Definitions

[elollerenshaw]

Just after some clarification of the following terms;

Primary Fermentation (understood)
Secondary Fermentation (does this mean a second addition of yeast?)
Conditioning (left to rest while still in fermentor on or off yeast cake, or doesn't matter? Before or after bottling/kegging)
Priming (understood)

Thanks

 

[spryzie]

Secondary is just racking (carefully transferring via tubing so as not to splash) to another vessel.

Sometimes things are added like fruit or other flavorings.

It helps with clearing (yeast settles).

I have never bothered with it.

No extra yeast is added normally (but it can be).

 

[MastersBrewery]

Secondary takes place after priming, the priming sugar is fermented.
conditioning takes place during and after secondary.

There are a few steps prior to both of these not yet mention
Diacetyl rest, is raising of the temperature after primary fermentation has finished to help the beer clean up after itself.
And cold crashing (CC) used to clear the beer out of yeast still floating about.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Secondary is just racking (carefully transferring via tubing so as not to splash) to another vessel.

Sometimes things are added like fruit or other flavorings.

It helps with clearing (yeast settles).

I have never bothered with it.

No extra yeast is added normally (but it can be).

thats is not secondary fermentation, just a secondary vessel.

 

[Bribie G]

I don't think many people do secondary fermentation any more. Remember that home beer brewing really evolved as an offshoot of home wine making, where fermentations are far longer and after a while it's desirable to get the wine off the "lees" and continue fermenting in a cleaner environment. A lot of winemaking "mindset", for example the use of airlocks, carried over from winemaking traditions.

The only time you might want to rack beer off the yeast cake into another container is where you want it to condition at a low temperature, for example a lager, for an extended period. This could be considered as secondary fermentation in the sense that the yeast carried over during racking still has a chance to work on cleaning up and finishing up. Most home brewers don't bother if they are only going to be conditioning the beer for perhaps a week prior to bottling or kegging.

I only transfer to a secondary vessel when I want to do something to the beer - cold condition, add gelatine, add polyclar whatever and consider it to be a conditioning phase, not a fermentation as such (although a bit of finishing off is definitely achieved by the remaining yeast).

 

[pajs]

If you put beer into bottle, add some sugar and let it ferment out for carbonation, that's secondary fermentation. Same thing applies if a second phase of fermentation happens in some other vessel (like a keg or pressure tank).

To my mind, racking a beer off yeast, hop residue etc into a secondary fermenter is still primary fermentation. Still the same yeasts and same sugars.

Secondary fermentation in wine-land can mean fermenting in bottle with extra sugar (sometimes extra yeast) as per champagne production. Sometimes in wine people also refer to malolactic ferments (bugs taking granny smith like malic acid and turning it into softer lactic acid) as secondary fermentation (alcoholic fermentation being the 'primary' phase). Keeping that in mind, I guess a second phase of fermentation in brewing caused by adding extra bugs (malo, brett etc) or maybe an extra sugar source (candi sugar, fruit, honey) would also be a secondary ferment, but that's not the common use of the term.

Conditioning can happen in a primary or secondary fermenter, or in a vessel like a bottle or keg, with or without a full yeast cake present. Conditioning at low temperatures is lagering.

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

I don't think many people do secondary fermentation any more. Remember that home beer brewing really evolved as an offshoot of home wine making, where fermentations are far longer and after a while it's desirable to get the wine off the "lees" and continue fermenting in a cleaner environment. A lot of winemaking "mindset", for example the use of airlocks, carried over from winemaking traditions.

tell me about it. I know someone who carried on like an idiot, then puffed his chest (miniscule as it was) like a prize rooster when I said that I don't use airlocks, and was like "oh, you must use airlocks" and then looked at me condescendingly like I was a complete amateur.

 

[The Judge]

In addition to what the guys have said about secondary fermentation above:

I rack to secondary on every brew so that I don't have to whirlpool. Means I get a better yield, as 100% of the trub goes to the primary fermenter and settles over the duration of primary fermentation, then rack to secondary, where the inactive (or much less active) yeast floccs out over time. By definition, this is not secondary fermentation, it is just a secondary vessel used in the latter stages of the process of primary fermentation.

From there, further conditioning (diacetyl rest, lagering, additions) may be performed.

 

[danestead]

Confused yet?

 

[storeboughtcheeseburgers]

tell me about it. I know someone who carried on like an idiot, then puffed his chest (miniscule as it was) like a prize rooster when I said that I don't use airlocks, and was like "oh, you must use airlocks" and then looked at me condescendingly like I was a complete amateur.

haha - bottle cap over airlock hole and loose lid here ! How can anyone deal with that bloop bloop?

I just think primary as primary (putting a batch down)

'racking' is when you rack a beer from primary into another fermenter off the yeast cake.

Conditioning is secondary fermentation (adding more sugars for carbonation and further fermentation)

Not many people chose to go to a second vessel before bottling/kegging - its better left longer in the original, and sole fermenter to get rid of 'green and off' tastes and then straight into the bottle/keg and mouth in my experience.

 

[SimoB]

Confused yet?

I was thinking the same thing! haha.

To add to the fire - I use the secondary when I am dry hopping and plan to cultivate yeast. Which to be honest is most of the time. It cleans up nicely and I get less sediment in my kegs.

If I owned a brew bucket I prob wouldn't bother.