Is temperature control as important in secondary fermentation?

[Redwood]

I brew in an apartment, not much space, I generally keep my fermenter in my laundry sink full of water to keep it around 24C. But i'm currently doing a double batch and i have no room in the sink to keep the batch of beer i just racked off into the secondary fermenter cool.

Just wondering if it is AS crucial to keep the beer at optimum temps during secondary fermentation?

 

[manticle]

Not as crucial but too hot is not good for fermenting wort or finished beer at any point. 24 is too hot for most ale yeasts and all lager and wheat yeasts at the beginning. Get some icebricks or something in there for the first 3 days.

 

[Redwood]

Thanks mate, yeah i have a rotation of frozen water bottles through it, but getting it below 24-23 at the moment with this heat in sydney is quite hard. dont really feel like running my air con all day while im at work to keep my beer cool. Might try the old wet towel trick on the secondary just to get it down as much as possible.

 

[Yob]

If it's finished... Bottle it

 

[Trent0]

I rack to cube then straight into fridge for 2 days
Then into keg

 

[Parks]

To answer you actual question - no.

The first few days after pitching are the most critical to ferment temp. I must say that for 99% of beers 24 degrees is far too hot but if that's the best you can do it better than 26

 

[stux]

But temperature control is more important than secondary fermentation

 

[citizensnips]

Get an old fridge and temperature controller and never look back

 

[indica86]

Why do you have a "secondary"?
Is there an actual purpose and do you find it significantly improves your beer?
Bottle it when done then ferment the next lot.

 

[Redwood]

I usually dry hop for about 5-6 days after ferment has finished, i dont like the idea of the beer sitting on dead yeast that long. Also so i can do double batches as i only have 1 airlock etc.

 

[Redwood]

I usually dry hop for about 5-6 days after ferment has finished, i dont like the idea of the beer sitting on dead yeast that long. Also so i can do double batches as i only have 1 airlock etc.

 

[Redwood]

I usually dry hop for about 5-6 days after ferment has finished, i dont like the idea of the beer sitting on dead yeast that long. Also so i can do double batches as i only have 1 airlock etc.

 

[labels]

You really risk contamination and oxidation when transferring to another fermenter. Depending on the alcoholic content and your cleanliness, you can reduce the risk of contamination but not eliminate it. Reducing the risk of oxidation is different though, beer suck it up like a sponge. You don't taste it at first but if you keep beer for any length of time say, over three months, those cardboard, sherry like, unwanted flavours will start to develop.

There is no reason to transfer to a secondary even if you dry hop. Large tea-balls are cheap to buy which can suspend your dry hops in the fermenter. You also mentioned only one airlock, I find this statement a little bizarre considering they are only worth a dollar or two.

 

[Redwood]

I usually dry hop for about 5-6 days after ferment has finished, i dont like the idea of the beer sitting on dead yeast that long. Also so i can do double batches as i only have 1 airlock etc.

 

[labels]

The yeast is not dead. You will not get autolysis. The yeast has just used all the available food supply and goes into sleep mode. I think this is where you are getting it wrong in thinking when the yeast drops out, it's dead. It's not, in fact it's still slowly working, cleaning up a whole bunch of fermentation by-products and actually improving your beer and smoothing out the flavor.

Hope that makes sense, but you really need to rethink 'yeast'.

 

[manticle]

Yeah while I don't quite agree that there is 'never' a reason to transfer or that contamination is a huge risk if you are cautious (oxidation is different), a few extra days for dry hopping will see some active yeast and some dormant yeast rather than a whole lot of dead yeast.
Secondary vessel can be a good idea in some situations (not really yours) but know why and be aware of the risks before doing it.

 

[Blind Dog]

At the end of active fermentation, the yeast isn't dead, just not actively fermenting. It still has a job to do cleaning up by products. If you rack to secondary you reduce its ability to perform that task, risk oxidation and may risk contamination. IMO, there are reasons to rack a beer, but to dry hop for 5 days or so isn't likely to be one of them