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- Jan 17, 2017
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When is it best to use secondary fermentation if at all? Everything I've heard from more senior brewers always recommend racking to a secondary for at least some reason. I know doing primary only has gained quite a bit of popularity, with most brewers seeming to do a mix of the two; only using primary fermentation, with some exceptions to certain brews.
To add to this, the beer I'm currently brewing is an older dated recipe for an old ale(5.5 gallons). It calls for racking to a secondary after 5-6 days, and adding creme de cacao to the secondary. It doesn't specify what kind and at the liquor store they ranged from 15%-25% abv, some utilized different liquor sources as a base(rum or vodka), and I wasn't sure which were dairy free. I went with Godiva white chocolate liqueur due to a lower 15% abv. It's listed as dairy free on the official site (0g of fat for macros as well), and it is described to have some vanilla flavor, which the beer recipe says should hint out when tasting as a result of the creme de cacao ultimately when the beer is done. I am just keeping everything in my primary the whole time(3 weeks). I read somewhere you should rack to a secondary if it is over a certain alcohol percentage. My OG was 1.062(recipe called for 1.063), gravity today was 1.012. It estimates it should be 8.3%abv when finished, although I'm completely unsure of how to figure out what mine will be after adding 750ml of liquer at 15%abv to 5.5 gallons, considering additionally I have no idea how many grams of sugar and/or carbs. For everyone out there, if you do rack to secondary, when and why do you do it? Also if you do, do you have any links to studies or data to support your reasoning?
To add to this, the beer I'm currently brewing is an older dated recipe for an old ale(5.5 gallons). It calls for racking to a secondary after 5-6 days, and adding creme de cacao to the secondary. It doesn't specify what kind and at the liquor store they ranged from 15%-25% abv, some utilized different liquor sources as a base(rum or vodka), and I wasn't sure which were dairy free. I went with Godiva white chocolate liqueur due to a lower 15% abv. It's listed as dairy free on the official site (0g of fat for macros as well), and it is described to have some vanilla flavor, which the beer recipe says should hint out when tasting as a result of the creme de cacao ultimately when the beer is done. I am just keeping everything in my primary the whole time(3 weeks). I read somewhere you should rack to a secondary if it is over a certain alcohol percentage. My OG was 1.062(recipe called for 1.063), gravity today was 1.012. It estimates it should be 8.3%abv when finished, although I'm completely unsure of how to figure out what mine will be after adding 750ml of liquer at 15%abv to 5.5 gallons, considering additionally I have no idea how many grams of sugar and/or carbs. For everyone out there, if you do rack to secondary, when and why do you do it? Also if you do, do you have any links to studies or data to support your reasoning?