# Homebrewers - when to rack to secondary fermenter? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 5, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126 "2003-05-05T04:01:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/1 "2003-05-05T04:01:59Z")
Haven’t done this for ages, but when should I rack to a secondary fermenter? I’m a dead reckoning type homebrewer, so I would much prefer something along the lines of after 48 hours, 2 weeks, after the main fermentation flurry subsides, when fermentation is nearly complete, etc. Thanks and btw it’s for a honey wheat beer. ---
**Author:** ![yola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/48db29/32.png) [@yola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yola)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/2 "2003-05-05T04:12:18Z")
I don’t know, but if no one can help you here. you can ask these guys at [http://forums.about.com/homebrew007/messages](http://forums.about.com/homebrew007/messages) . Good luck! Sounds good. ---
**Author:** ![viking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc79bd/32.png) [@viking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/viking)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/3 "2003-05-05T04:23:23Z")
Unfortunately an exact time is hard to give, because it depends on the sugar content of the wort, the strain of yeast, and the temperature of your kitchen (or wherever the primary is…) But the basic answer is after the main fermantation flurry subsides. As far as I can tell, the danger with leaving it too long is that the primary tends to be open, so it can get infected with wild yeasts. The danger with racking too soon is that a violent yeast-fart might blow hops into the airlock, blocking it and causing it to go ballistic (literally, not anthropomorpically figuratively 🙂 ) 2-3 days should be good, in my experience. But the most important advice is to relax, not worry, and have a homebrew. ---
**Author:** ![Number](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/number/32/242_2.png) [@Number](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Number)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/4 "2003-05-05T11:47:45Z")
Check out the [Conducting the Fermentation](http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter9-3.html) section from John Palmer’s online book, [www.howtobrew.com](http://www.howtobrew.com/). It’s a pretty good reference for all stages of the process. > [@](#): > > Active fermentation should start within 12 hours. It may be longer for liquid yeasts because of lower cell counts, about 24 hours. (Although if you made an adequate starter, it should start every bit as fast as dry.) The airlock will bubble regularly. The fermentation activity can be vigorous or slow; either is fine. The three important factors for a successful fermentation are pitching enough yeast, good wort nutrients, and maintaining a consistent temperature in the correct range. If you do these right, it is common for an ale’s primary fermentation to be done in 48 hours. Three days at 65-70°F for primary fermentation is typical for the simple pale ale being described here. Personally I leave ales 6-7 days in the primary, but that may be over-cautious. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/5 "2003-05-05T13:57:06Z")
I tend to rack to the secondary after the foaming action is over, say 2-4 days. After that I throw a blanket over the glass fermenter to keep light out. Wait for the bubbles to die out, check the SG and bottle. ---
**Author:** ![\_xiao\_wenti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b782af/32.png) [@\_xiao\_wenti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_xiao_wenti)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/6 "2003-05-05T15:44:36Z")
Nanren de Zhongguo, I tend to move to the secondary after the krausen (the yeast bubbles/layer on the top) has collapsed and settled to the bottom of the fermenter. Due to the yeast vitality and the ambient temperature, the fermentation time can be highly variable. This tends to put everything on the same footing. This supposes that you’re doing an ale rather than a lager. I have only done one lager and I guessed when it was time to move to a secondary. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/7 "2003-05-05T16:04:54Z")
I just wait until the bubbles die down–say, to less than once a minute. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/8 "2003-05-05T18:03:54Z")
What sort of yeast? Regular old ale yeast or actual Bavarian wheat yeast? Typically, the wheat yeast ferments insanely for a short time, while the ale yeast tends to take a bit longer. Still, like Toadspittle said, the best plan is just to wait until the majority of the bubbling has stopped. If you’re monitoring it somewhat closely, this will be pretty obvious. If you want information about home brewing, here are some good places to look: Usenet: [rec.crafts.brewing](http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=rec.crafts.brewing) \*just do a google search on some brew related thing in that group, and you’ll get back more than you ever wanted to know about it! WWW: [http://www.brewery.org](http://www.brewery.org) ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/9 "2003-05-05T18:10:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by viking \* > \*\*As far as I can tell, the danger with leaving it too long is that the primary tends to be open, so it can get infected with wild yeasts. \*\* Another danger is autolysis, where the yeast will cannibalize. It gives the beer a nasty, rubbery flavor. But you can probably leave it for 2-5 days after fermentation stops. Works for me. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/10 "2003-05-08T04:23:39Z")
xiao wenti - are you calling me a southerner? Jeez, to the honkies I’m a northerner, to the Beijinger’s I’m a southerner, but I live pretty much in the middle of the country. anyhoo, racked into the secondary this morning. Karausen and foam had all disappeared, serious fermentation a thing of the past, and though I didn’t time it the airlock bubbles were few and far inbetween. BTW, I used generic brewshop ale yeast. thanks for the replies ---
**Author:** ![\_xiao\_wenti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/b782af/32.png) [@\_xiao\_wenti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_xiao_wenti)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2003, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homebrewers-when-to-rack-to-secondary-fermenter/173126/11 "2003-05-08T14:57:46Z")
Dui bu qi. Nu-Nan de Nan. Bu shi bei-nan. One reason to hate pinyin.