Question about secondary

Don't do anything yet. It's too soon. Then follow the advice that is sure to follow.

 

There is no genuine need to perform a secondary with ales unless you plan to do extended aging of a beer (where extended aging means months). There is no need to conduct a secondary if you dry hop; you can just add the dry hops to the primary once fermentation is complete. As regards the alleged aspect of clarifying a beer, time and gravity will clear a beer in a primary just as well as within a secondary.

When you transfer to a secondary there is a risk (albeit a small risk) of oxidation happening during the transfer. Oxidation is bad for beer stability.

Specific to your Kolsch; there is no absolute need to conduct a secondary.

Cheers!

 

To tack onto what Jack said, Specific to your Kolsch, depending on your yeast you may need to cold crash (I hate using that term here since, lagering is more correct) for a week or so to really drop as much of that yeast out of suspension as you can for a nice bright beer. If you don't have the means to do that, don't be afraid to try gelatin.

 

Just wanted to echo what has been said and bring up the question of racking too early. I have heard rumblings of yest continuing to condition beer after fermentation is done. Is there a website or a book that goes over this process and it's cycle in conjunction with fermentation? Palmer's book touches on it, and most of the big wig homebrewers seem to agree that it happens, but I can't find anything more in depth it seems. Out of sheer paranoia I leave my beer in primary a week or even two after fermentation has quit to allow the yeast to munch up any biproducts left behind before either racking to secondary for dryhopping or cold crashing and bottling. I hope this made sense to someone besides myself...

 

Comments of two topics:

Sergeantstogie made mention of cold crashing. It is indeed true that Wyeast 2565 (Kolsch yeast strain) is a bit ‘stubborn’ in that it does not readily flocculate (drop out). It is also indeed true that cold crashing ‘encourages’ the yeast to drop out. I have brewed a number of Kolsch beers using 2565 (I have one in a primary right now). My ‘strategy’ in using this yeast strain is patience. I will let my Kolsch remain in the primary for a couple of weeks. I will then bottle the beer and permit it to bottle condition for two weeks. I will then simply wait a month or so post the bottle conditioning phase and then start drinking these beers. Time and gravity will ‘encourage’ the yeast to drop out and the beers will be very tasty then. For those who don’t want to follow the patience strategy then cold crashing and/or fining with Gelatin are options to ‘speed up’ the clarification process.

SFACRKnight is seeking more documentation on the beer conditioning process. IMHO, what John Palmer writes about this in his on-line book provides all the information genuinely needed:

“The conditioning process is a function of the yeast. The vigorous, primary stage is over, the majority of the wort sugars have been converted to alcohol, and a lot of the yeast are going dormant; but there is still yeast activity. During the earlier phases, many different compounds were produced by the yeast in addition to ethanol and CO2, e.g., acetaldehyde, esters, amino acids, ketones- diacetyl, pentanedione, dimethyl sulfide, etc. Once the easy food is gone, the yeast start re-processing these by-products. Diacetyl and pentanedione are two ketones that have buttery and honey-like flavors. These compounds are considered flaws when present in large amounts and can cause flavor stability problems during storage. Acetaldehyde is an aldehyde that has a pronounced green apple smell and taste. It is an intermediate compound in the production of ethanol. The yeast reduce these compounds during the later stages of fermentation.

The yeast also produce an array of fusel alcohols during primary fermentation in addition to ethanol. Fusels are higher molecular weight alcohols that often give harsh solvent-like tastes to beer. During secondary fermentation, the yeast convert these alcohols to more pleasant tasting fruity esters. Warmer temperatures encourage ester production.”

So, the bottom line is that yeast continues to ‘clean up’ after itself after primary fermentation is complete (where completion of primary fermentation is that final gravity is reached). I am of the opinion that conditioning can occur as bulk conditioning (e.g., additional time in the primary) or it can occur within the bottle as part of the overall bottle condition process. In other words: conditioning is conditioning regardless of the vessel the beer is in. The only critical thing is that the vessel be maintained at the proper temperature (e.g., 60’s F for ale yeasts) to enable the yeast cells to do their thing.

