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secondary fermentation question
Posted on 11/20/12 at 7:16 am
Posted on 11/20/12 at 7:16 am
I have only brewed boxed beers so single fermentation then to bottle then to mouth.
I have a oatmeal stout fermenting now. Making tons of bubbles. I have a secondary fermentator and would like to try some 2nd with it. Add a flavor or just leave it alone?
? is what can I do to add some flavor to it? and do you add yeast on a 2nd ferm or just transfer the clean brew?
Sorry for my ingonrance and poor wording. Rsally new at this beer brewing thing.
Thanks in Advance.
I have a oatmeal stout fermenting now. Making tons of bubbles. I have a secondary fermentator and would like to try some 2nd with it. Add a flavor or just leave it alone?
? is what can I do to add some flavor to it? and do you add yeast on a 2nd ferm or just transfer the clean brew?
Sorry for my ingonrance and poor wording. Rsally new at this beer brewing thing.
Thanks in Advance.
3
Posted on 11/20/12 at 7:28 am to McKinneyttu97
quote:
? is what can I do to add some flavor to it?
What are you thinking? You can add different things if you want to, cold steeped coffee, vanilla. Typically hops, but not for an oatmeal stout.
quote:
and do you add yeast on a 2nd ferm or just transfer the clean brew?
I would think you should only add yeast if you have a really high gravity beer and need to finish out the fermentation with a strain that can bring it to the right gravity. Very doubtful that's the case here, so you can just transfer the clean brew and try to leave the most of the trub behind.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 7:33 am to LSUBoo
quote:
? is what can I do to add some flavor to it?
Correct,
Most of the time when homebrewers talk about racking to secondary they really just treating it like a bright tank or as an opportunity to dry hop/add some other kind of flavor.
No real fermentation going on.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 8:07 am to s14suspense
so is it really necessary? Vanilla or smoked chips would be a nice additive. I just siphon it over to the 2nd tank and let sit for a week or so then bottle?
Posted on 11/20/12 at 8:08 am to McKinneyttu97
quote:
so is it really necessary?
No, but it does help eliminate the chance of yeasty off flavors and clear up the beer.
quote:
I just siphon it over to the 2nd tank and let sit for a week or so then bottle?
Yes, but sanitize everything first! Can't risk it getting infected with bacteria.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 8:12 am to LSUBoo
good news thanks for the help
BUG thanks for that info. I was probably gonna pull it too soon. So I will let it sit a few more weeks and then move over. Thanks for all the help guys. I trying to make a run at this homebrew thing. I went all out with a 3 tap co2 system, but will take it slow with the bottles for now. baby steps!
BUG thanks for that info. I was probably gonna pull it too soon. So I will let it sit a few more weeks and then move over. Thanks for all the help guys. I trying to make a run at this homebrew thing. I went all out with a 3 tap co2 system, but will take it slow with the bottles for now. baby steps!
This post was edited on 11/20/12 at 8:19 am
Posted on 11/20/12 at 8:16 am to McKinneyttu97
quote:
McKinneyttu97
I secondary ferment all of my beers nowadays. Is it necessary? No, but it will produce a better product in the end, IMO. Secondary'ing allows for your beer to cleanup a bit, and get rid of any yeast taste. The secondary fermentation's purpose is not to ferment, but really to either flavor a beer and/or clean up a beer.
If you want to add flavor, like a vanilla bean or some cold steeped coffee, make sure your secondary fermenter is clean and sanitized, and make sure your transfer equipment (siphon) is clean too. Then add your flavor profile (vanilla, coffee, etc) to the fermenter and rack on your beer on top. I typically secondary ferment for a week, then drop the temperature about 10 degrees, and let it sit another week or so. But only add your brew to the secondary once primary fermentation is completely finished.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 8:23 am to BugAC
again thanks for the help.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 8:25 am to McKinneyttu97
I racked the first two beers I made, for different reasons. The first was a brown ale I made before discovering the blow-off tube, and we had a bit of an issue with hops and krausen on the ceiling, so I racked it to help clean it up. The second batch was a wheat beer that I racked onto blueberries and left on them for 2 or 3 weeks. Did not rack my latest batch, a stout
I'd only rack a stout if you want to add flavor. I don't think there is any reason to try to clear it up.
