Why second fermentation

[DangerDad]

I'm brewing a brown ale with a 3 week fermentation and 2 week conditioning I am very new and have read quite a bit but I don't understand why I have to transfer after a week. BTW all grain with hme

 

[homebrewdad]

You don't have to transfer at all if you don't want to. I think that a lot of recipe kits push transferring so that stores can sell more carboys.

Most will agree that you only have to transfer if racking onto fruit, wood chips, etc, or for bulk aging... and even then, you may not HAVE to transfer.

That being said, I secondary all of my beers, as I get less trub inmy bottling bucket that way. However, I never transfer earlier than 3-4 weeks. Let fermentation finish, let the beer clean up, before you do anything to it.

 

[sirmeowsalot]

It's recommended because by transferring to a secondary you're suppose to end with a clearer end product leaving the big yeast cake behind and then having it settle some more.

I've never found it necessary and have never been disappointed with the clarity of my beers. Unless I'm adding fruit, hops, spices, etc into the beer then I wont bother with a secondary. In fact mainly for fruit, or if I'm adding extra sugars and

I don't want the yeast starting back up. It's an extra step to worry about sanitation, aeration at this point, contamination.

 

[b-boy]

I only transfer to seconadary when I add fruit. I even dry hop in primary. I've never had any problems.

 

[Brewnoob1]

I have about 25 brews under my belt so still consider myself new....however I've never done a secondary. It's not needed for most brews. I will be using a secondary for the first time on my next brew simply because I'll be adding fruit. But unless you're adding anything like fruit or oak chips for flavoring, I don't think it's really needed for most things.

 

[dstranger99]

I just leave mine in primary for 1 month, then rack on bottling day.

 

[Clonefan94]

I only use secondary for, as others have stated, dry hopping, fruit, or if I don't have an open keg and need a fermentor. The only thing I will note though, is that I have gotten considerably clearer beer on the first pull from the tap when I secondary then keg, as opposed to primary to keg. Still though, it's not enough of a difference to make me always secondary. If I let it sit for at least 3 weeks, before transferring to a keg, even the first couple of pulls really aren't cloudy enough that I wouldn't drink them, it's more of an esthetics issue.

 

[Varmintman]

I secondary pretty much everytime but only because I harvest the yeast cake and figure the sooner I can get it into the fridge and put the yeast to sleep the better.

 

[klindeman]

I like doing a secondary, as others have said, because it helps clear up the beer. My first batch after only primary had an almost grainy taste to it, but all my other brews doing a secondary we're fine.

This also makes it so I can free up my primary and ferment another batch while I'm still doing secondary.

 

[DangerDad]

Perfect I'm using no additions so I'm not going to transfer this one I also have clarifier tabs so now it's just about drinking it I guess

 

[HawaiianBrew]

I also use a secondary to make sure I don't pick up any off favors from the suspended waste on the bottom. Also doing the transfer will help to polish up the brew before you bottle condition. I leave the brew in the primary for the first 12 to 14 days, move to a secondary and I leave that for another 10 to 14 days depending on the brew, than the final transfer to the bottle. The brew has a lot of time to mature and clarifie once in the bottle. Just a though of course. Different brewing technics for all.

 

[techbrewie]

Secondary will give you a clearer product and you'll get far less sediment in your bottles if you do it. You can get a good product without it but you will have a better product if you use a secondary. Everything conditions better in bulk. I ALWAYS let fermentation finish in the primary though. There is no point in racking to secondary before then. Now that I have a keezer I've gotten in to the habit of cold crashing my carboy a few days before kegging (always after my beer has been sufficiently conditioned) as well and my beer has never been clearer.

 

[DangerDad]

Perfect I'm using no additions so I'm not going to transfer this one I also have clarifier tabs so now it's just about drinking it I guess

To rack or not to rack... Hahaha I am doing hop additions (re read my ingredient list) and I like clear beer so I guess I will do the secondary fermentation, might as well follow directions till I know more. Thanks all btw any brew clubs in Orange County CA how do I find them

 

[RM-MN]

To rack or not to rack... Hahaha I am doing hop additions (re read my ingredient list) and I like clear beer so I guess I will do the secondary fermentation, might as well follow directions till I know more. Thanks all btw any brew clubs in Orange County CA how do I find them

I dry hop in the primary and I get clear beer. I just leave the beer in the primary for 2 weeks, dry hop for one and then bottle. A couple weeks later my beers are usually clear.

 

[techbrewie]

I dry hop in the primary and I get clear beer. I just leave the beer in the primary for 2 weeks, dry hop for one and then bottle. A couple weeks later my beers are usually clear.

While you can do this it doesn't necessarily mean your beer will be done sooner. Once fermentation finishes fermentation the alcohol flavor is harsh. Beer needs time to reach peak flavor. Some styles more than others but there is no way around it. Might as well dry hop after primary because beer conditions better in bulk anyways.

 

[jethro55]

Am finding the 3 week primary to be key in producing a better taste sooner - depends on the beer I guess. But I find that a 3 week primary tastes decent after a two week secondary and then two more weeks in the bottle. So the total time is still 7 weeks nominal. Not important to secondary for taste according to many accounts here. But for me, age is critical; taking 6-8 weeks from yeast pitching to some really awesome beer.

 

[techbrewie]

I suppose it completely depends on the style of beer brewed. but regardless letting beer sit on fermentation byproduct for too long at room temp will eventually seep off flavors in to your beer. this wont happen within 3 weeks time, but i wouldnt primary for much longer unless the style specifically calls for it.

The best resource that lays it out without bias I've found is HBT's own wiki.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/wiki/index.php/Conditioning_the_Beer

Also whether you notice the difference in flavor can depend on other varying factors including but not limited to serving temp, carb level, beer complextiy, avb %, etc.

All I am saying is that chemically beer changes during conditioning and I have to meet someone who says it's for the worse (unless you let it sit too long, which is a long time). If you can't tell the difference then it doesn't matter one way or the other Find a process you like and stick with it. Repetition and consistency is the only hard guideline to great beer.