When to transfer to secondary? Using Wyeast 3522.

[marzipan71]

Hi All,

I'm brewing a Belgian trippel (the NB Carmelite partial mash) using Wyeast 3522 and have a quick question. My batch was brewed on 6/12/14 (OG of 1.084!) and has been bubbling away happily in the primary (very glad I used a blow off tube!), and its still bubbling away now 13 days later with a bubble every 4 seconds or so @74F, so still pretty active.

Most advice I read is to transfer to a secondary after 1-2 weeks of fermentation. Most of my brews to date have settled down within around 7 days, but this is still going strong. I thought of transferring it to secondary today, but upon peering into the fermenter saw its still got a very healthy and thick layer of krausen on top.

Question: Given the krausen looks very healthy, should I just leave it in the primary and keep checking until the krausen falls before transferring to secondary?

Or should I transfer it to secondary anyway to get it off the trub in the bottom of the fermenter?

All thoughts welcome and appreciated! Thanks!

 

[ColoHox]

Dates and appearances are arbitrary measures. Use specific gravity instead. Once you have hit a stable final gravity (the same reading over about 72hrs), then you can transfer to secondary if you'd like.

Moving your beer before this can result in a stuck fermentation.

 

[flars]

Are you considering racking to a secondary vessel because the recipe said to do it?
Plenty of threads on the pros and cons of using a secondary vessel. They are worthwhile reading.

 

[marzipan71]

Hi - thanks for the comments. Yes I should take a SG reading - didn't think of that

Its supposed to spend two months in secondary. I've used a secondary before for aging - for a porter and a stout - and it seemed to work well. I've heard though that bottle aging could just replicate the secondary in a carboy or whatever. I guess yes - just doing it because the recipe said so, but also because its worked quite well with those other brews. Of course, I've no way of knowing if they'd have turned out just as well going straight into the bottle

 

[pdxal]

No need to secondary, simple as that. Greater chance for infection and oxidation, especially when less experienced, as well as removing the beer from the yeast cake that can help clean up off-flavors. Give it more time. Bigger beers, and many Belgian yeasts, take time to finish, whether in primary or secondary, but will do so faster on the yeast cake.

 

[BWN]

Just leave it in the primary. No need to secondary.


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[govner1]

Hi All,



I'm brewing a Belgian trippel (the NB Carmelite partial mash) using Wyeast 3522 and have a quick question. My batch was brewed on 6/12/14 (OG of 1.084!) and has been bubbling away happily in the primary (very glad I used a blow off tube!), and its still bubbling away now 13 days later with a bubble every 4 seconds or so @74F, so still pretty active.



Most advice I read is to transfer to a secondary after 1-2 weeks of fermentation. Most of my brews to date have settled down within around 7 days, but this is still going strong. I thought of transferring it to secondary today, but upon peering into the fermenter saw its still got a very healthy and thick layer of krausen on top.



Question: Given the krausen looks very healthy, should I just leave it in the primary and keep checking until the krausen falls before transferring to secondary?



Or should I transfer it to secondary anyway to get it off the trub in the bottom of the fermenter?



All thoughts welcome and appreciated! Thanks!

I'd certainly check your SG but I wait until the krausen falls and usually give it a couple of more days for the yeast to do their "cleanup".
Not to restart an old debate but as a personal preference I'm a proponent of secondary as I find I get much cleaner/clearer beer.
I also keg condition all my ales.


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[pvault98]

No secondary is my opinion. You can leave it in primary for an extra week or two after fermentation is complete if you want to clear up your beer with no issues whatsoever. The only time I secondary is when I am dryhopping and want to harvest the yeast or when I lager or add fruit.