BeerBorg

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.

Unless you are adding lots of extras during fermentation such as hops, fruit, etc, I think it's just a waste of time. Sure, you may get a clearer beer faster but in most cases, the chances of oxidation and contamination are higher though it may be rare.

Give it a try, IB. I do it often (but not always), and I follow the process you've outlined, exactly. I siphon out the top, rather than using the spigot. No issues with contamination or oxidation (yet....knock on wood).

I know that conventional wisdom has shifted to "racking is not necessary" in recent years, but I like the clarity I get, especially the reduction in fermentation sediment that makes it into the bottles. And while leaving the beer on the yeast cake for a few weeks is no big deal, I figure it's equally no big deal to rack. I recall that when the Borg was in it's infancy, the BrewDemon folks were speculating that the shape of the MB LBK exposed more of the beer to flocculated yeast, and thus could potentially reduce the flavor quality of the finished product. All the more reason to rack when using LBK's, IMO.

Granted, racking to another LBK isn't ideal, as the "airlock" isn't really an airlock, and if your beer is mostly done producing CO2, there's that to be concerned with.

But if you're thinking of giving it a try, I say go for it. I've done it over a dozen times, with no ill effect.

I do it on a regular basis.
I usually go two weeks in primary and about 10 days in secondary, which is where I dry hop for 3-5 days.
Also, I just hook the hose directly to the spigot so I don't have to expose the beer as much.

I do 5 gal AG batches and even though I ferment in a cool, dark room in the basement,
I was having a problem with off flavors.
Racking to secondary seems to have solved that for me.
I even asked the brewmaster at our local brewery about the practice and he highly recommended it.
He's won a couple of gold medals in national competition, so who am I to argue!
Also, it does seem that the beer is clearer and there is less sediment in the bottles!

As a counter point, I generally do not bother with it and I make better beer now then I did back in the "old days" where I used a secondary for every beer I made.

I will agree that you can get a clearer beer with less bottle trub by doing so if that matters to you (it really does not to me, except in special cases). For a really big beer that I wanted to bulk age a bit, or a true sour (with live bugs) I would secondary still.

I do not personally think you will automatically eliminate off flavors, I think better process in general is what solves that. YMMV depending on your fermenter geometry - IE a tall narrow fermenter will put a lot more pressure on the yeast cake and cause problems much sooner then a fermenter that is shorter and wider, so 3+ weeks in one kind of fermenter is different then 3+ weeks in another type.

If you do rack to a secondary make sure you still have some fermentation going on so that you get a CO2 blanket. The LBK leaves a lot of surface area exposed to the air when compared to a carboy.

Thanks for the advice and useful info all. I will probably try it as an experiment next batch. I'll post an update when I can compare results.

Bob secondaries the majority of his batches. All I know is that they are ABV and take 2 to 3 years to get drinkable. His Dad and the rest of Germany side of the family love it too. His cousins keep emailing for care packages

Gott des Bieres wrote:Bob secondaries the majority of his batches. All I know is that they are ABV and take 2 to 3 years to get drinkable. His Dad and the rest of Germany side of the family love it too. His cousins keep emailing for care packages

Yeah Bobs "normal" batches are stronger then the most potent stuff I brew these days, and I brew those very rarely. I totally understand why he secondary's most everything.

I see this thread is fairly old (I know, I haven't been able to get on here much lately), but the pineapple wit I did, I racked via bottling wand from the spigot into secondary bucket. Taste tests from that batch have not shown signs of oxidation, but that I probably should have used more pineapple lol.

As long as this thread has been brought back on top, I'll post too. I've never done a secondary when using LBK's and I still use LBK's on some brews, but I don't have a fermenter of that size that will work as a secondary. On my 5 gal batches and the ones I don't split in LBK's, I always secondary. Here's why I like to, in less then 2 weeks I can free up the primary and make some more beer, I don't have to worry about when I have to bottle - it can sit in there for a long time, It will come out clearer but with the cost of loosing a little beer, but the best part I see is after bottling and carb, it's conditioned out and ready to drink (depending on the style and how long in the secondary)

Well, I might as well ask this newb question here: If one uses a secondary, does it have/need an airlock? Or do you put it in a bucket and seal the lid airtight?

Bluejaye wrote:Well, I might as well ask this newb question here: If one uses a secondary, does it have/need an airlock? Or do you put it in a bucket and seal the lid airtight?

Airlock as fermentation still continues, albeit slowly.

FWIW, When I use my BrewDemon fermenters,I usually rack it to a slimline for bottling.Tell you why.I just don't trust the spigots.Whether you have it installed correctly or not,I just don't trust them.My Slimlines have much more "Beefy" spigots. When I use my old trusty LBKs ,they have the old type spigots,and my 6.5 gal. Mr. Beer fermenters have the 2 way spigots. You can keep it open for a bottling wand,or it is spring loaded to bottle right from the fermenter. As far as fermenting,I just let it go for 3 weeks and then bottle,but that is my choice.The less fiddling around with my brews,the more sucessfull they are.

RandyG wrote:FWIW, When I use my BrewDemon fermenters,I usually rack it to a slimline for bottling.Tell you why.I just don't trust the spigots.Whether you have it installed correctly or not,I just don't trust them.My Slimlines have much more "Beefy" spigots. When I use my old trusty LBKs ,they have the old type spigots,and my 6.5 gal. Mr. Beer fermenters have the 2 way spigots. You can keep it open for a bottling wand,or it is spring loaded to bottle right from the fermenter. As far as fermenting,I just let it go for 3 weeks and then bottle,but that is my choice.The less fiddling around with my brews,the more sucessfull they are.

Our new batch of the fermenters (arriving next month), we have increased the size of the spigot hole and upgraded our spigot. We think you will be happy with this one. I actually tried breaking one with no success...maybe you will have better luck:) It also come apart much easier (for easy cleaning).