Back after 20 years

[Pyrexic]

I was an avid brewer back in the 90's-2000's. Started travelling for work and had some challenges getting beers into secondary fermenter, so moved to wine making. Thought that might fit my schedule better. Could never get wines that tasted better than what I could buy on the cheap and didn't have the patience to tweak and perfect the art. Last wine I made was in Aug of 2003. My son wanted to make mead over Christmas, and I dug out the old gear and made a 2 gal batch yesterday.

Already invested in a grain mill, and some modern gadgets, and a new brew pot with bottom drain and built in thermometer. Ordered my first kit for a all grain hazy and waiting to brew once all the new toys get here. All I have to say is that the hobby sure has gotten much more advanced and it is much easier for the hobbiest to get into the technical details of brewing, which I love. Back when I left the hobby, all grain required a lot of equipment that took up a ton of space. Tools like Beersmith, low cost refractometers, pH meters, and such which take the guesswork out of it did not exist. Got rid of all my big equipment years ago so trying the BIAB approach.

Cant wait until everything gets here and get my first batch of beer in the fermenter!

 

[BOB357]

Welcome back!
Lots of brewing steps have been shown to be unnecessary, including secondaries.

 

[Kevin58]

If you had not already bought a new kettle I would have strongly suggested going electric. All-in-one units are definitely space savers if not time savers also. One thing you can do with that new kettle however is to get a Brew In A Bag (BIAB) bag. That way you can mash and boil in the same kettle.

To reiterate what Bob357 said it used to be believed that a secondary step was required. Even brewing greats like John Palmer in his first edition of the book, How To Brew touted its use. By the time of the third or fourth edition however Palmer recommends you not use a secondary step. In one interview I heard him say he regrets being responsible for perpetuating that myth.

With experience brewers discovered that the supposed benefits were not true and that there were dangers we were not aware of (or not as concerned with as we should)... the biggest being oxidation. There are reasons to use a secondary like flavoring additions or true secondary fermentation with the addition of Brettanomyces but even some of that can be done in the primary fermenter.

 

[Pyrexic]

I am moving to the BIAB method but wasn’t ready to make the investment into an electric kettle. I bought a 20 gal kettle with drain valve and built in thermometer. Got a cheap one to start with. And picked up a bunch of used equipment on Facebook Marketplace.

Also bought the latest edition of Palmer’s How to Brew. Wow, reading my notes from years ago, it is all different. A lot more attention to yeast health, which makes sense but I feel like a newbie again.

So depending on the beer, I would primarily for 1-2 weeks and secondary for 2 weeks. Now that secondary is not needed, how long do you stay in the primary? Just the 2 weeks or are you just waiting for the gravity to flatline for a couple of days?

Anyway. Lots to learn and best way is to brew.