The Unnecessary Secondary: Why I Don't Use Secondary Fermenters

A common question I get is whether I perform secondary fermentation in secondary fermenters or not. There are several very good reasons why I do what I do. Here is my answer.

00:01 Secondary fermentation is not necessary for home brewing beer.
00:58 Secondary fermentation is not required for most beer styles
01:28 Contrarian opinions on using secondary fermenters
01:59 Using a secondary fermenter is unnecessary
02:31 Not using secondary fermenters saves time and reduces the risk of contamination.
03:08 Using secondary fermenters is unnecessary for brewing beer
03:45 Simplicity and brewing more often by eliminating the need for a secondary fermenter.
04:11 This video promotes the sale of beer and barbecue shirts.

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[feefifofum]

I’ve actually found the primary to be pointless. I’ve started going direct the the secondary.

[Davewick]

Agreed 100% Larry. I stopped using a "secondary fermenter" 15-20 years ago and have had zero issues. That said I started using conical fermenters a few years ago but that was mainly to switch to stainless steel and for ease of yeast harvesting for washing and re-pitching. Cheers

[Heisenbrick]

When I made my first 3gallon batch of mead I let it go for six months in the primary fermenter, far too long because I got lazy and didn’t have confidence in my ability to brew alcohol... it tasted OK but had a bit of a dead yeast taste, so I siphoned it into some old liquor bottles and added a stick of cinnamon and a medium handful of raisins to each bottle and let it sit for two weeks, after that it was delicious! You can really smell the raisins but they don’t overpower the drink! Now I’m alot more confident with home brewing thanks to all the great YouTube videos.

[JeremiahT]

I've never used a secondary. By the time I started brewing, a few years ago, most veteran homebrewers had already debunked that step so I never messed with it.

[drdouglaswilde]

Agree 100%. I brew partial mash recipes. My rule-of-thumb is, you leave your Ales in the fermenter for 1 week past completion of fermentation & your Largers for 2 (up to 3 weeks, depending on type/style) weeks. Does it take more time? -yes, does it take more effort? -no, does it improve the end quality of your beer? -hell yes!

[jeffodabear]

Personally I like the secondary for the effect it has one clearing up the beer. I work as a canner in craft beer industry, and view a secondary fermenter as similar to a bright tank. Transfering it into the carboy from the brew bucket leaves less Trub to deal with when you're tranfering to your bottling bucket or a keg, even if you cold crash it. Although I do respect what you're saying and ill give it a try on a hazy ipa I have planned in the near future

[ShortCircuitedBrewers]

For the most part I agree with you. I do use a secondary sometimes. Mainly for dry hopping or for a stout onto vanilla beans etc. It is absolutely not necessary to transfer though. I do find the beer will clarify faster in secondary but that's about the only other benefit I see. Cheers Larry! 🍻

[levesque]

Completely agree. I only use a secondary for lagers, beers that I'm adding something to towards the end (fruit, dry hop, etc), or something that will be aging.

[haifamarkets]

As a beginner I started with one fermenter. All was good for me. Now I started doing a secondary and did not see much difference. The only reason I can think of is that you get a supposed clearer wine when using secondary. However, that can still be achieved by siphoning it correctly into bottles without touching the bottom of fermenter or agitating the mix. For sure, much less work and less risk of contamination. It is always nice to hear different opinions from experience guys. Thanks Larry.

[triplx]

I never used a secondary when I first started brewing but recently I have started to move my beer off the trub for bottling. I have to say it has made my bottling process much easier and a clearer beer before carbonation which probably doesn't make a lot of difference as it will clear either way. I did use a secondary for dry hopping but I bottled straight from that as I had used a nylon bag for my dry hops. The other advantage for me is that I don't have as much of a clean up on bottling day because the bottling bucket is relatively clean after bottling is done. But Yes, I agree, it's not necessary to secondary. It's more down to the space and equipment I have I think.

[mattmarcovitch]

I feel like secondary speeds up how fast it clears up and finishes, you can leave it in primary, but will get the same beer faster with a secondary ferment. I have been doing beer and wine both ways for a few years and prefer the two stage ferment. That's the beauty of brewing your own, you do it your own way.

[dennisrooney]

I agree with you 100%. I've been brewing for 4 years and I've never done a secondary fermentation in another vessel. Northern Brewer explains what secondary fermentation is. The primary fermentation occurs relatively quick until a slowing occurs. The secondary fermentation actually has very little fermentation occurring. Secondary fermentation is simply letting your beer settle out. Typically towards the end of the second week most fermentation has halted. Just let it go the full two weeks and keg. Perfect Ale everytime. We've never had a bad batch in 4 years. This is probably the best video I have seen on this subject. I also like to remind people that a thousand years ago people were making really good beer. They didn't have conical s, refractometers or brewers yeadt for that matter. The air fermented their beer. Dont force it. Let your All Grain recipe speak for itself. You got this! CHEERS!

[Edumacationification]

Generally speaking: the only thing "necessary" to making alcohol is sugar, water and yeast. Anything beyond those three things literally come down to what you "prefer".

Beer and wine both develop flavors as they age. Adding brown sugar vs white sugar to wine will taste nearly identical two weeks in the bottle but wait three months and the difference is significant. If you plan on drinking a batch within a month or two then it probably doesn't make a difference. If you let it sit in a bottle for 3 or more months then it likely makes more of a difference.

[boatbuilder]

Larry, I only Brew Ales and have tried secondary a few times but do not do it anymore as I also think it is a waste of time . I do not bottle anymore either because it is a pita but I do use 6 1/2 gallon plastic buckets and love them! I leave my brew in them 2 weeks and cold crash for 24 hours and also have a clean empty and sanitized keg in kegerator ready to accept the beer from the fermenter. Once in the keg I put 20# co2 on it for 2 days and its ready to drink.
Cheers!
Dale

[larslind]

Thank you for clarifying what Ive been feeling all these years. I have never transferred my beer to a secondary, but always thought I dis wrong. all the time my beers went out great.
secondary is not necessary. Thank you Larry.

[favandacdc]

Thank you for posting this. I dry hop, add fruit, etc. all in primary. Never had a problem.

[tturner]

I have always leaned to the K.I.S.S. method. Started brewing ales in the late 90s with a glass carboy and never did use a second fermenter and I have been brewing great tasting beer ever since. So, from my own experience I agree a 100% when brewing ales.

[TEN]

Agreed! We have moved to only using one fermenter and cold crashed to get great results. Especially with things like the depth charge on the the Big Mouth Bubbler which helps with dry hopping or adding things post fermentation. Cheers!

[MadMax]

Sorry to necro-post on a 2 year old video, but from what I've heard, just like you mentioned, there ARE certain times you need to get your beer or your wine off the dregs. Lagers are one, however, my personal opinion is that you have to allow enough time for your yeast to "clean up after themselves" so to speak. So if you are going to use secondaries, which is totally up to the individual brewer or vintner, don't be in too much of a rush. I have 12 gallons of wine that up until recently, had be sitting on the secondary dregs (yeah yeah I racked it out of primary after a month or so lol) for about 9 months. I just degassed it and oaked half of it. It may sit several more months until I'm ready to bottle. Patience is always rewarded. Happy brewing! Love the videos btw!

[alanbrown]

You are 100% right, not only is the green beer susceptible to airborne bugs, secondary fermentation is a complete waste of time. Without blowing my own trumpet, I have been homebrewing since 1982 and decided to grainbrew in 1990 and such experience has taught me that secondary fermentation increases the chances of a ruined five gallon (23 litre) batch. For convenience I use the Grainfather that is highly recommended. Happy brewing!!