I have been crossing a few Ale recipes in Books. I have a doubt about temperatures on the secondary that normally are very low temperatures comparing whit the primary fermentation. For example normally Ale recipes the primary goes around ± 18º C
to 23º , but on the secondary i have crossed temperatures from 0º C to to 10º C.
Im trying to understand the the temperature influence on secondary fermentation, the advantages and disadvantages, what the criteria to decide the the secondary fermentation? Whats the correlation between the temperature and time on the secondary?
Does any one knows useful links or books about the subject?
I’m not sure what you mean by secondary in this case. Usually when we refer to secondary fermentation we mean after racking into a second fermenter when primary fermentation (the yeast is finished turning fermentables into alcohol, but perhaps not yet converted unwanted by products into more desirable compounds) is finished. In practice, I usually don’t transfer the beer into a second fermenter so I consider the time after alcohol conversion that the beer stays in a fermenter, regardless of its a second fermenter, as secondary fermentation. My practice is actually to raise the temp (usually from low/mid 60’sF to high 60’s low 70’s) towards the end of primary fermentation and for a period after primary is over (a few days to a couple weeks usually) to help the yeast “clean up”. Then I bring the temperature down as much as I can for a few days to let the beer clear up and get the sediment nice and compact before packaging.
unless you are adding fruit or doing extended agings in glass there is generally no need for a secondary. Finish your fermentation completely before you rack. It would be a really bad idea to rack a fermenting beer off the yeast and even worse idea to then lower the temp, unless you like underattenuated beer.
It seems that there are some misconceptions regarding using secondary. The main one I see is that some people think they need to rack to a secondary before fermentation is actually complete and then let the yeast finish up there. You might see a recipe that says ferment for 7 days then transfer to secondary…not a good idea.
I don’t use a secondary but the only reason you should expect more fermentation is if you are adding fruit, honey, or other fermentable sugars. Sorry I realize this doesn’t really address the OP…
What you are seeing is not a true secondary fermentation. What people are doing is racking to a secondary fermentation vessel and cold conditioning the beer. Cold conditioning precipitates compounds that make beer hazy and less smooth.
Recipe i saw are from the book brewing like a monk! A its written secondary.
I thought that the fermentation in the secondary are on the normal Ale temperature, the a few of them on very Lower temperatures. Thats what im trying to understand.
I move to a secondary normally after 5 days to remove the dead yeast and hops on the bottom. And leave it there for around 10 days. Both the Primary and the secondary are at a constant temperature of 18º C
I’ve stopped doing a secondary on any ales that are in the fermenter less than 3 or 4 weeks (which is almost all my ales). Pretty much the only things I use secondary for are the occasional fruit addition or extended aging/lagering (although I will usually do my aging/lagering in a keg and transfer to another keg if necessary). Using secondary just to transfer off the yeast can actually be counterproductive since you’re increasing the risk of contamination or oxidation.
I believe the recipes in Brew Like a Monk are indicating you should transfer the beer to a clean fermentation vessel and then cold condition the beer for an extended period of time rather than aging at ambient temperatures as many do. The cold temperatures will help clear the beer and smooth out the flavor. You do not have to cold condition these beers but you may find that you prefer this process over warm aging.