Why do people use a secondary?

[michael.berta]

OK. Unless I am making a fruit beer, sour beer, or something that requires EXTENDED aging I don't secondary.

I ferment in a primary until fermentation is DONE. Then I let it sit for a week or so for the yeast to reabsorb acetaldehyde, diacetyl, etc. Then I crash cool for week and keg. I carbonate the beers slowly in kegs and start drinking after a week or two in kegs.

I don't secondary with lagers. I lager in the keg. I don't secondary when dry hopping. I dry hop with pellets when fermentation is about 80% done. I like a little bit of activity to scrub oxygen away from the hops.

"But transferring beer into a secondary fermenter results in a clearer beer."

Why? What is the logic behind this? Do people actually think that yeasts look down and decide that settling out is a bad idea if there is other yeasts that have settled already? Do people think that yeasts actually prefer to settle in one fermenter over another? Nonsense.

"But keeping the beer in the primary too long will result in autolysis."

Well it depends on how long too long is. If you pitch the right amount of clean healthy yeast and have good sanitation this won't be an issue for 99% of home brewed beers.

-Using a secondary fermenter involves transfering the beer one more time. Which takes up time, cleaner & sanitizer. There is a risk greater than zero of oxidation & infection.

-Some amount of conditioning is actually better in the primary fermenter because yeast is needed to reabsorb acetaldehyde and diacetyl. So I fail to understand why it is better for the beer.

:rockin:

 

[z987k]

they like more work or can't help but use really old advice.

I lager in kegs. They work great as clearing tanks and it frees up fermenters. Plus corny's are a lot cheaper than carboys.... and buckets.

 

[Pappers_]

Hi. If you look around, you will find many threads on this topic. Also, if you are interested in being "right" or winning an argument about this, I'd suggest that it's a fruitless exercise - lots of room for brewers to use multiple techniques.

 

[janzik]

Like Z said, I think it's people listening to old advice to some extent. I still secondary, but I also have been getting into harvesting my yeast, so I want to go grab it after 10-14 days and do my washing process. Will that yeast that I want to harvest be viable after 30+ days? I'm not sure...

 

[Edcculus]

Its also somewhat of a holdout from cask conditioned ales. Normally, you would rack to a secondary cask before fermentation is finished. Then you would seal up the secondary, so the left over fermenation would carbonate the beer. Today, we just use priming sugar.

 

[KayaBrew]

I'm on board with this idea. I think most brewers who secondary do so because that's the "old school" train of thought. All the books say to use a glass carboy. Palmer's book, Papazian's book, Miller's book, et. al. I always back away from arguments with two of my brewer friends who still INSIST on using a secondary, and ridicule me for not using one. I used a carboy on my first three brews until reading multiple posts on HBT suggesting that it was not nessescary. I've brewed at least a hundred gallons since then, and I've never looked back.

 

[bernerbrau]

I have fermenters with lots of headspace, and fermenters with little. When I want to start a new batch, I rack my fermented beer from the larger carboy/BB to the smaller bucket/carboy. Purely a matter of convenience for me. It also serves as a logical time to add a dry hop/fining agents/whatever.

 

[claphamsa]

I secondary mostly for lack of anywhere else to put it! I ONLY have 17 kegs! and you dont want to leave it on the yeast toooo long.

 

[bernerbrau]

I secondary mostly for lack of anywhere else to put it! I ONLY have 17 kegs! and you dont want to leave it on the yeast toooo long.

Yeah, after 8 months those yeast might start to autolyse...

 

[conpewter]

I tend to secondary when adding oak, or vanilla beans (though beans can go in the keg as well). I've also used a secondary when I wanted to add cocoa powder and lactose. I tend to secondary in kegs though. For brews that I want to age I'll sometimes put them in a 5 gal carboy. It all depends on what you want to do with that particular brew.

 

[flyangler18]

I've written on this a few times in the past; I rack to a secondary vessel for long-term aging (sours, big beers) only. I've never made a lager, so I can't offer any insight in that particular area.

 

[Scooby_Brew]

You can go both ways. I personally use a primary for about 3 weeks and then rack into kegs. But, with a bigger beer you can use a secondary, I guess. It's probably easier to keep your beer less cloudy if you use a secondary, maybe that's why they recommend it for a rookie brewer.

 

[Tonedef131]

Somebody listened to the Brewstrong on fermenters

I secondary for sour ales only. The reason I do this is because they are continuing to ferment and creating pressure but at such a slow rate that I see no reason to leave them on all the other yeast...and I want my primary back. For anything and everything else they go in kegs. Kegs are a much better aging vessel, they are easier to flush with CO2 and are totally sealed and sanitary with no oxygen permeability. Whenever I tell people that they should just put their barleywine or whatever in a keg and leave it for a year they get all confused like it is only supposed to be used as a serving vessel. And if after all that time you want to get it off what had dropped out, it's even easier than racking out of a carboy. Hook up a jumper and push it with CO2, it's a totally sealed system.

 

[MikeG]

I only use a primary. I brewed an IPA that I plan on letting it sit for 6-7 weeks as I'll be gone on vac and want to let it age (plus I have no where to put it). I thought about moving it to secondary just in case it sits for up to 8+ weeks but still not sure. Something to think about.

 

[Tonedef131]

I only use a primary. I brewed an IPA that I plan on letting it sit for 6-7 weeks as I'll be gone on vac and want to let it age (plus I have no where to put it). I thought about moving it to secondary just in case it sits for up to 8+ weeks but still not sure. Something to think about.

Put it in a keg.

 

[homebrewer_99]

There are lots of variables, but I can see where you're coming from.

Still, I secondary ALL my beers which results in less sediment in the keg and/or bottle.

