So I brewed the Midwest Supplies "Redheaded Ryeish Ale" kit and the recipe directions say 7-14 days primary, then rack to secondary for 3 weeks. Now its been in the primary bucket for 4 weeks and I am wondering if there is any benefit to a secondary for ageing this or would I receive just as good results from going straight to bottling. I've been seeing in recent discussions that the "secondary" may be more of a risk then its worth sometimes. Thanks for any thoughts or suggestions!
4 weeks primary-secondary necessary??
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McKnuckle
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Straight to bottling! The bucket is a poor vessel for long term storage, and that includes the 4 weeks it's already been in there. The lids generally have a poor seal, and there's usually generous headspace for active fermentation - a combination that can cause oxidation over time.
A secondary almost never necessary, but if you do use one, rack to it after active fermentation has ceased and the beer is quieting down but still not clear (roughly 7-14 days, but based on observation, not some hard rule).
A secondary almost never necessary, but if you do use one, rack to it after active fermentation has ceased and the beer is quieting down but still not clear (roughly 7-14 days, but based on observation, not some hard rule).
After 4 weeks if you rack to bottling bucket w/care you don't need anything else for clear beer.
I have an amber that is in my Bubbler now. I always rack my beers, but I'm just going to not secondary this one to see if there really is any difference. I normally rack either to harvest yeast or to free up the Bubbler as I'd rather use that for my primary than either bucket I have. It'll be weird for me to have a beer in the primary for this long, but I will do it just as an experiment to see if there is really any difference in racked vs. non-racked beers.
For your next experiment, try leaving a beer in the primary for 8 weeks. Bottle some of it in clear bottles if you have some and after it has been in the bottle for a week, try to find the yeast at the bottom of the bottle.
For your next experiment, try leaving a beer in the primary for 8 weeks. Bottle some of it in clear bottles if you have some and after it has been in the bottle for a week, try to find the yeast at the bottom of the bottle.
I've read too many posts that say much over a month can be problematic, so I doubt I'd ever do that experiment. Secondly, wouldn't there have to be some yeast in that bottle in order to carbonate the beer? Now, maybe that yeast would not be 'visible'? I am not sure on that. Do you normally leave your beers in primary 8 weeks? I'm usually drinking my beer well before 8 weeks after brew day.
I have done both primary and secondary and I really cannot tell much of a difference just leaving it in the primary, maybe a hint more of the yeast. I think the general consensus at this point here on HBT is that unless you are adding dry hops or other additives, the risk of infection moving to the secondary outweighs any benefits.
I've read too many posts that say much over a month can be problematic, so I doubt I'd ever do that experiment. Secondly, wouldn't there have to be some yeast in that bottle in order to carbonate the beer? Now, maybe that yeast would not be 'visible'? I am not sure on that. Do you normally leave your beers in primary 8 weeks? I'm usually drinking my beer well before 8 weeks after brew day.
If you have a huge conical more than a month might be, but the 5 gallon batches don't seem to have a problem with it.
Yes you need yeast to carbonate the beer in the bottles but it takes months for enough to settle out to be a problem. My beer I left for 9 weeks carbonated as usual.
I normally leave my beers in primary for 3 to 4 weeks because I don't have the patience to wait longer.
What style was the 9-weeker? How did it turn out? I hear you on lack of patience. I always try one at 1 week just for fun. I know it will be at least partially, if not almost entirely flat, but whatever - 1 beer out of 50 is no big deal. It's fun to see how it is coming along.
I dry hop in the primary.
The beer I left for the 9 weeks was a brown ale. Usually these take a few weeks to smooth out but this one was ready to drink as soon as it was carbonated. I should do more long primaries but you know....patience.
I dry hopped my last one in primary as well, I don't think I will use a secondary ever again if I can help it.
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