2nd fermentation

[the new brew]

So is it really worth doing the 2nd fermentation process or is it a waste of time (im guessing thats going to hit a nerve) i did touch the subject in another post but didn't really go into it that much from what i know after the wort is done fermentation you transfer the wort to another fermentation barrel and leave at room temp for another 3 to 4 weeks then keg of bottle, what does this really achieve?? Does it improve taste, colour, clarity??? i'm just trying to get my head around what this does thanks everyone

 

[graysalchemy]

This is what I do. Ferment for 7-10 days then let it sit and do a diacetyl rest, this is where the yeast start to consume some of the products it produced early on. Then I rack into a secondary to get it away from the dirty FV which in my opinion is an infection risk. I then let it clear usually by dropping the temp on a cold concrete floor then after a week 10 days once it is clear I bottle.

The secondary for me is used to aid clearing it can be done in the primary FV but IMHO you risk infection I lost 2 beers because of leaving beer in dirty FV's.

:thumb:

 

[winelight]

The other opinion is that by racking into a secondary instead of leaving in the primary FV, you risk infection in the transfer. However, I don't know of any actual cases of that happening, so that could be a red herring. In my case, I leave in the primary FV partly because of laziness (all that extra sanitising and washing up), but also because I don't actually have a second FV...