelatin. I do it on all my brews and it seems to help.

I'll disagree to the statement in red. A new bucket fermenter is under $20 with drilled lid and airlock. Why take any risk with your expensive triple when you can have another fermenter and get 2 batches going at once, There have been times when I've had 5 batches in fermenters at the same time.

 

[MaxStout]

I've never understood that "rack to secondary to free up a primary" thing. All that work and expense, and then possibly throwing it all away by adding unnecessary risk. You could rack to secondary without encountering problems, but why take the chance after all you've done? Buy another bucket or carboy. If you're cranking out brews that frequently, it's smart to have extra gear for it.

 

[Calder]

I'll disagree to the statement in red. A new bucket fermenter is under $20 with drilled lid and airlock. Why take any risk with your expensive triple when you can have another fermenter and get 2 batches going at once, There have been times when I've had 5 batches in fermenters at the same time.

I rack almost every batch to secondary, and with well over 300 batches, I have not had any that I remember ever having a problem from being racked. Last batch I tossed was in 2000 (acetobacter infection); one of my earlier brews.

I'll agree that every time you touch a beer you increase the potential for a problem, but if treated right, the risk is really minimal, and no where near the level that comments like yours would suggest.

 

[Mytus]

Thanks for all the replies...I went ahead and racked to Secondary. Work schedule and getting bottles in time were motivating factors. I'm looking at a month now in secondary before I'll be able to bottle...so here's to hoping things go well and the finished product is a good one.