Brewing a Citra Pale Ale, Few questions...

I'll be the first and not the only person to say go ahead and skip secondary and dry hop in the primary at the end of primary fermentation.

 

I agree with pweis909, you really don't need the secondary, just dry hop in the primary. You could dry hop in the keg (or so I have heard) but from what I have been reading about it, its done at a lower pressure (around 8 psi) instead of what one typically force carbonates at (around 20 psi).

I'm sure someone with more experience will tell you more about it.

 

There's nothing typical about 20 PSI. There are basically two ways, maybe three, to force carb...

- Set and Forget: Set the CO2 to the pressure that will carbonate the beer to the volumes you want, given the temperature. This is normally also your serving pressure. This method is foolproof. All you have to do is wait and there is no chance of over-carbonating.

- Fast Force: Set the CO2 to something higher than the set and forget pressure for some amount of time and hope to turn the pressure down just as the desired volumes of CO2 are reached. You have to guess when that will be, unless you've successfully done it before, with the same exact parameters. This method is the one that causes threads like "My beer is over-carbonated, what should I do?" or "Why is my beer all foam?"

- Combination: Set the CO2 to something higher than the set and forget pressure for some amount of time short enough that you know the desired volumes will not be reached (or surpassed). Then turn the CO2 down to the Set and Forget pressure and wait for the beer to finish carbonating. Less risky (but slower) than pure Fast Force, and faster than pure Set and Forget.

Regarding dry hopping in the keg, you can do it at any pressure, but hops serve as nucleation points, so when you go to remove a hop bag from a very carbonated beer, you can get gushing. I dry hop with just enough pressure to keep the keg sealed.

 

The larger question; why do modern-day brewing instructions provided by LHBS / o-LHBS continue to promote the obsolete old-school practice of racking to a secondary?

Is it thoroughly informed self-interest (sell more carboys) or an extension of common everyday derp?

 

Interesting. Learned something new today. My personal experience has always been Fast Force at 20 psi for 3 or 4 days and try the beer. If it's not where I want it in terms of carbonation, I have always turned it down to a lower pressure after offgassing the keg to around 10 psi and checked it daily until I reach my desired carbonation level which is when I usually turn it down to serving pressure.

 

I can think of a couple of reasons to use a secondary. The first is when making lagers/pilsners because of the longer fermentation times. The second is oaking. Oaking is often done after fermentation is complete and can add a few more weeks.

 

For the purposes of your pale ale, you have nothing to gain by transferring to a secondary and only risk oxidation. Keep it in the primary for dry hopping.

 

I can think of one more reason to secondary: souring. Other than these - bulk aging - reasons, there's not really any advantage to secondarying. Some people do it, and successfully, and more power to them, but for the majority of use homebrewers, it's not really necessary.

 

I'm not convinced it matters. I use bucket fermenters typically. Easy to clean.

 

I agree. I rarely use a secondary for ales, but make sure the beer stays on the yeast in the primary for at least 3 weeks. Even when fermentation is mostly finished, the yeast still has a lot of cleaning up to do.

 

That's pretty much how I do it.

 

If you dry hop in the keg, tie a string around your hop bag so you can retrieve it later.

 

Buckets are awesome. Don't need to worry about light as much and it's got a handle built in. I have 4 carboys that haven't been used since my last barleywine. Cleaning the glass carboys sucks too. I have a plastic bucket that I've used probably 70-80 times. I just bleach it when it gets stained, rinse really well and keep using it. No ill effects yet

 

Your method can work if you are vigilant and careful not to overcarbonate. Hopefully your serving pressure is the same as what the set and forget pressure would have been for your desired carbonation level. If not, you'll never settle out at the volumes you wanted.

 

Another interesting method I have heard recently is to get unflavored floss and use this in place of string. The floss is flat on one side so it allows for a better seal.

 

I have never done the set and forget method, I'll have to try it on the next batch. Would you just use the keg carbonation calculator to determine your pressure and then leave it? If so, how long would you leave it for? In your experience, has it taken several weeks? I'm sure its all dependent upon the beer and everyone's personal preference.

You have peaked my curiosity about this method now. My response might come off somewhat dickish but that's not what I'm intending. I'm just trying to learn, not question/doubt your methods. I'm sure I am not the only one who wants to learn more about this and your experience with it.

The intent of buying a keg (at least for me) was so I wouldn't have to wait the 8 or so weeks like I would with bottles.

 

Typically takes about 2 weeks to carbonate for me using set it and forget it. It would depend on serving temp and CO2 vols though. Probably 10-20 days in just about all cases.

My typical method is to hit it with 25 psi for an hour or two (or rock it back and forth a few times if I don't have a bag of hops in there) and then set and forget until it's fully carbed. I typically begin drinking it at the 1 week mark in this case.

 

I like the set and forget method as well, but I cant wait to drink some, so I have a few carb caps and old pop bottles. I will fill up a bottle, squeeze the bottle to push out the O2, attach the cap to the gas line and shake the bottle a lot.

takes a day or so, but keeps me happy