When to move from primary to secondary

[stratoblastor]

Ok, another noobie question. I am making a Belgian Tripel. My brew day was exactly one week ago. I used 4.5 gallons of bottled water instead of the recipes 5 gallons to maintain a gravity of 1.085. My objective is to keep the ABV between 8.5-9.0% so one might consider this a big beer.

It is still sitting in the plastic primary fermenter. I'm still noticing bubbling in the airlock approx 10 seconds apart. I would like to move it to a 5 gallon glass carboy but want to keep opening the primary lid to a minimum. When is the best time to transfer?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[fatnoah]

If you want to use a secondary I'd wait till you have almost reached terminal gravity. Since this is your first time brewing this beer that might be hard to know. But, I bet you'll be safe if you wait for the kraussen to fall back in and the bubbling in the air lock to slow considerably.

Remember that with a big beer like a tripel that patience is key. It will likely need 3-4 weeks in the primary and probably another month or 2 of aging in a secondary or keg would really improve the beer.

 

[rmyurick]

What yeast did you use? Did you aerate well? I did a strong Belgian last year with 3787 and racked too early (after 1 week). it kind of stopped at around 1030, although there were probably other contributing factors (temp., use of extract)

 

[dstranger99]

You'll need to wait if you are still seeing airlock activity, let it sit in the primary for a few more days then give the hydrometer a spin and check the FG.

 

[stratoblastor]

Thanks. Yes i also used the Wyeast 3787 Trappist yeast.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[masonsjax]

Bubbles in the airlock can be lots of things, it's not necessarily still fermenting. Take gravity readings to be certain. You'll be fine if you just leave it in primary until you're ready to bottle or keg though. You can let it age further after packaging. Although it doesn't hurt anything to leave the beer sitting in bulk, it also doesn't hurt to go ahead and package it once you're certain the yeast have gotten you down to a stable gravity.

 

[smizak]

Never. Unless you call bottles or kegs a secondary

 

[rmyurick]

Based on my experience with that yeast, I would wait at least another week. Then maybe test the gravity first to see if you are within 5-10 pts of where you want to finish. Also,I would keep it on the warm side until then. (70 or higher)

 

[stratoblastor]

Just opened the lid. The krausen has dropped. Will take a gravity reading tomorrow morning and a second within three days. If I'm at FG with no change, I will rack to secondary.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[masonsjax]

Why do you want to move it to secondary? If your answer is because the kit instructions (or some outdated book) said to, or you don't know why, then you should leave it in primary until bottling.

 

[PackerfaninSanDiego]

Why do you want to move it to secondary? If your answer is because the kit instructions (or some outdated book) said to, or you don't know why, then you should leave it in primary until bottling.

Ditto,,,,,,,why do you want to rack?

 

[brew_ny]

Never. Unless you call bottles or kegs a secondary

kegs my secondary of choice

 

[stratoblastor]

Doesn't the secondary assist in the clarification? Plus, since I have about 4.5 gallons in a 6.5 primary pail, moving it to a 5 gallon Carboy removes the head space. Then I can reuse the primary for the next batch.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N900A using Home Brew mobile app

 

[kombat]

Doesn't the secondary assist in the clarification?

No, that's an outdated myth that only persists today because of a single, ambiguous and anecdotal episode of a recent brewing podcast.

Plus, since I have about 4.5 gallons in a 6.5 primary pail, moving it to a 5 gallon Carboy removes the head space.

If the fermenter is well-sealed, the headspace is not an issue in the short-to-medium term, because it's full of CO2. However, if you were planning on leaving it for more than 3-4 weeks, I would transfer it to a vessel that is less oxygen-permeable than a plastic pail.

Then I can reuse the primary for the next batch.

If you only have the one primary fermenter, then yes, that's a good reason to rack it to another carboy. However, buckets are pretty cheap, and you can find used glass carboys on Craigslist/Kijiji relatively affordably (I frequently see them listed for $20 in my area).

 

[garcia]

I always secondary for about a month, then send to keg.

When I don't secondary, I find a particularly yeasty taste. I can taste it, and even if my buddies can't i can.

Why not secondary? Oxidation, like infection, only happens if you are wreckless.

 

[stratoblastor]

Took a gravity reading 1.020. Recipe states FG to be between 1.017-1.020


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[brew_ny]

Took a gravity reading 1.020. Recipe states FG to be between 1.017-1.020


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

so take it again in three days and if it is the same you are good to go

S_M

 

[stratoblastor]

Ok. Three days later. FG still 1.020. Racked to carboy. Planning on conditioning for a month.

 

[smizak]

Planning on conditioning for a month.

You could be drinking it instead. You're doing nothing but harm by letting it sit in the secondary for a month.

 

[masonsjax]

Not doing harm, but yeah he could let it age in the bottle while he drinks one now and then until they taste to his liking.

 

[AnOldUR]

Since your a self proclaimed noobie and this is a big beer, I think that bulk aging for a month in a secondary is a good idea. If your fermentation was less than perfect, it will only improve the beer over that time. Take extra care to not splash during transfer. Good luck!

 

[stratoblastor]

Since your a self proclaimed noobie and this is a big beer, I think that bulk aging for a month in a secondary is a good idea. If your fermentation was less than perfect, it will only improve the beer over that time. Take extra care to not splash during transfer. Good luck!

Fermentation went fine. 1.085 down to 1.020. (Recipe stated OG 1.082-1.086. FG 1.017-1.020) Siphoned from primary to secondary so splashing was kept to a minimum.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[stratoblastor]

You could be drinking it instead. You're doing nothing but harm by letting it sit in the secondary for a month.

What harm?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[stratoblastor]

Not doing harm, but yeah he could let it age in the bottle while he drinks one now and then until they taste to his liking.

What if I cut the secondary time down from one month to something shorter, 2 weeks maybe?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew