BeerBorg

Ibasterd wrote:Hey all. In the past I have not racked to secondary. I leave it in the LBK for three weeks and bottle. I was thinking of giving racking to secondary a try. Anyone have any opinions on whether they feel racking to secondary is necessary and any benefits they saw. I plan on transfering to a second LBK after a week of primary and letting it go in secondary another two weeks. Also, anyone who has racked from a LBK, do you siphon from the top opening or use a hose from the spigot? Thanks borg.

Infrequently for me, but when I do, I use a hose from the spigot. Not necessary, clears the beer a bit, so the first pour from the keg is more clear.

FWIW, if you're using an LBK I would recommend a cold crash over racking to a second one. You'll compact the trub nice and tight and not have to bother/worry about the racking process.

I see the LOML missed one of the reasons why I secondary. For fining the beers that I keg. At the end of dry hopping, additions etc I add isinglass or polyclear. I find that this reduces the trub at kegging and helps eliminate chill haze

Hey Sam,
Didn't wanta blast on the Demon fermenters. I've just read alot of complaining about the spigots that come with the 2.5 gallon fermenters nowadays. I have 2 of your LBC fermenters(which I love),and many of the LBKs.The old ones have been with me for many years,and the spigots on them seem to hold up pretty good. It does'nt matter to me which equipment I use,b/c I figure out beforehand what my needs will be,ie( do I need to use a bottling bucket),but if the end result is the same,(wonderful Homebrewed beer), I guess I like all of the products. You are producing a GOOD product! Keep up the good work.Can't wait to see your new Baby.

Well I finally gave transfering to secondary a try today with my Pumpkin rye saison. And I kind if wish I hadn't. I lost a fair amount of volume due to the sludgy pumpkin yeast trub at the bottom that I didn't want to get into secondary. As others have mentioned, I think you loose less volume with a cold crash due to the compacting of the trub. Well, I tried it and now I know. I think I will stick to cold crashing from primary. Beer smelled great though!

Ibasterd wrote:Well I finally gave transfering to secondary a try today with my Pumpkin rye saison. And I kind if wish I hadn't. I lost a fair amount of volume due to the sludgy pumpkin yeast trub at the bottom that I didn't want to get into secondary. As others have mentioned, I think you loose less volume with a cold crash due to the compacting of the trub. Well, I tried it and now I know. I think I will stick to cold crashing from primary. Beer smelled great though!

That is one of the reasons I mash chunks of roasted pumpkin in and then pitch it. In the past I did a long steep. Just hated dealing with the mush and loss, and dont have any place to cold crash a 5 gallon bucket, and until now it didnt dawn on me to simply put in two LBKs. D'oh!