1 OR 2 FERMENTATIONS

[grubs18]

it is actually good to leave it in the primary for a little while after fermentation is done ( I usally leave for a week or so) to let the yeast absorb any dyacital and also helps with reducing dms in some beers. I dont use a secondary unless it is a high alcohol beer where I want some oxidation flavors or I am oaking or souring the beer.

[J.Brew]

The current wisdom is that a secondary fermentation is unneccessary unless you intend to dry hop pr do some other addition. Further, you should be checking gravity to determine whether fermentation is finshed or not, rather than counting bubbles or whatever.

What he said!

You can have the beer sitting on trub for up to a month with no problems. (Because I'm a lazy ass, I've had some in the "primary" for alot longer with no problems!) Most beers don't need that long to finish. Don't worry about the secondary.

+1

They speak for me as well.

[boise_brewer]

I like using only one fermenter too, and I agree especially with what grubs says. On my last few batches I have waited for the beer to finish fermenting and then just let it sit another week or so on the yeast. I don't know the science behind it, but my beers seem to taste a lot cleaner when I do this.

[mashamatician]

I'm a proponent of just primary as well (unless dry-hopping, inoculating with some beaties, etc.). However, I should note that if you're going to go out past a few weeks, it would be wise to use a glass vessel rather than plastic in order to avoid O2 ingress.

[Lillegard]

It's pretty clear that the popular preference is to keep your brew in one fermenter to avoid oxidation/contamination. When SHOULD you use a secondary fermenter? What are the 'rules of thumb' here?

[Bugeater]

I am also in the one fermenter camp. I do use a secondary from time to time. If I have a beer that is taking a long time to clear (like the belgian golden strong I have going right now) I will move to secondary (actually a "bright tank" to free up the fermenter and to reduce the head space.

I generally keep a beer in primary for 10 days to 2 weeks at a minimum. Once in a while I will cut that to as little as a week if I need the fermenter or the yeast cake for another brew, but that is only if it has already reached final gravity. At one week there will still be enough yeast left in suspension to finish cleaning up the esters. This cleaning of esters is one of the primary reasons for leaving the beer in the fermenter so long. The other primary reason is that I am often just too lazy to bother with doing a transfer.

You will usually do more harm to the quality of your beer by racking too early than by waiting beyond the "optimal" length of time (whatever the hell that is).

Wayne
Bugeater Brewing Company

[straight cash homey]

I say if everyone does it one way then I'm gonna do it the other. So I rack to a new vessel every 6 hours. I set my alarm twice: 1am, rack, back to sleep, 7am same thing. Then again at 1pm and 7pm. It might seem like a lot of work, but I got the idea from Jamil, so pretty soon everyone will be doing it. I also use a brand new carboy for every transfer. You can't re-use your carboys with this method, so run out and buy yourself about 100 carboys and you should be able to finish a 5 gallon batch. Try it, you'll agree, it makes great beer.

[ALEien]

What's the best way to take a grav reading from a fermenting batch?

Just siphon a bit out into the grav tube? Or sterilize and dip it? or what?

Just tryin to get a feel. I've got two beers in fermentation currently and I'm thinking of bottling one of them soon. Perhaps tonight. It's a chocolate stout and has been in fermentation for two weeks today.

Thanks!