Do I have to secondary for infusions?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by DimensionX, Jul 24, 2013.

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  1. DimensionX

    DimensionX Initiate (0) Oct 1, 2010 Oregon

    So I've had a Belgian Dark Strong Ale in primary for the last 3 weeks and things are looking good. I added 6oz of dark chocolate infused with red chilis to the end of the boil.
    2 of these to be exact
    [​IMG]
    The chocolate is coming through nicely and there is a mellow hint of spice at the back end but like any bad home brewer I would like to kick things up a notch by adding some more chilis and more chocolate. This beer will eventually become Christmas presents for friends and family so a few months in the bottle is next for this guy.

    I was planning to switch to secondary and do these additions but do I really need to? can I just add these (cocao nibs and cooked red chilis) straight to the primary? I'm thinking 7 days on the chocolate and 3-4 for the chilis.

    Cheers!
     
    #1 DimensionX, Jul 24, 2013
  2. premierpro

    premierpro Savant (1,060) Mar 21, 2009 Michigan

    I do not see any reason that you could not do this. I do not let any beer sit on the yeast over 5 weeks. Normaly 3 weeks. Good luck.
     
    #2 premierpro, Jul 24, 2013
  3. mattbk

    mattbk Savant (1,111) Dec 12, 2011 New York

    you dont need to add these additions to a secondary fermenter. but, you would preserve more flavor if you added them to your primary after the primary fermentation period was over versus adding them in the boil. a lot of flavors get scrubbed away by the CO2 released during primary fermentation.
     
    #3 mattbk, Jul 24, 2013
  4. DimensionX

    DimensionX Initiate (0) Oct 1, 2010 Oregon

    Cool, I'm basically just trying to get out of racking. 4 weeks in primary then straight to bottles. I was thinking that by adding my flavor infusions to the boil and fermentation that they would be better integrated into the beer and stick around longer.
     
    #4 DimensionX, Jul 24, 2013
  5. JohnSnowNW

    JohnSnowNW Initiate (0) Feb 6, 2013 Minnesota

    IMHO there are only two circumstances in which a secondary should be used:

    1. Clearing
    2. Long-term aging

    Otherwise, try to avoid it if possible. You only open yourself up for infection or oxidation.
     
    #5 JohnSnowNW, Jul 24, 2013
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  6. clearbrew

    clearbrew Initiate (0) Nov 3, 2009 Louisiana

    This may be where some of the "need for secondary" comes from.
    Personally, I would only move to a secondary if you are adding something highly fermentable after primary fermentation is done. In your case I don't think it would be necessary.
    http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter10-3.html
     
    #6 clearbrew, Jul 24, 2013
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