Headroom in 2nd fv

[PhilM]

Hi all,

Brewing my first imperial stout today and something just struck me. When moving over to my 2nd fv do I need any specific headroom or can I fill it to almost max, ie. the top?

 

[Covrich]

Are you doing a secondary?

 

[PhilM]

Yeah, that was what I meant. It’s the secondary I’m wondering about.

 

[MyQul]

Yeah, that was what I meant. It’s the secondary I’m wondering about.

In that case you can fill the FV to the brim as the initial (krausen forming) fermentatation will be over

 

[Mavroz]

What is the purpose of moving a brew from a primary FV to a secondary FV please? I only personally use one FV then a bottling bucket.
I am guessing the brew is moved after a certain period of time between initial ferment and 14 days. What are the benefits also?

 

[Covrich]

What is the purpose of moving a brew from a primary FV to a secondary FV please? I only personally use one FV then a bottling bucket.
I am guessing the brew is moved after a certain period of time between initial ferment and 14 days. What are the benefits also?

IMO in most cases I think its not worth moving, I leave mine 14-21 days sometimes more.

In this case he is doing an imperial stout so (and I am only guessing here) he may be doing bulk aging which make sense to perhaps move it ff the trub and age for weeks/ months..

 

[Mavroz]

Ok, thank you for the info, seems interesting. This is something I may like to try in the near future. Ageing before carbing and bottling seems appealing to me to promote taste maybe with something like oak chippings? How does this work with oxidisation possibilities and infection?
Are antioxidants an option?

 

[PhilM]

That’s my plan. Hope to age it for 3 months before bottling. Maybe longer if I can keep away from. 4th brew ever so it’s a good learning curve .