Secondary fermentation

[AJ_Rowley]

Hi all, just a question about secondary Fermentation.

I've been looking on the internet about this and they all say the same. I don't have a carboy but was wondering if I could use my 30l bucket for secondary fermentation?

Cheers in advance for any replies
AJ

 

[pittsy]

yes mate , that's what most of us use , :thumb: p.s i'm assuming its a fv (ie food grade plastic)

 

[Ceejay]

Yes, definitely. Thing is, do you really need another fermentation phase? For me, I'd rather leave the beer on the trub as it is more desirable than exposing the beer to the air. lots of folk simply leave the beer in the fermenter for 2 or even 3 Weeks then bottle or keg.

 

[pittsy]

btw i too don't secondary :thumb:

 

[Ceejay]

There are many that believe there is no such thing. Have to say I'm inclined to agree...

 

[fermentall]

Hi, No secondary 4 me, 2 weeks - 3 in primary then bottle. : ken.
:pray:

 

[wherespete]

Just the topic I need.

Having made the beginners mistake of putting my batch-priming straight into the primary FV before bottling, thus raising all sort of sediment from the bottom and then wondering why the bottles had so much of the stuff in them, I paid close attention to Dunfie's guide ( viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8536 ) and invested in a secondary fermentation bucket and poured my syrup into this while mixing in my beer.

And then I bottled.

So it was while I was sat on my chair (wondering where my willing assistant was! :hmm: ) that I got to thinking how long I could have kept the beer in the 2nd FV.

A later scan through Wheeler 3 (as I believe academics would refer to Brew Your Own British Real Ale 3 ), left me surprised to read that he recommends leaving beer to mature in a cask for a week or two before bottling. Does this refer to AG brews rather than kits, I thought...

So to my question: why is it frowned upon to leave beer in a 2nd FV for a week or two before bottling if BYOBRA suggests that it is bad practice to bottle straight from the primary FV?

Am I getting cask and 2nd FV confused?
Is there a difference between kit and AG brewing in regard to bottling?

Cheers!

 

[pittsy]

Hi , most people who use 2nd fv do because this will help with less sediment , they may leave it 1 day or a couple of weeks . The longer (not too long of course) the more yeast and sediment will drop out of brew . Now those that batch prime would then transfer to a 3rd fv with sugar solution then bottle straight away (or keg etc) once you have primed you should not leave it for a day or more etc . The plus side of 2nd fv is less sediment , the bad side is more chance of spoiling brew due to infection .

So most folk either ,

10/14 days in 1 fv at 20c (depending on brew) drop cold if poss for a few days then batch prime and keg/bottle
or
7 days 1st fv , transfer to 2nd fv for 7/10 days , batch prime , keg/bottle

 

[wherespete]

Hi , most people who use 2nd fv do because this will help with less sediment , they may leave it 1 day or a couple of weeks . The longer (not too long of course) the more yeast and sediment will drop out of brew . Now those that batch prime would then transfer to a 3rd fv with sugar solution then bottle straight away (or keg etc) once you have primed you should not leave it for a day or more etc . The plus side of 2nd fv is less sediment , the bad side is more chance of spoiling brew due to infection .

So most folk either ,

10/14 days in 1 fv at 20c (depending on brew) drop cold if poss for a few days then batch prime and keg/bottle
or
7 days 1st fv , transfer to 2nd fv for 7/10 days , batch prime , keg/bottle

Thanks for the reply - I'm deffo in the first group. So I won't change my methods!

:

 

[neddy]

I never used to second ferment but found most of the time that my beers were cloudy. I decided to give it ago and now i tend to 2nd ferment in another fv for a week and noticed a big difference. My beer now is clear and I would recommend 2nd fermenting. I know its more hassle with cleaning and taking an extra week but i think its worth it and then i either transfer to corny,king keg or bottle.
I dont know as regards to whether it should be in warmth or cold when 2nd fermenting but i just tend to keep it in the house and its been ok

 

[robsan77]

Secondary is useful for dry hopping. Less yeast to drag hop flavour out.