Head Space In Carboy(?) Help,please.

[BM1]

I'm gonna rack my Brown Ale today;it was a 3 gallon batch that yielded about 3.8 gallons.It won't fit in a 3 gal. Carboy,which was not a problem for primary.I,m gonna need to put it in a 5 gallon carboy for 2ndary.I could fill the 3 gal.and put the over run in a one gallon,but I don't know... .Any input?

[Don]

I have an extra 5 gal. carboy if you want to borrow it.

[BM1]

Thanx,Don but I don't need it.I have a five and a 6.5 ready to use.Problem was fitting 3.75 gallons into a 3 gallon carboy,or,using a 5.0 and having all that head space for potential O2 problems.I was hoping some one would say"The extra head space won't be a problem",but I think it might be.Attenuation is complete and probably not going to purge itself with CO2 so I just filled my 3.0 and put the over run in a 1.0(wine jug).Guess I was just whinin'
The beer tastes great,the chocolate malt comes through nicely.Gonna be good even if it is a Ruined Brown Wheat Ale.I'll bring ya some when it's done.
Pretty color,

[Don]

Why are you doing a secondary?

You will find that many of brewers leave their beers in primary for 3-4 weeks, skip secondary and keg or bottle.
Just search under "no secondary" or " long Primary" and you will see all the reasons why they do it, and the explanations behind...

I only do secondary when I am making a Larger, adding fruit or oak.

It saves time and reduces the risk of bacteria.

[BM1]

Thanks again,Don.I do 2ndary mainly for clarity.I tried the primary only approach a couple times and what I got most of the time was a lot of sediment in my bottles.I know that can be minimized by careful racking but I have to carry my jugs upstairs to work on them(no table in bsmnt )so there is a little shaking going on.This may change with equipment upgrades,but for now...

Anyway,I filled my 3.0 gal. and put the over run in a 1.0.

[Don]

Sounds good.

[john mills]

Using 2 containers for 1 batch sounds like too many dishes to wash. I would use a single 5 gallon. The oxygen present prior to fermentation is good for yeast. The yeast start their business by first using up the oxygen...thus oxygen good, that's why you oxygenate prior to yeast pitch. The yeast will produce their co2 and create the gas blanket keeping the oxygen away from the beer. It is at this point that 02 contact is bad. My preference at home is to use a 6 1/2 gallon carboy for a 5 gallon batch. Keeps all your good beer from flowing out, and you wouldn't need a blow off tube, just an air lock.

[BM1]

Yep,I agree with extra head space for primary fermentation,but for secondary I like to keep it to a minimum.By the time I rack it there is not much CO2 activity and any air lock bubbles are probably residual gas escaping due to agitation.I wouldn't want to count on that to completely purge an extra gallon or 2 of head space.Primary fermentation is aerobic and secondary(or clearing phase)should be anaerobic. Hate to use a buncha big words on ya but...

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Thanks for the input.

[Dwayne_Delaney]

I used to brew old school; primary for a week after fermentation subsides, then religiously racked to the "secondary" for the remainder. Now I only rack to a "secondary" if I plan on letting the beer age for more than a month. Most of the time it goes from the fermenter directly to bottles or kegs. This is becoming more common, and some of the brewing "gurus" have embraced this method for it's simplicity and also for reducing the exposure to bacteria during the racking.

For a great article on the Pros and Cons of racking to a secondary, check out this one from a Mr. Chris Alvey.

http://brewersspot.com/index.php?p=cust ... ot+To+Rack

6.5 gallon carboys are the way to go if you can find them. Plenty of head space so you don't have to use a blow-off tube. I also like their screw on tops.