primary to secondary timing

[brewser]

When is the right time to transfer from my primary fermenter to the secondary (IPA)? The activity is starting to slow down now after 4 days and I am wondering if I should do it now or wait a little while longer.

[BDawg]

I'd let it sit tight.

I leave my IPA's in primary for 2 weeks, then transfer to secndary for another week, then I crash cool it and then keg.
(the timing varies by style, but that is a pretty typical regimen for me).

Regardless, 4 days is too soon. Let the krausen fall first, then rack.

my .02

[Bugeater]

When in doubt, wait. Don't rush the primary. Yeast works on it's schedule, not yours. In homebrewing we don't really do a secondary fermentation anyway. Secondary fermentation actually involves adding more fermentables and restarting the fermentation.

What we normally refer to as a secondary fermenter is actually a bright tank, i.e. a tank to which a beer is transferred where it is allowed to drop clear (hence the name "bright") and get a bit of age. You need to let fermentation go to completion in the primary fermenter. Once you get to your expected final gravity you can either transfer it to a bright tank to finish clearing and perhaps drop another point or two.

A lot of us don't even bother with a secondary any more for most beers. The early transfer of beer to secondary is due to overblown fears of leaving a beer on dead yeast too long. This phenomena, known as autolysis, causes a burnt rubber taste in the beer. To avoid this, many older texts (and brewers) will tell you to transfer after a week. In reality, autolysis won't even begin to show up for at least 6-8 weeks. I routinely leave my beers in the fermenter for up to 4 weeks and still win awards for them. If you transfer in less than a week, you remove most of the yeast from the beer and run a risk of a little higher final gravity than if you just leave it alone.

In short, let your hydrometer tell you when to transfer out of your primary. Once you get the same reading a couple days apart, the time is right (assuming you are close to your expected final gravity.)

Wayne

[iloman]

I agree with Bugeater. If you don't have anything additional to add to the brew, let 'er sit in the fermenter for a few weeks and then bottle. I've mentioned it here before but the best homebrew I've done was left in the carboy for 4 weeks, and then allowed to age in the bottle for 4 weeks (the last bottle at 6 weeks was awesome!).

[brewser]

So, things have slowed down some more, so I took a gravity reading. 1.021 corrected, which is slightly off the target of 1.017. But there is some "stuff" floating around on top that I noticed. Is that yeast or do I have some sort of problem?

[Bugeater]

Most likely yeast. The krausen doesn't always drop all at once. Some spots sometimes hang around for a week or more. I wouldn't worry about it unless it starts turning funny colors or smelling really funky.

Wayne

[Kacey]

I'll add to this as I was someone who almost always rushed my beers.

When bug says smells funny he means really smells funny. Your mind will play some fun tricks on you when you are already nervous about an infection. If you have a brew partner or a wife who knows a bit about brewing have them smell it with out telling them your concern. You'll find that 9 out of 10 times you have made up bad smells.

As far as letting it sit for a few weeks on the yeast, you really really don't have to worry about it. I have left a beer on yeast for 3 months with no ill effect, was it as good as it could have been? not sure, But it tasted fine to me.

[slanted & enchanted]

yeah, if you put your nose up to it and it like knocks you back, then worry. if it just smells slightly wierd then don't worry about it.

i've been letting most middle of the range beers (1050-1060)sit in primary for like 10 days or so. smaller ones less time, bigger ones more... it all depends on the yeast activity. i pretty much wait until it stops doing ANYTHING, take a reading on it, and if i'm satisfied with it move it over to the fridge for a few days and let the yeast go to beddy-bye. then i rack to a keg.