Newbie Question: Secondary Fermentation??

My opinion: don't. Not unless you have a very specific reason to do it.

The yeast won't know about your (or the kit's) notional timeline. After two weeks in the fermenter, the beer will likely be ready to package, but not necessarily. Do you have a hydrometer to measure gravity? Generally speaking, the beer is done when the gravity is no longer changing and there are no off flavors. That second part sometimes takes longer than the first.

 

When I started homebrewing I followed the instructions in the kit. When I moved to all grain, I started letting the primary go for 3 weeks, then I bottled. After breaking a 6.5 gal carboy, I went back to only plastic buckets and use my hydrometer. Depending on the beer, I bottle after either 2 or 3 weeks in the primary. No secondary anymore.

 

You really need two readings, 2-3 days apart, to determine that the final gravity is stable. You can usually get away with waiting until your planned bottling day and taking one reading. If it's close to your anticipated FG (and there are no off flavors), it's probably done. But if you bottle a beer that hasn't finished fermenting, you risk gushers or even bottle bombs.

 

No need to do secondary unless as @VikeMan said you have a specific reason for doing so.

Definitely a need to take multiple readings, especially your first few times. Once you know your system and the yeast, etc, you can get away with just doing two - OG and FG.

I really like the siphonless buckets that have a spigot built in. It's easy to take readings without opening the lid, especially if you just need a a few drops for a refractometer reading.

PS - Dig the avatar. Best band of all time!

 

Usually. But there are several factors that could derail that. And of those factors that are controllable, beginners are the most likely brewers to not control them. Examples include yeast pitch rates, wort oxygenation, and fermentation temperature control.

Regarding infection... don't leave the lid off any longer than necessary and take the sample with something that has been sanitized. That's it. The risk of infection is very low. But it's your decision.

 

Put another way, you can dispense with the part of the instructions that suggest a definitive time frame of when your beer is ready to bottle. If it was me (and it once was) I'd wait 3 weeks, take a reading, and take another in three days. Just crack the lid only as much as needed to draw a sample with a wine thief or sanitized turkey baster. As mentioned the risk of infection is low, but excessively overcarbed beer in glass bottles can be dangerous.
It won't be detrimental to leave it in the fermentor for three weeks instead of two.

 

Using a secondary is an old practice that is generally not followed anymore, except for special circumstances. One of the main arguments for using a secondary was to remove the beer from the yeast in order to reduce yeasty off-flavors resulting from autolysis. It was also felt that aging in a secondary resulted in a clearer beer. However, this generally applies to very long fermentation periods, such as high gravity beers and lagers. leaving the beer on the yeast for even three weeks should have negligible effects. In fact, leaving the beer on the yeast is now considered preferable since it allows the yeast to "clean up" after itself (such as removing unwanted compounds such as diacetyl). Racking also introduces oxygen, so it is far preferable to leave the beer on the yeast for most general types of brews.

Another situation where you may wish to use a secondary is when you add a lot of hops after fermentation (dry hopping).

When taking a hydrometer reading to see if fermentation has finished, be sure to remove the lid very carefully. There will be a blanket of CO2 on the surface of the beer which should protect it if that layer is not disturbed too much.

 

It should be done yeah it's just good practice to make sure it is before you bottle or you could get geysers or bombs.

 

I'm still amazed every time someone says their instructions recommend a secondary. I feel like we have all been saying no to one for years now when this questions pops up. I'm certain I stopped using a secondary over ten years ago.

 

I believe this is likely because instructions in many, if not most beginner's kits have never been updated. They just continue to use the same old outdated instructions that were first printed in the 1990's, if not earlier.

 

re: Infection Paranoia and SG testing

I use a hydroponic syringe (150ml) with a long stainless tube fastened to it using a short piece of tubing and a hose clamp. Sanitize the syringe & tubing, remove the fermenter airlock (place in sanitized cup) and extract 100ml or so through the hole the airlock was in. It's just enough volume for my hydrometer testing tube and minimal infection risk.

Take the hydrometer reading, and as an added bonus, have a taste...

 

First time brewers, I would recommend using dry yeast. It's so easy to use, put the packet in some sanitizer that you are already using then cut it open and pour it on top of the wort. Liquid yeast has a real probability of giving you problems. Dried yeast works fantastic. Gravity should be 90% in 12 days.