Do I really need to rack in secondary fermenter?

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by sandspyders, Jan 2, 2015.

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  1. sandspyders

    sandspyders Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2010 Texas

    I have a Berliner Weiss that's been sitting in my primary for 20 days. Can I skip racking in to secondary since it's ready to keg at this point? Will it just be a little bit more cloudy or more sediment? Or should I put it in secondary for a few days and then rack to keg? I have family coming in town in a week and want them to try it.
     
    #1 sandspyders, Jan 2, 2015
  2. InVinoVeritas

    InVinoVeritas Initiate (0) Apr 16, 2012 Wisconsin

    Just go straight to keg. If you don't stir up the yeastcake and turb, you shouldn't have any hit to clarity. Additionally, even if you suck some in, worstcase you'll have a couple pours with some cloudiness. Last, don't forget about the negative potentials of a secondary transfer, oxidation and one more vessel you have to practice good sanitation.
     
    #2 InVinoVeritas, Jan 2, 2015
  3. PINOT8

    PINOT8 Initiate (0) Nov 2, 2013 Canada (ON)

    Straight to keg!
     
    #3 PINOT8, Jan 2, 2015
  4. sandspyders

    sandspyders Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2010 Texas

    Thanks for the replies! Since it's a sour, should I have designated tubing and auto siphon to rack in to keg or is it past its point of leaving its mark on plastics? Also need to know about my keg line. Will it infect other beers after I'm finished with the Berliner Weiss? Guy at homebrew shop was telling me I need "sour equipment". He said once a sour hits a plastic, it has to always be used with sours. So I bought a new auto siphon because of this. What do you guys think?
     
    #4 sandspyders, Jan 2, 2015
  5. GeoSteve

    GeoSteve Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2014 Maryland

    A new auto-siphon and tubing is a good way to go. It's a fairly inexpensive safeguard against contamination in future clean batches, since there will still be live bacteria in your Berliner. You can get away with mixing fermenters if you sanitize very thoroughly, since there aren't the harder to clean nooks and crannies in a carboy that there are in something like an auto-siphon.
     
    #5 GeoSteve, Jan 2, 2015
  6. sandspyders

    sandspyders Initiate (0) Aug 11, 2010 Texas

    How about my "sour" keg line? Will that need to be replaced after the beer is done? Curious how bars do it. Do they have designated sour lines?
     
    #6 sandspyders, Jan 2, 2015
  7. spartan1979

    spartan1979 Pundit (970) Dec 29, 2005 Missouri

    I just serve my sour beers through a designated picnic tap. I use a couple of pin locks for my sours so everything is different.
     
    #7 spartan1979, Jan 2, 2015
  8. devildogbrewing

    devildogbrewing Initiate (0) Dec 31, 2014 Michigan

    when I teach classes, I tell the aspiring brewers not to worry about secondary fermenters until they have a few brews under their belt. It is really only necessary for a few things, for instance dry hopping (still could be done in primary) and aging.
     
    #8 devildogbrewing, Jan 2, 2015
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