Transfer from primary to secondary

[Bonebender101]

So I am almost ready to transfer and had a question on transfer. I am primary in a carboy and going into a bucket. How do I do that?

 

[Miraculix]

You just don't do secondaries without a very good reason. Skip it, leave it in the primary till its done, let it settle, bottle it, done.

And in any case, never ever do a secondary in a bucket.

 

[Transamguy77]

@Miraculix is right don’t do a secondary unless you have too, but when you transfer you need to do it with a siphon, cautiously and try not to splash or oxygenate as little as possible.

Edit: what kind of kit did you buy? It should have come with a length of hose for this purpose, if you put the kit together yourself then I would look into an auto siphon, makes things really easy.

 

[Bonebender101]

There is an auto siphon... But being new, I don't know how to use it. YouTube is good but like to hear from the pros

 

[Transamguy77]

Super simple, sanitize it, inside and out, I keep the bottom of it close to the top of the liquid (so you don’t suck the crap off the bottom) and just a pump or 2 to get it started. The bigger the difference in height the better it will work.

 

[Miraculix]

Kit's manuals are outdated and still talk about secondaries, although it's not necessary in 99% of the time.

 

[VikeMan]

So I am almost ready to transfer and had a question on transfer. I am primary in a carboy and going into a bucket. How do I do that?

As already mentioned, if you don't know why you're doing a secondary, you probably don't need to do it. Also, if you are going to do a secondary, don't do it in a plastic fermentation bucket, which is the worst possible choice, both because of O2 permeability and large headspace.

 

[Bonebender101]

So I should leave in the carboy for an additional few weeks?

 

[Bonebender101]

And then use the auto siphon and bottle wand to fill bottles?

 

[VikeMan]

So I should leave in the carboy for an additional few weeks?

What style of beer is it?

 

[Bonebender101]

An American Ale

 

[VikeMan]

An American Ale

That's a bit vague, but in most cases, I'd say that if attenuation is finished and there are no off flavors, you're safe to bottle. More time in the fermenter will yield better clarity, if that's important to you.

 

[Bonebender101]

The kit says "Legend of Lutra" from Northern Brewer in St Paul, MN. Sorry it's an American Lager style

 

[D.B.Moody]

My advice is leave it be, but that's because I don't understand how it is you did the primary in the carboy instead of the pail.

I will admit I have always done secondary fermentation. I have brewed 273 times since 1994. 269 of those were beers that were siphoned from the primary plastic bucket to the secondary glass carboy. 268 of those were siphoned from the secondary to a bottling bucket. (I don't have an auto siphon, so we won't even think about how I got all these siphons going.) 1 of the 269 will not be siphoned into a secondary come Monday. I'm skipping the secondary on the, let's call it 'strongly stated,' advice on this site. I's not like I can't try it. But the thing is there have been 268 good beers. So I can't disparage secondary fermentation.

By the way, asking about this is like asking how to cook a cheeseburger in the wrong place. After the vegetarians have chastised you, you'll have to listen to the vegans chastise them for letting you have the cheese. You will not get information on secondary.

 

[Miraculix]

There is no fermentation going on in the second vessel, why call it secondary fermentation?

 

[McKnuckle]

I believe you were supposed to do primary in the (open) bucket, and secondary in the (relatively closed) carboy. At this point, do not rack this beer into the bucket. That's a bad call, going backwards as it were in terms of preserving the beer.

Finally, for the next time, read up on how secondary vessels are no longer a recommended practice at all.

Try out your auto-siphon with plain water in another jug. You can siphon it into your sink. Get the hang of it that way, not for the first time trying to rack beer.

 

[vindee]

You just don't efing do secondaries without a very good reason. Skip it, leave it in the primary till its done, let it settle, bottle it, done.

And in any case, never ever do a secondary in a bucket.

I agree. My beers sit in the primary 3 to 4 weeks and clear, or not, depending on the recipe or style. They turn out just fine without the added risk of transfering to another vessel.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

Legend of Lutra™ is a recipe kit we have formulated to really let this unique and clean yeast/kveik strain shine. The simple malt base is inspired by the pervasive American Lager style and then bolstered with a small amount of light caramel malt to lend a golden hue, while a modest dose of hops provide just enough bitterness to balance. The real star of the show is Omega's Lutra™ kveik strain and its incredible versatility. Temperature control is not needed with this strain - ferment it at room temperature for a lager-like finish, or let it crank at 90F and you will be hard-pressed to find a flavor difference. This yeast strain is a game-changer and is legendary in its own right.

https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/legend-of-lutra-kveik-extract-recipe-kit

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2...1750-LegendOfLutra-Extract1-1603405556751.pdf

 

[Miraculix]

https://www.northernbrewer.com/products/legend-of-lutra-kveik-extract-recipe-kit

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2...1750-LegendOfLutra-Extract1-1603405556751.pdf

I think they just want to sell more vessels, otherwise it wouldn't make any sense to recommend a secondary here.

 

[BrewnWKopperKat]

I think they just want to sell more vessels

That seems to be the often stated consensus here at HomeBrewTalk over the past couple of years.

Some of the highly knowledgeable brewers over at /r/homebrewing appear to be using those same keystrokes to update their FAQ and wiki. I was cautiously skeptical that anything would really happen - but a year later, it's starting to become a valuable resource. Note that many of the FAQ/wiki pages have not yet been updated - so please don't report that here (maybe offer some keystrokes over there instead).

For example, if one buys kits on sale for future use, storing ingredients so they remain fresh is important:

https://www.reddit.com/r/homebrewing/wiki/ingredients/storage

 

[BigDave1303]

There is an auto siphon... But being new, I don't know how to use it. YouTube is good but like to hear from the pros

There is some good information on You Tube. I have learned so much from watching it. Like everything in life, you still get get multiple ways of doing things & working out which way is the best can still be very confusing.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy your new hobby, lets hope you brew some fantastic beers in the years to come

 

[schmurf]

There is an auto siphon... But being new, I don't know how to use it. YouTube is good but like to hear from the pros

There's a lot of helpful and knowledgeable people here for sure, have helped me many times. But actually seeing people brewing while explaining, instead of just writing information, is really helpful for a beginner.

 

[Transamguy77]

There's a lot of helpful and knowledgeable people here for sure, have helped me many times. But actually seeing people brewing while explaining, instead of just writing information, is really helpful for a beginner.

Yes that! I very much like to watch videos and see how other people make beer, so many good ideas. And some not so many also but after a while you figure out what is not a good idea or what really won’t work for you.