To secondary or not to Secondary

[steve denholm]

Hi all, just started my first brew using a northern brewery Chinook kit, all seems to have gone well with a week in the fermentor (glass 6g carboy).
the kit comes with a 5g carboy that it recommends that you use and dry hop.
I'm a little worried that moving to the secondary may be more trouble than its worth (infection oxidisation).

I'd appreciate your input if you think its worth transferring to secondary please?
I still need to dry hop for a week could this go straight into primary? if so will this also expose the beer to oxygen (CO2 cap will be removed when i add the hops).

Thanks for your advice
Steve

edit
(Nevermind this seems to get asked quite alot, i will leave it in the primary only and use the secondary carboy for another batch, thanks anyway)

 

[BeerisGOD]

Cant believe you didn't get a few answers
Can you cold crash the beer? If you want to avoid infection but want clear beer faster this is an option

 

[MarkBowie]

Personally I would dry hop once fermentation is finished in the first and rack in to second to batch prime before putting in whatever you are putting it in to serve.

Edit: invest in an auto-siphon. Reduces risk of infection and it’s easier.

 

[steve denholm]

Personally I would dry hop once fermentation is finished in the first and rack in to second to batch prime before putting in whatever you are putting it in to serve.

Edit: invest in an auto-siphon. Reduces risk of infection and it’s easier.

Thanks for the response Mark
the kit came with an auto siphon, so you'd recommend the secondary carboy for dry hopping? I was getting itchy feet and start a Whit in the other carboy ;P

 

[MarkBowie]

No I would use the first. Being as you’ve got another brew on I wouldn’t worry but i batch prime as I find it easier to control which is what I suggested you use your second for. I mix the sugar for carbonating with some hot water and siphon on to it so it mixes then bottle/barrel/etc from there.

 

[steve denholm]

No I would use the first. Being as you’ve got another brew on I wouldn’t worry but i batch prime as I find it easier to control which is what I suggested you use your second for. I mix the sugar for carbonating with some hot water and siphon on to it so it mixes then bottle/barrel/etc from there.

ahh ok, I have a bucket with tap and bottle wand for bottling; I was thinking 2 weeks in the Carboy then dryhop 1oz of Chinook leave for another week then move to the bottling bucket with Carb sugar the bucket bottle and leave the bottle for 2 weeks before moving to the fridge, does that sound about right?
(thanks again mark )

 

[MarkBowie]

ahh ok, I have a bucket with tap and bottle wand for bottling; I was thinking 2 weeks in the Carboy then dryhop 1oz of Chinook leave for another week then move to the bottling bucket with Carb sugar the bucket bottle and leave the bottle for 2 weeks before moving to the fridge, does that sound about right?
(thanks again mark )

The 2 week schedule is a good starting point, the best thing you can do is measure the gravity after the 2 week fermenting to see if low enough and that way you know if to leave it longer or not. Same with the carbonating, if you’ve got a bottle that’s gas fizzy pop in it then wash and sterilise it and then use that as your tester for carbonating. When the pop bottle is hard then it’s carbonated and ready for chilling. I would say that most kit beer does need a little bit longer once carbonated to mellow out but you don’t want to leave it too long so the hops die down.

 

[steve denholm]

The 2 week schedule is a good starting point, the best thing you can do is measure the gravity after the 2 week fermenting to see if low enough and that way you know if to leave it longer or not. Same with the carbonating, if you’ve got a bottle that’s gas fizzy pop in it then wash and sterilise it and then use that as your tester for carbonating. When the pop bottle is hard then it’s carbonated and ready for chilling. I would say that most kit beer does need a little bit longer once carbonated to mellow out but you don’t want to leave it too long so the hops die down.

That is a great tip on carbonation thanks mark you legend :)

 

[MarkBowie]

That is a great tip on carbonation thanks mark you legend :)

It’s come from the guys on here, I’m surprised no one else replied For you to be honest. Literally got everything I know from asking questions on here and reading every thread I see.

 

[GerritT]

I only rack to secondary if it's really a mess, most of the times I can't be bothered. Cold crashing in the bottling vessel is enough.

 

[dad_of_jon]

sorry, I missed this thread. MarkB had pretty much covered it all. I auto syphon and rack to a secondary with brewing sugar solution to prime for bottling. And have been using the plastic bottle trick for a few years now. - I dry hop using a nylon paint straining bag, less mess but not easy to do with a carboy. (I used plastic fv's)

 

[steve denholm]

great stuff thanks for your answers guys