the greatness of no secondary

[BonnieJ]

Me too. I've only done one batch so far but I don't see a reason for me personally to use the secondary. It turned out so marvelously that we drank almost all of it already in 2.5 weeks And I'm using buckets. I love it

ETA: It was clear in the bottle and got some chill haze. I don't mind a bit.

 

[sweaterman]

Here's a question: why do we care about clarity? I guess it looks good, but I also like beer with haze. Gives it that "frosty" look like you just poured it into a frosted mug or something. I guess I only really care about the clarity if it is a beer other than an amber SRM or lighter beer.

 

[bds3]

bds3, how long are you letting the brew stay in primary.

3 weeks for one, closer to 3.5 for the other.

Are you pouring the priming solution into the bottom of the bottling bucket getting a good whirlpool going for the transfer to get it mixed fully?

Yes.

 

[drocu]

I've stopped using a secondary as well. I'm relatively new (5 brews, last 2 with no secondary) but I've found my beer isn't as clear without a secondary. Don't get me wrong, it still tastes great and since I'm not submitting to contests or anything I don't really care. But any hints as to how to keep the beer clear without a secondary?

I move my primary to its "high" position the morning I'm going to bottle, allowing it a couple hours to settle from the small amount of stirring up that happens when I move it 15 feet. I try to leave enough beer so as to not suck up much, if any, trub while racking. Any other hints? I've though about letting the beer sit in my bottling bucket for another hour or two before bottling to let the small amount of crap in there settle, but I wasn't thrilled wit that idea.

I'm relatively new too but can offer a couple of suggestions. You could try clarifying agents like irish moss, Whirlfloc, gelatin, etc. These basically help precipitate and coagulate proteins. Also, try cold crashing your primary for a couple of days before bottling, if you have the equipment.

Also, how quickly are you drinking your beers after bottling? I've found that drinking my beer 1-2 weeks after bottling was very cloudy. Because I've been brewing so much, I can't keep up with my supply and have gone back to some of those beers and found they've cleared up considerably (>4 wks after bottling).

I think you have the right idea letting the beer settle after moving the primary. I let my beer settle for ~1hr before racking to my bottling bucket.

 

[Golddiggie]

3 weeks for one, closer to 3.5 for the other.



Yes.

Let them go at least a month before moving them to the bottling bucket. Also, put the fermenter in racking position at least 12-24 hours ahead of time. If you can go longer than 4 weeks in primary, do it. That extra time will help to get the yeast cake to compact for you, as well as get more yeast to flocculate out.

 

[Piratwolf]

I use my secondary only for beers I want to bulk age longer than a month. And after reading a ton about it on here, I really only do that b/c my secondary is glass and I don't want to risk cracking it by putting warm wort in it. So I bottle after 3 weeks in primary or rack long-term brews so I can brew more goodness!

 

[gwashingk]

Could you guys explain why you leave it in the fermenter for at least a month? Is it just to improve clarity? Are there any draw backs or risks when leaving it in there that long? I am doing my first brew soon, I'm using a Brewer's Best IPA Extract kit and the procedure listed only adds up to about two weeks before bottling, should I let it sit longer?

 

[Germelli1]

Could you guys explain why you leave it in the fermenter for at least a month? Is it just to improve clarity? Are there any draw backs or risks when leaving it in there that long? I am doing my first brew soon, I'm using a Brewer's Best IPA Extract kit and the procedure listed only adds up to about two weeks before bottling, should I let it sit longer?

On an average gravity beer, there is absolutely no need for a full month. Any cleaning up the yeast do after fermentation is complete will be done within a few days of reaching stable final gravity.

There is nothing wrong with leaving it on the yeast cake for a month, but I have just never had any benefit from it that I couldn't get by bottling it and aging it that way.

 

[WildGingerBrewing]

I disagree with this ^^^ the longer i leave my beera in primary, the better they are. I used to leave them 2-3 weeks then bottle. But has improved dramatically after leaving 5-6 weeks. Just my experience.

 

[cwheel]

I disagree with this ^^^ the longer i leave my beera in primary, the better they are. I used to leave them 2-3 weeks then bottle. But has improved dramatically after leaving 5-6 weeks. Just my experience.

Has nothing else changed at all in your brewing procedure? In general, the more people brew, the better their beer is, because they improve their process, sanitation, timing, chilling, fermenting, etc. Your beers might be getting better simply because you are, not because of extended primary.

Just sayin... Not bashing the primary only thing. I use that method for a lot of beers, but for a nice IPA, I transfer to a secondary before I dry hop so I can use an air stone and rouse everything up with CO2 periodically just like they do at commercial breweries. I feel this extracts the goodness of the hops sooner, so that I only need to dry hop for a few days and eliminate the possibility of getting grassy flavors.

 

[Germelli1]

I disagree with this ^^^ the longer i leave my beera in primary, the better they are. I used to leave them 2-3 weeks then bottle. But has improved dramatically after leaving 5-6 weeks. Just my experience.

Different strokes for different folks!

I just ferment at 62-64 until it approaches final gravity then raise the temp over 3-5 days to 70-75. This manipulation of temperatures has given me the exact same effects as a long primary. I let them do most of the conditioning in the bottle.

I have also found that most of my beers are carbed up within 24-48 hours of bottling as opposed to 3-4 weeks min after a long primary. This just makes my logical mind figure the yeast have next to no efficiency whatsoever after a certain time in the fermentor.

 

[tonyolympia]

I'm eager to do everything in primary that I can... I'm much more likely to dry hop or add spices to my beer than I am to add chunks of fruit or oak cubes, so adding to primary makes sense for me.

One thing confuses me, however. I've just started using gelatin finings, and I'm pleased with the results I've gotten from adding them in bulk (i.e. to work in the carboy, rather than in 12 oz. bottles). If I want to dry hop or add pumpkin pie spice to my primary fermenter, would you folks reading this recommend that I add those flavor and aroma fermenter additions either BEFORE or AFTER adding my gelatin finings?

My hunch is to do the gelatin first, and dry hop or add spices a couple of days later, after the beer is clarified. Thoughts?

 

[mqiceman]

The main reason I secondary is that I have a 5 gallon carboy that seems a little small to use as a primary. I rack to that just to free up my primary fermenter.

Hmmm, maybe I should just spend a few bucks to get another primary. I brewed quite a bit about 6 or 7 years ago (just getting back into it now) and back then everything I heard was that the secondary was the way to go. I guess I should update my equipment a bit.

 

[tonyolympia]

If I want to dry hop or add pumpkin pie spice to my primary fermenter, would you folks reading this recommend that I add those flavor and aroma fermenter additions either BEFORE or AFTER adding my gelatin finings?

My hunch is to do the gelatin first, and dry hop or add spices a couple of days later, after the beer is clarified. Thoughts?

Anyone have any help they can offer me?

 

[Chaddyb]

I have a milk stout in primary right now, I was gonna add cocoa nibs to when I racked to secondary, but now I'm thinking about just tossing em into the primary at around 4 weeks, then bottling two weeks later. Would this yield a nice chocolate flavor still, or am I better off going to secondary? The only beer. I've left a hefe in primary only before, and that worked great, I'd like to do primary only more often.