If I kegged my beer and put them in the keezer AND tapped them from there (without moving them) the sediment won't be roused.

Unfortunately, or furtunately, I have 25 kegs. Not all of them can be in the kegerator or keezer at the same time. Since they can't fit all at once I must move/haul them where they will become cold then tapped. Moving rouses the sediment. It's as simple as that.

Since I do secondaries I have less sediment going into the kegs and can move them (when necessary) whenever I want without having to worry about much sediment.

Since you and others don't secondary you have more sediment in your kegs than I do. If you were to move a keg from the garage to where the keg is tapped would be cloudy for a couple of days.

That's the point I'm making.

Also, I wholeheartedly agree that the cleaner the brew going into the bottle/keg the less sediment on the bottom.

 

[Tonedef131]

Since you and others don't secondary you have more sediment in your kegs than I do.

This is completely false. If you left it in the primary for the same amount of time as your primary and secondary combined the same amount of sediment would have dropped out.

 

[HSM]

Pretty good argument to use a conical. You can dump the trub and it's now a secondary. Much easier to grab yeast to wash... and transfering to a keg is much easier than a bucket or carboy.

If they were cheaper I guess I would have a few more.

 

[janzik]

This is completely false. If you left it in the primary for the same amount of time as your primary and secondary combined the same amount of sediment would have dropped out.

I think it's a matter of waiting after movement.

If I had a primary that has 10 blobs of sediment in it and move it to a secondary, I now have < 1 blob of sediment in there. When I go to bottle (or keg), I pick up my carboy, put it on the counter. If I don't secondary, I now have to wait for all those 10 blobs of sediment to settle. You can argue that I would have to wait for the < 1 blob to settle down anyway, but it would definitely be less of a wait with < 1 blob vs 10 blobs...

 

[rsmith179]

There will never be a clear-cut yes or no answer to this question. People use secondaries for all sorts of different reasons. Personally, I have stopped using a secondary for most of my brews. There are some instances where I do still use a secondary though. All fruit beers go into a secondary for me. Also, when I'm trying to get a very "clear beer" I'm using a secondary as well. Not because the yeast will drop out quicker by simply being transferred, but because I'm using fining agents that I'd prefer to use in a secondary compared with adding directly to the primary. All in all though, I'm usually going straight from the primary to the keg.

 

[homebrewer_99]

This is completely false. If you left it in the primary for the same amount of time as your primary and secondary combined the same amount of sediment would have dropped out.

Time wise I can understand where you're coming from, but I seriously think my brews benefit from a secondary.

I tried a primary only brew ONCE...never again. I was not pleased with the results. Every time I moved the keg (the basement to the garage floor, the garage floor to the keezer, moving the keezer to the basement and placing it in the kegerator) the brew got full of sediment...EVERY move roused the sediment.

From an earlier statement I said if I didn't move the keg at all then I could see not doing a secondary, but that's not my process. I can't keep 20+ full kegs cold all at the same time.

 

[Tonedef131]

I tried a primary only brew ONCE...never again. I was not pleased with the results.

Did you pull a bunch of sediment when racking or something? I cold crash all my primaries and the beer is perfectly clear into the keg from frist drop to last. I have used secondaries and the amount of sediment in the keg is exactly the same as when I don't.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Did you pull a bunch of sediment when racking or something? I cold crash all my primaries and the beer is perfectly clear into the keg from frist drop to last. I have used secondaries and the amount of sediment in the keg is exactly the same as when I don't.

Not really sure, but something in the process got buggered...probably racked too soon...

Only thing I know for sure is...I have my process and I'm sticking to it...

 

[rsmith179]

I guess another really good reason to secondary would be if you're making a "big brew". For example, you have a nice expensive batch of barley wine that you just brewed up. Yeah, you'll be leaving it in the primary for a while, but that batch could take a few months to be ready for bottling. Besides having to worry about the yeast dying in the primary, you'll also have to worry about slight oxidation from the plastic bucket. Just like making wine, you'll want to do bulk aging in a glass secondary if possible to cut down on the amount of oxidation that may occur in a plastic primary.

 

[Buffman]

I've stopped using a secondary except for long-term aging or to dry hop (or just to free up my single primary for the next batch). I know many dry hop right in the primary, but I prefer to add the hops to the secondary and let them slowly mix with and soak up the beer as I fill.

 

[RC0032]

For all of the "I don't secondary crowd" how do you dry hop?

I have been using a mesh bag and still endup clogging my Keg every time

 

[zman]

I only have 2 (6gal) and 1 (5gal) carboy so I need to secondary if I run out of carboy space. I also do it if I am washing yeast. I also will do it if I am using Isinglass or another clarifying agent. I am not sure if there are any ill effects of adding a clarifying agent to the primary but I think leaving the trub behind is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[flyangler18]

For all of the "I don't secondary crowd" how do you dry hop?

I have been using a mesh bag and still endup clogging my Keg every time

I'll dry-hop in primary, particularly if I am using the ubiquitous plastic bucket.

 

[winstonofbeer]

I do the secondary for a couple of reasons.
One the primary sits for a week...
After that week i would like to wash the yeast.... Ready for next brew day then
So it gets secondary there.

Anouther reason.
I like my beer, I drink 5 gal + a week. Useing a secondary is the only way for me to hold myself back from drinking it after a week.
So yes, primary for 1 week secondary for 1 week "unless i run out of beer" and its serving time


If you say, Let it age...It will be better...Yes but i have 3 carboys 2 cornys. Not much room to hold a lot of inventory per say... Only solution...Quit drinking so much

ya right!!!

 

[homebrewer_99]

I only have 2 (6gal) and 1 (5gal) carboy so I need to secondary if I run out of carboy space...

I have over 20 kegs and 20 carboys and still do secondaries. I have 7 batches going right now.