oak, bourbon, vanilla, coffee, chocolate or cocoa nibs, raspberry, cherry, etc.
no, just the beer and try to leave as much of the trub in the primary as possible
fun, ain't it!
quote:
I have a oatmeal stout fermenting now. Making tons of bubbles. I have a secondary fermentator and would like to try some 2nd with it. Add a flavor or just leave it alone?
I'd only rack a stout if you want to add flavor. I don't think there is any reason to try to clear it up.
quote:
is what can I do to add some flavor to it?
oak, bourbon, vanilla, coffee, chocolate or cocoa nibs, raspberry, cherry, etc.
quote:
and do you add yeast on a 2nd ferm or just transfer the clean brew?
no, just the beer and try to leave as much of the trub in the primary as possible
quote:
Sorry for my ingonrance and poor wording. Rsally new at this beer brewing thing.
fun, ain't it!
Posted on 11/20/12 at 8:32 am to LoneStarTiger
quote:
quote:
I have a oatmeal stout fermenting now. Making tons of bubbles. I have a secondary fermentator and would like to try some 2nd with it. Add a flavor or just leave it alone?
I'd only rack a stout if you want to add flavor. I don't think there is any reason to try to clear it up.
There is some advantage to getting the beer off the dead yeast.
I think it would be interesting to take a 10-gallon batch, split it into two 5-gallon primaries and then rack one and not the other just to see how they differ in the end.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 8:38 am to LSUBoo
quote:
There is some advantage to getting the beer off the dead yeast.
I think that depends on how long you are going before you bottle it. I doubt many people would notice if it's bottle as soon as fermentation is finished
quote:
I think it would be interesting to take a 10-gallon batch, split it into two 5-gallon primaries and then rack one and not the other just to see how they differ in the end.
agreed
Posted on 11/20/12 at 8:40 am to LoneStarTiger
quote:
we had a bit of an issue with hops and krausen on the ceiling
Welcome to the club. My old apartment had some nice stains on the ceiling from an Arrogant Bastard clone I pitched on a yeast cake before I knew what I was really doing.
As to the OP, you'll get a mix of answers on secondaries. I'm from the school where they're only necessary if you're aging for longer than a couple months or if you want to add fruit or something like that. Otherwise I leave them in the primary for anywhere from a week to two months and go straight to the keg. I've tried secondarying regular beers and I didn't see the benefit, but that's just me.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 9:26 am to BottomlandBrew
man you guys are good. I have some really good ideas now. Thanks and always its good to talk beer!
Posted on 11/20/12 at 10:20 am to BottomlandBrew
quote:
As to the OP, you'll get a mix of answers on secondaries. I'm from the school where they're only necessary if you're aging for longer than a couple months or if you want to add fruit or something like that. Otherwise I leave them in the primary for anywhere from a week to two months and go straight to the keg. I've tried secondarying regular beers and I didn't see the benefit, but that's just me.
I completely agree with this. Unless you are adding stuff to the beer, I see absolutely no reason to secondary it. Too much can go wrong when you transfer a beer. If you want to clear it up, cold crash it in the primary. Dry hop in the primary. Ageing a beer for months or adding fruit are pretty much the only reasons I would transfer to a secondary. If you were bottling you wouldn't want to really cold crash or secondary for too long since you need yeast to carbonate in the bottle.
Posted on 11/20/12 at 10:30 am to BottomlandBrew
quote:
As to the OP, you'll get a mix of answers on secondaries. I'm from the school where they're only necessary if you're aging for longer than a couple months or if you want to add fruit or something like that. Otherwise I leave them in the primary for anywhere from a week to two months and go straight to the keg. I've tried secondarying regular beers and I didn't see the benefit, but that's just me.
Ditto, but I dry hop a lot so I tend to secondary.
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