Secondary Fermentation

[Scott Kellen]

Placed my first boil into my fermenter, the recipe I chose American Ale recommends secondary fermentation at approximately day 6. How much does secondary fermentation affect a batch? Do you all agree with secondary fermentation?

Secondly most of my trub went into the fermenter is there a fix or do I need to live with this rookie error?

 

[Immocles]

The vast majority of folks skip secondary fermentation and give it an extra week in the primary. It’s generally seen as outdated and brings more potential risk vs reward.

The trub will settle out and compact on the bottom of the fermenter with the yeast cake. No worries.

 

[Scott Kellen]

Thank you for th he quick response. I'll skip the secondary this time.

You mentioned "risk vs. reward" can you expound on that?

 

[LittleRiver]

Skip the secondary.

Regarding the trub, with time that will settle to the bottom, so don't be in a rush to package it. You have not goofed up, some people intentionally put all the trub into the fermenter. I have done it myself as an experiment, and could not detect any off flavors.

Cold will help particulates settle out, so after fermentation is complete, do a cold crash if you can find room in a fridge. Take it down to mid-upper 30's(F) for 3 days to a week. If you have a transparent fermenter, you can see the beer clearing, starting from the top and working down.

Use a racking cane to carefully transfer the beer out of the fermenter, leaving some behind with the trub.

My fermenters have spigots on them, so I don't use a racking cane. There will be some trub when the spigot is first opened, so the first thing I fill is the measuring flask for my hydrometer. If I'm concerned that it's still got some trub coming out of the spigot I will fill up a bottle until it runs clear, then transfer the rest to the keg or bottling bucket.

I put the sample flask (and the bottle, if there is one) in the fridge to let the trub settle, then pour them off and enjoy them as still (non-carbonated) beer.

 

[Immocles]

It’s a great way to introduce unwanted oxygen, which can diminish the quality of your beer. It can develop off flavors, darken the color, and affect the hop flavors themselves. Some folks still rack to secondary to help clarify, or to get the beer off the yeast cake if it’s going to be aging long term, but I wouldnt bother on any normal circumstances

 

[Scott Kellen]

It’s a great way to introduce unwanted oxygen, which can diminish the quality of your beer. It can develop off flavors, darken the color, and affect the hop flavors themselves. Some folks still rack to secondary to help clarify, or to get the beer off the yeast cake if it’s going to be aging long term, but I wouldnt bother on any normal circumstances

Thank you. In theory, having a spigotted primary would that reduce the risk?

 

[Scott Kellen]

Skip the secondary.

Regarding the trub, with time that will settle to the bottom, so don't be in a rush to package it. You have not goofed up, some people intentionally put all the trub into the fermenter. I have done it myself as an experiment, and could not detect any off flavors.

Cold will help particulates settle out, so after fermentation is complete, do a cold crash if you can find room in a fridge. Take it down to mid-upper 30's(F) for 3 days to a week. If you have a transparent fermenter, you can see the beer clearing, starting from the top and working down.

Use a racking cane to carefully transfer the beer out of the fermenter, leaving some behind with the trub.

My fermenters have spigots on them, so I don't use a racking cane. There will be some trub when the spigot is first opened, so the first thing I fill is the measuring flask for my hydrometer. If I'm concerned that it's still got some trub coming out of the spigot I will fill up a bottle until it runs clear, then transfer the rest to the keg or bottling bucket.

I put the sample flask (and the bottle, if there is one) in the fridge to let the trub settle, then pour them off and enjoy them as still (non-carbonated) beer.

TY. Appreciate the advice. Happy brewing.

The last time I brewed was about 15 years ago with one of those Mr. Beer kits and after following all the directions the best I could, my final product was not a winner and it kind of turned me off to brewing my own. Now with much more time on my hands and appreciation for many of the local craft brewers, I want to get back at it 5 gallons at a time to start.

 

[davidabcd]

Do you all agree with secondary fermentation?
Secondly most of my trub went into the fermenter is there a fix or do I need to live with this rookie error?

I also do not use a secondary unless I'm going to add fruit.
There is no fix needed for dumping everything into the primary; I've been doing it for years. I couldn't tell the difference when I did screen it out with when I didn't so I don't.

 

[Scott Kellen]

I also do not use a secondary unless I'm going to add fruit.
There is no fix needed for dumping everything into the primary; I've been doing it for years. I couldn't tell the difference when I did screen it out with when I didn't so I don't.

Thanks.

 

[Immocles]

Thank you. In theory, having a spigotted primary would that reduce the risk?

I couldn’t tell you if it reduces the risk compared to a siphon. My gut would say “slightly” because it’s infinitely easier to attach tubing to the spigot, coil the other end on the bottom of the next vessel, and turn it on. Spigots also give the option for closed transfers if you go the route of kegging. But that’s a pipe dream for me haha.

 

[camonick]

TY. Appreciate the advice. Happy brewing.

The last time I brewed was about 15 years ago with one of those Mr. Beer kits and after following all the directions the best I could, my final product was not a winner and it kind of turned me off to brewing my own. Now with much more time on my hands and appreciation for many of the local craft brewers, I want to get back at it 5 gallons at a time to start.

The variety and quality of ingredients available for homebrewing are far superior to the ones 15-20 years ago. Welcome back. I hope your American Ale turns out great.

 

[NGD]

+1 for the occasional dump of trub into primary. Although I prefer clean wort into primary. I keep trying it both ways when I repeat a recipe and can’t tell any difference. Sure makes transferring easier.

Only time I tend to transfer is into a bottling bucket to mix with a corn sugar solution prior to bottling. Otherwise into the keg it goes minus trub