Question from a first time home brewer.

First, why do you think you need a secondary?

Secondly, even if you're going to do a secondary, let it sit in primary for at least 2 weeks.

 

It sounds like the fermentation is essentially complete, but not quite. As JohnSnow says, let it stay in the primary for a couple weeks to let the yeast finish their job cleaning up after themselves.

 

Here's my opinion based on what you're doing.

Don't secondary at all, and dry-hop in primary after the 2 weeks are up...dry-hop for about 7 days.

If you're bottling, the beer is just going to get murky again during priming. There is always the possibility that you can introduce O2 or nefarious bugs, when transferring, and it's just not worth the risk...especially if this is your first time doing so.

Anyway, good luck...and whatever you decide to do...do it after 2 weeks.

Cheers!

 

I also would recommend that you don’t transfer to a secondary.

As regards the advice of waiting two weeks, that is your call. Once the beer has completed primary fermentation (i.e., has arrived at a steady final gravity value and is no longer changing) it is OK to add the dry hops to the primary. The timeframe for dry hopping is often stated as being 7-10 days. I often dry hop for up to 14 days but a minimum of 7 days is a good rule of thumb.

Cheers!

 

Sounds like it had a warm ferment, whether you xfer to a secondary or not. What was the OG and what temp did you ferment at?

 

if you only brewed New Years Day, it's not even close to dome fermenting now.
As they all say:
Step Away From The Beer.
Leave it alone for at least another week, then you can decide whether to actually transfer to secondary or not.
My theory is that unless it needs bulk aging, like if I'm doing wood aging or doing a sour, leave it be in Primary.

 

are you controlling fermentation temp in any way? if not what is the ambient temp of the room/area your bucket is in? it may be a bit too warm, which would lend itself to the quick, vigerous fermentation.

I would agree that it is not ready for secondary (if you choose to do one, which I wouldn't). I would let it sit for another week or two then add the dry hops direclty to the primary, wait 7-14 days then bottle.

 

Don't be afraid to do a secondary, as long as you follow normal sanitation practices it will be fine. I find that most of the beers I brew benefit at least a little from a secondary. The main reason I do it though is because my bottling bucket is my primary bucket.

Also, someone is gonna say it: airlock activity is not something you should use to decide whether or not a brew is done. Testing it with a hydrometer and making sure its steady for several days is the only way to do it. Even without an OG, your FG will at least tell you when the beer is finished/ready for transfer and dry hopping.

If you post your recipe we can probably give you a rough estimate of what your OG was, especially if it was extract.

 

"The main reason I do it though is because my bottling bucket is my primary bucket."

You need another bucket (with spigot)

 

OP, wait 2 weeks to be on the safe side. Worst thing you can do is bottle before fermentation is complete which will create bottle explosions.

 

"The main reason I do it though is because my bottling bucket is my primary bucket."

Message to the OP, you should ferment your beer in a primary bucket (not a bottling bucket). There is absolutely no need to transfer to a secondary.

Cheers!