Toying with no secondary

[eadavis80]

Well, you could if you racked the beer from the bottling bucket into a secondary and then transferred back over to the bottling bucket on bottling day - oh the irony given the name of the thread...

 

[ArcLight]

So how many are using a bottling bucket for primary fermentation? I am leaning to that and if the first bottle or two has to much yeast oh well... I use a hop bag so no hop debris to speak of.

I don't like that idea.
I cold crash in my primary, but by racking to a bottling bucket I can get a good mix of the bottling sugar into the beer, when bottling.
I think you are more likely to get more yeast and sediment using the bottling bucket as a primary. And I think your beer/sugar mix will be less even, unless you risk stirring up the sediment at the bottom.

When you rack, you pull from the top, and its only at the end that you come near the sediment. But when bottling, you risk constantly disturbing (slightly) the sediment.

 

[MaryB]

I happen to like the priming tabs... and once I move to kegging I can mix the sugar there. Less O2 exposure to not rack it and just let it go 4 weeks.

 

[VladOfTrub]

Glucose laden wort, rocket fuel for yeast, fermentation is rapid, making secondary unnecessary. When glucose converts to maltose and maltotrios during the maltose rest, secondary comes into play... It depends on the brewing process and quality of the malt. Higher modification, less enzyme content. High protein, reduced sugar content.

 

[MaryB]

So decided to experiment with no secondary brew it in the bottling bucket. My bottling bucket spigots are up a good 1 1/4 inches off the bottom so it shouldn't pull much yeast into the bottles. I can always use the first couple bottles up first if it does. Those 1 week carbonation taste test bottles!

 

[Dixon9717]

Mary are you going to add sugar to every single bottle for carbonation? IMO it's easier to rack from primary to bottling bucket where you can add sugar solution only one time.

 

[McKnuckle]

Actually, I find that using carbonation drops, Domino Dots, or sugar measured by weight with a 0.1 gram scale are easier solutions than a bottling bucket. Those are a PITA to me. To each his/her own!

 

[MaryB]

Takes very little time to drop fizz drops in each bottle. And it saves me time on cleaning!

Mary are you going to add sugar to every single bottle for carbonation? IMO it's easier to rack from primary to bottling bucket where you can add sugar solution only one time.

 

[HopVol]

I just cant bring myself to not secondary. I've been doing it that way for over 20 years.