New to brewing and I have a few questions

I have a 1 gallon brew kit that I’m starting out with until I’m more comfortable with brewing and I’ll move up to 5 gallons. I am fermenting a wheat beer and I want to do a second fermentation but I only have one 1 gallon big mouth bubbler. Would it be bad to siphon it into a clean container while I clean and sanitize the bubbler to get it ready for the second fermentation? I worry about upsetting the beer too much by transferring it too much. Yes I’m going to buy another bubbler but i want to know an alternative way.

You really don’t want to siphon it any more than necessary, as you will be introducing oxygen every time you transfer it. Also, the BMB isn’t the best vessel for secondary, as you really want to minimize headspace after active fermentation, and the wide opening will expose your beer to a lot of oxygen.

For a 1-gallon kit, I’d get a gallon jug of apple juice, as the glass jug once you’re done is perfect for this use. Depending on the size of the opening, you’ll need either a #6 or #8 drilled stopper, and then you can add an airlock. Most homebrew stores will have a selection of stoppers, if you wanted to try them out.

Good luck! Nothing to worry about, brewing isn’t that hard. It’s the waiting that is.

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I’ll add one note- you’ll hear some opinions on secondaries. I love to use a secondary, but I tend to avoid them for beers that should be hazy… like wheat beers. It’s definitely your choice, but if you wanted to skip secondary on this one until you get a jug (@porckchop is dead on right with this recommendation), that’s probably not a bad move.

Just to pre-emptively answer when I do like to secondary…
-When adding dry hops
-When adding fruit
-When adding oak, or other ingredients
-To free up my primary fermentor for another beer
-I want to have clearer, cleaner beer (see also Adding Gelatin)
-Long term aging (as in months)

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Thanks for the replys! I don’t mind cloudy beers but my last brew was super cloudy. Just popped open another one from my last brew and it’s much better now. That extra week really helped it. Notes taken

Could the cloudiness in the glass be due to the pour. If the beer glugs coming out of the bottle it is stirring up all the yeast and sediment. Three weeks of conditioning and three days of chilling will drop out excess yeast and sediments. Like @uberculture said wheat beers will be cloudy. An IPA will also be cloudy/hazy.

Its well documented that most liquids will clear of sediments giving some time… Sneezles61

Well said !

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