should i rack to secondary?

[Krazykripple]

so i recently did my first brew that wasn't from a no boil kit and i forgot to strain the wort as i put it into the fermenter (I ferment in an ale pail style bucket) now i have a layer of hop material/trub that's covering the outlet of the spigot and when i pulled a sample the other day it was full of hops and stuff. I'm worried about the debris getting into the final product, should i rack into another vessel to remove some of the trub or should i relax and have a homebrew?

 

[kasky99]

No, I never strain my beer as I put it in the fermenter. Just make sure the temperature stays under control for fermentation and don't touch it. If you are not adding anything to the secondary there is no need to secondary at all. I do this and my beers come out crystal clear without using any finings except irish moss in the boil. Just give your beer enough time to settle and rack just above the yeast cake and trub. The more you mess with it and take samples, the longer this process will take. Also, the more oxygen you will introduce and the more precious beer you will waste!

 

[OHIOSTEVE]

It sounds like you fermented in a bottling bucket( spigot?), so YES I would go to a secondary. The issue is a bucket is not a good secondary due to headspace so a carboy may be in order. rack the beer into the carboy and let it set a few days to a couple weeks, then mix your priming sugar and pour it into the sanitized bottling bucket...rack the beer back from the carboy into the bucket,,,,,then bottle. I recommend you read revvys bottling tips thread.https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f35/bottling-tips-homebrewer-94812/

 

[Krazykripple]

I ferment in one of these

. i was leaning towards a secondary and you guys have confirmed it

 

[ahaley]

I ferment in a 6 or 6.5 gal bucket, both of mine have spigots, so I guess I have 2 bottling buckets, but either way, I've never used a secondary, I'm going to with this brew because I'm adding vanilla beans. If you want to risk a secondary and getting oxygenated beer you can but from what I've been reading you risk infection and oxygenating. Your beer, your call good luck.

 

[Krazykripple]

normally i don't secondary for the reasons you've stated. it's just that there's a LOT of trub in this beer and i want it to be nice and clear

 

[ahaley]

normally i don't secondary for the reasons you've stated. it's just that there's a LOT of trub in this beer and i want it to be nice and clear

When I go from kettle/pot to my fermenter I use a strainer to catch the hop gunk(LHBS sells hop pellets only from what I've seen) and also to prep it for yeast.

But how much is A LOT? Like 2 inches of gunk, floating or sunken?
When you go to bottle you can always go really slow and tilt the bucket opposite of the spigot so the trub falls into the corner and not your spigot? Or you could try to siphon the wort from around the middle?

 

[Captain Damage]

Whether or not you secondary doesn't have much to do with how clear your finished beer is; the law of gravity contols that. You may get a little extra sediment in your bottles since the bucket makes it difficult to see how close to the trub your siphon is (please tell me you're not using the spigot to drain your beer from primary to bottling bucket). But this extra sediment/trub will fall out during bottle conditioning and chilling. Even when you've made a hefe and want some yeast haze in your beer, you need to rouse it off the bottom of the bottle before you pour.

You will probably have chill haze regardless of whether you secondary or not, but this will drop out after 1-2 weeks in the fridge. Highly dryhopped beers tend to have a bit of permanent haze, but it isn't considered a detriment in this case.

 

[ahaley]

(please tell me you're not using the spigot to drain your beer from primary to bottling bucket).

that's exactly what I'm doing. Is that bad lol?

 

[Captain Damage]

Well, you're pretty much guaranteeing the maximum amount of trub goes into your bottling bucket that way. Use a racking cane and siphon (or autosiphon) and draw from near the top/middle of the beer and follow as the level goes down.

 

[ahaley]

I'm gentle when I do the spigot, I got minimal gunk if any in my bottling bucket last time

 

[kasky99]

You don't even really need a racking cane just start a siphon with some tubing. As long as you keep it above the trub. Honestly though a secondary is just moving around the beer for no reason.

 

[ahaley]

I read that most people use secondary to add stuff like fruit or hops

 

[cullen]

Why not take a page from the conical fermeter and add a second spigot higher in the bucket? Drain from the higher spigot to ensure you're draining above the trub/dead yeast line.

 

[Krazykripple]

I normally ferment in and bottle from the same container. I've got an old fermenter that is similar to my current one but it's had a lacto infection in it. If I bleach bombed and sanitized it could i use it as a bottling bucket since it would have minimal contact time with my beer or is that too risky?

 

[Calichusetts]

If you can siphon properly and take care with sanitizing, there is zero risk of oxidation or infection. I not only siphon into a secondary, but then into a pot and then again into bottles. I've never had a hint of oxidation (5 month old beers in some cases) and not a single infection.

Carboy is spot on...then maybe try your bucket for a secondary if you know you can minimize headspace. If not, just use that to bottle with

 

[rico567]

I used a secondary for everything my first two years, but for the last three it's primary only (I go for a month), unless it's aging something big (barleywine, imperial stout, etc.) or dry hopping. I can tell absolutely no difference between a beer that has been secondaried and one that hasn't, so I'm not about to bother with the extra work.

 

[beerman0001]

I normally ferment in and bottle from the same container. I've got an old fermenter that is similar to my current one but it's had a lacto infection in it. If I bleach bombed and sanitized it could i use it as a bottling bucket since it would have minimal contact time with my beer or is that too risky?

It is not worth the risk. Do you have more $$ invested in the bucket or the batch of beer? Any contact time is too much if it is infected.

 

[rico567]

It is not worth the risk. Do you have more $$ invested in the bucket or the batch of beer? Any contact time is too much if it is infected.

Good post. My last purchase was 3 x 7 gal buckets & lids from US Plastics, $32 shipped. I've probably got nearly that much in the batch of Rye IPA that's mashing right now. And once you get the bucket, never, ever nest other buckets inside it. Quickest way to scratches.

 

[Krazykripple]

I decided to wait and i'm glad i did. i looked at my beer and everything had settled into a nice compact cake. i guess i'm still an impatient noob at times

 

[Andrew5329]

I decided to wait and i'm glad i did. i looked at my beer and everything had settled into a nice compact cake. i guess i'm still an impatient noob at times

Good, now join the Cult of Revvy and ferment your beer in your primary for a full four weeks with us! Seriously though, after four weeks your beer is crystal clear and tastes delicious.

When in doubt, wait it out.

That and RDWAHAHB!