Hi guys I just brewed the Brown ale that came with the essential 5 gallon starter kit. I won’t be doing a second fermentation on this one. I don’t own a Carboy. Was just wondering just how important is it to do a secondary fermentation? I’ve read pros and cons. Thanks guys!
My self, I always do a secondary…It,s just my preference. But as long as your sure you,ve reached terminal gravity and it doesn’t sit to long on the yeast…I don’t think it matters to much… :cheers: …Tank
Welcome!
There has been a lot of discussion here about the need for secondaries. The general consensus is that for any straight forward beer like your brown ale, you do not need one. For beers that might be aged a long time, fruit added or some kind of wood, usually oak chips then maybe.
For years I always did a secondary. Now almost never. One exception is if my beer has finished and I want to give it time to clear and want to be able to use my primary fermenter then I transfer it to a five gallon carboy.
Right not I have a Scotch ale almost done and may want to put my next beer right on the yeast cake. It could be transferred to secondary on the next brew day and the fresh work added to the primary. That is another discussion though.
For more info the search up in the top right corner will give you more reading than you can believe.
[quote=“HD4Mark”]Welcome!
There has been a lot of discussion here about the need for secondaries. The general consensus is that for any straight forward beer like your brown ale, you do not need one. For beers that might be aged a long time, fruit added or some kind of wood, usually oak chips then maybe.
For years I always did a secondary. Now almost never. One exception is if my beer has finished and I want to give it time to clear and want to be able to use my primary fermenter then I transfer it to a five gallon carboy.
Right not I have a Scotch ale almost done and may want to put my next beer right on the yeast cake. It could be transferred to secondary on the next brew day and the fresh work added to the primary. That is another discussion though.
For more info the search up in the top right corner will give you more reading than you can believe.[/quote] I’m pretty much the same. Something “Big” that needs to age or I need the carboy for the next batch I don’t even worry about a secondary.
Hey guys thanks for taking the time and giving me your help! So if I’m skipping the secondary fermentation I leave the beer in the primary for another week or so? Sorry this is new to me I’ve been brewing 2 gallon all malt extract kits and this is my first northern brewer 5 gallon recipe!
Just leave it in primary…BTW, the brown ale that comes with the kit is a very good beer. It does well with some time to age, either in the bottle, or in the fermenter. I usually give this kit 4 weeks in the ferm and another 4 weeks in the bottle.
More like, until it’s done. How do you know when it is done? That’s actually complicated, and as this is your first beer, best to keep things simple. If the temperature where you are keeping it is above 60F, then leave it 3-4 weeks before bottling.
And you should know that you can get in trouble if you hurry the beer, but it is almost always safe to give it more time.
concerning secondary fermentation I wonder about consensus on “cold secondary fermentation”. I suppose it would indicate 33f and to 45f. any thoughts
That cold would be “cold crashing” it more than a secondary fermentation. A good way to settle out and clear your beer. It is best to get it as cold as possible and lower than serving temp to prevent chill haze. You should reach your terminal gravity before that though.