Cheers!

 

Great post Jack. Can someone remind me why we don't have stickies here?

 

The Palmer post that Jack had summed it up. From a yeast standpoint the secondary fermentation happens when the yeast run out of sugars and switch to the VDK's, acetaldehyde and such as an energy source. That can happen in the primary or secondary fermenter.

In the old days the yeast were not of good viability, so they would breakdown quickly. The other reason is that much of the homebrewing procedure was sourced from the big lager brewers, and they do move the beer to a secondary for long lagering. Yeast will break down quickly at the higher heat and pressure in a huge conical.

 

Leave it alone for another 3 weeks and rack into a bottling bucket. Prime using an online calculator.

Your Kolsch will do magical things if you can cold condition it after bottling. It really takes shape after about 2 months after you brew it. Try to throw a case or a 6er in the back of the fridge and forgetaboutit.

 

Jack, that's the info I was referring to from Palmer's book. That's a great summation of a very complex process that I am wanting to learn more about. I am looking for a more in depth explanation of the biproducts created, when they break down after fermentation etc etc. I know Chad from crooked stave has a lot of time and effort invested in the study of this point of fermentation, just wondering if there is anything else in publication. Hell, does anyone have a copy of chads paper?

 

If you ever took organic chemistry you might be interested in this paper entitled: “The chemistry of beer aging – a critical review”. The article is a study of the chemistry of beer aging over time but some of the chemistry aspects relate to the beer conditioning phase.

http://nfscfaculty.tamu.edu/talcott/Food Chem 605/Spring 2011 Class/2011 Papers and Class Presentations/Review-Beer Ageing.pdf

Cheers!

 

Bookmarked. Thank you! Like so many homebrewers I started brewing with the idea that it was the combination of malts and hops that really made the beer, but as I have brewed more and more I have quickly found out that it is the yeast and act of fermentation that should be getting the most attention. Up until a week aago I was wanting to go all grain as my next step in homebrewing, but I feel that my next step should be dialing in my fermentation through temp control first.

 

As a wise man once said: brewers make wort, yeast makes beer!

“I was wanting to go all grain as my next step in homebrewing, but I feel that my next step should be dialing in my fermentation through temp control first.” Wise choice!!

I recently co-brewed a gluten free beer with a friend of my wife: his name is Gary. Gary has a son who is gluten intolerant and he wanted to make a beer for his son. I printed up a ‘sign’ (a sheet of paper) which I hung up in the brewing area with the three rules of homebrewing:

1. Sanitation, sanitation, sanitation
2. Pitch plenty of healthy, growing yeast
3. Maintain proper fermentation temperature for the given yeast strain used

If you conscientiously follow the above three rules you are well onto your way of making quality homebrewed beer.

Cheers!

 

IMO temp control is way more important than whether your fermentables are coming from a mash tun or a bag.

 

RULE 1... check
RULE 2... check
RULE 3... d'oh

 

Yeah, but rule 3 is now on your list of 'things to do'! Wise choice!!

Cheers!

 

Check out this podcast. That text quoted from Palmer is a bit out dated. Basically there are two scenarios.

http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/525


First is the older HB method. Pitch warm and/or low cell count and/or low aeration, etc. Ferment at proper temp. Do a diacetyl rest so the yeast can clean up all the crap that they made. If you need/choose to lager (I'm talking cold storage at near freezing for many weeks) drop the temps slowly do the yeast can still clean up.

Second is to pitch cool with proper healthy yeast, etc and get a fermentation that produces little to no pre-cursors for off flavors. As fermentation progresses raise temp. After this type of clean fermentation is done, if you need/choose to lager you can drop the temp asap. This version of Lagering favors and accelerates the natural process binding and dropping out of solution proteins and other compounds. Cold crashing for a few days just drops the yeast and is too short a duration to complete the Lagering process.

Also the above really isn't top fermenting vs. bottom fermenting question. There is an effort vs reward argument though.

Listen to the podcast, read up on the heated warm-pitch vs cold-pitch debate and all things fermentation and draw your own conclusions. If you don't have the equipment to do all of these procedures don't stress about it.