Time in primary/secondary?

[Lankowski]

Hey all,

I've read a few threads similar to this issue but that haven't addressed my question exactly. On my first three or four batches I fermented in the primary for one week, then racked and let it sit in the secondary for one week, then bottled. From what I've read, letting it sit in the primary for two-three weeks can clean up the beer, making it tastier and crisper. My question is, how should I split this time between the primary and secondary carboy? What's the difference between the two? In other words, if I were to wait one month before kegging, how should I split that time up between the primary and secondary, and why?

Thanks!

 

[Allstar]

I wait until I hit my FG and then rack to the secondary. I know the longer you leave a batch on the yeast the more it can affect it. I have heard compliants that it will gain a yeast taste if you leave it on past two weeks.

 

[lextasy23]

+1.

The secondary is where you want to do more of the clarifying and conditioning. I leave mine for like a month. Then bottle condition for at least a month, 2 is better.

 

[Lankowski]

Thanks guys. Two follow-up questions.

1) Anyone have a good way to take the specific gravity in a carboy?

2) Since I'll be kegging most of my beer now, should I "keg condition" it, and for how long?

 

[Zixxer10R]

You will find that most people only use the secondary for additions like dry hopping. The last batch i made (the Elissa IPA clone in my signature) sat in primary for 4 weeks, then about 10 days in secondary for the dry hop stage.

I haven't noticed a yeast flavor unless i chug my bottled beer and disturb the yeast layer on the bottom of the bottle. I have since moved to kegging though, so i've only got 3 bottles of my #9 clone left in the fridge. I'm waiting for a friend to get back from overseas so he can try it, it was excellent.

That particular beer fermented for 2 weeks then cleared for 2 weeks in my carboy. I mainly did that because i wanted to free up my fermentation bucket though. It's really all up to you as to when you move from primary to secondary (not really a viable term around these parts since it's really another primary in most cases). Just make sure you hit your desired FG before you rack to secondary so you don't end up with super sweet beer or a lower than desired ABV because the yeasties haven't finished working their magic.

 

[mcwilcr]

Thanks guys. Two follow-up questions.

1) Anyone have a good way to take the specific gravity in a carboy?

use a wine thief or if you have an autosiphon, use the outer tube to snag a sample.

 

[birvine]

I think you'll find that if you primary for 3-4 weeks the yeast cake will be quite firm and you will be able to rack straight from the primary into your keg with little or no yeast. Even if there is a little, it will settle to the bottom of your keg and be drawn out with the first bit of beer.

A secondary is good for dry hopping (though I dry hop in the primary as well) or for racking onto fruit if you're adding any. The way I look at it, the less you disturb the beer the better, plus, the longer time in the primary allows the yeast to make your beer great.

B

 

[bad67z]

Thanks guys. Two follow-up questions.

1) Anyone have a good way to take the specific gravity in a carboy?

Get yourself one of these, has a valve @ bottom and your can put the beer back in to the fermentor.

Thief


2) Since I'll be kegging most of my beer now, should I "keg condition" it, and for how long?

Since I started kegging I have stopped using a secondary. I let my beer fully ferment out in my "primary" then cold crash. Then take 1-2 cups of 180 deg of and add 1 package of unflavored gelatin and let bloom. Poor the liquid in the keg then rack the beer on top. Put in the refrigerator and while it is carbing the gelatin grabs all of the particulate and deposits it @ the bottom. of the keg. It first pint is a bit hazy, but after that left undisturbed will pour crystal clear until the keg is kicked.

 

[unionrdr]

yeah,secondarying all your beers is outdated information that has since been changing in those books. And I never get yeast flavors from sitting on a compacted yeast cake for 3 or 4 weeks if it's necessary to reach FG & clear/clean up a bit. Otherwise,just give it a week beyond FG to clean up & clear a bit more. Then dry hop for a week,or proceed to prime & bottle.
Anymore,secondaries are used to rack onto fruit,oak chips,& the like.

 

[Lankowski]

Thanks everyone, this is all really good info.

I actually just racked a beer I brewed last week into a secondary without taking the SG, figuring I'd just take the FG reading from the secondary after the second week (and keep it in longer if necessary). Now I realized I might have screwed up and left the yeast behind before it's done fermenting. Should I re-pitch some yeast, or did enough probably make it over in the rack to keep going?

Thanks.

 

[unionrdr]

Maybe. How clear was it when you racked it?

 

[Lankowski]

noticeably unclear. definitely murky.

 

[wolfman_48442]

If you were only a few points away from FG and keep the secondary at fermenting temp, you'll probably be fine. It might take a little longer for the smaller amount of yeast to clean up, but they will.

 

[HelperMunkee]

Zombie thread....

I'm finding that with homebrewing exploding in popularity, most of the people new to the hobby I'm talking to are only doing 2 weeks in primary and discussing bottling.

Most commonly I hear people talking about autolysis beyond 2 weeks, which I think is hogwash. Due to laziness I've left beers on primary for 7 weeks without issue.

FWIW I do 4-6 weeks in primary then directly to the keg. I don't recommend using secondary fermenters (except for fruit of hops).