What would you do?

[marksa222]

Hi, I've asked this question in a thread about my first ag brewday, but not had a reply yet, so I thought I'd put it somewhere more prominant.

I brewed a beer (meant to be an APA but had to substitute all hops and grains so not sure what it will end up as, if it helps, OG was 1.053 and should be around 36 ibu's) and it has been in primary since Sunday. I originally planned on using a secondary, but if I do, i'll only have around 18L to transfer, into a second FV that could take 25L or so to the rim. I've read somewhere that too much head space is a bad idea. Also, my primary is also my bottling bucket, so if I didn't use a secondary, I wouldn't really be able to batch prime.

My question is, if you were me, would you rack to secondary now (or soon) before fermentation has finished, meaning it will create more co2 to fill the headspace. Would you wait until fermentation had finished and transfer if you don't think too much headspace is a problem, or would you not bother and just leave it in primary for a few weeks more and individual prime the bottles. I'd appreciate any feed back. Using a secondary seems to split opinion quite alot from everything that I've read (forums, john palmer books etc...)

Thanks

 

[pittsy]

Hi , you should transfer around 1020 gravity so do it then and leave another week .

 

[RobWalker]

transfer it on bottling day? seems easiest to me unless you really need the FV space.

otherwise your idea sounds quite solid. I left my last beer @ 19L in the primary for over 2 weeks and had no problems with oxidizing, so can't see why you would either. worst case scenario just add 50g sugar in or something to ferment again and push the oxygen out - think of the pressure that 100g sugar in a keg gives off!

 

[bobsbeer]

I quite often leave mine in the primary for the whole fermentation and it has been fine. Especially if I dry hop I do this to give the hops maximum steeping time. But there are others who swear by other methods, such as moving off the major lees as soon as possible. The main thing is to rack before you bottle to reduce the sediment getting into your bottles.

 

[marksa222]

transfer it on bottling day? seems easiest to me unless you really need the FV space.

otherwise your idea sounds quite solid. I left my last beer @ 19L in the primary for over 2 weeks and had no problems with oxidizing, so can't see why you would either. worst case scenario just add 50g sugar in or something to ferment again and push the oxygen out - think of the pressure that 100g sugar in a keg gives off!

Hi Rob, my concern isn't oxidising in the primary, it's oxidising in secondary. The FV I would use for secondary doesn't have a tap, so if I transferred on bottling day, I would have to move it to the 2nd FV, then clean the 1st, and move it back in there to bottle.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

I leave mine under airlock in the fernenter for up to 3 weeks...

BB

 

[marksa222]

Thanks for the responses. It's showing half would leave in primary, half would transfer to secondary after fermentation has completed.

Are any benefits of transferring to a secondary not possible by leaving longer in primary/bottles, other than less sediment in bottles?

 

[NickW]

I would suggest sediment in bottles would be negligible if you didn't use secondary. Ive never done it and I've had crystal clear beer.

Also, one of the main reasons people do it is autilosis (sp? ). This is extremely rare in homebrewing quantities.

I'd just leave in the primary for 3 weeks +. And chill down for the last couple of days if possible.

 

[marksa222]

Most votes are for moving to secondary after fermentation has finished, but no comments. Would anyone like to share their thoughts on why they would use a secondary?

 

[Pinchy]

Most votes are for moving to secondary after fermentation has finished, but no comments. Would anyone like to share their thoughts on why they would use a secondary?

I was just always under the impression that this is the best method for getting a clearer beer with less sediment.
Shouldn't dry hopping be done this way once fermentation is complete?

 

[Fil]

if not feeling lazy i will transfer to a 2ndary fv to aid clarity prior to kegging and pressure conditioning.. tho not always, but when i dont i wish i had