When moving a 5 gallon batch into secondary does it make a difference if it is into a 5 gallon carboy or a 6.5?
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I say use any size it fits in. In the secondary, there is unlikely to be any significant foaming unless you add a fermentable flavor such as a fruit juice. A five gallon carboy will serve fine. Concerns about oxygenation in larger carboys, in my opinion, are largely unfounded. Small amounts of fermentation are still occurring in the secondary as well as natural outgassing from racking the beer out of the primary. Because CO2 is heavier than air, it forms a protective blanket over your beer, protecting it from oxidation. The real danger of oxidation in the secondary is excessive splashing during transfer, not exposure while sitting still. But that is easy to minimize and doesn't have any bearing on the carboy size. |
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I've never had a problem. I only use 6.5gal carboys, have for over 4 years. |
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Doesn't matter much; but some will advocate having as little airspace as possible. |
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I mentioned in a beer storage question that oxygen is one of the two beer spoilers. Minimize the exposure to oxygen by leaving little head space in your secondary vessel. If you keg, you can flood the secondary with CO2 before transferring. Carbon dioxide is heavier than air and will protect your beer from oxidation. That being said, there's not much reason to chase a problem that doesn't exist. Oxidized beer has a wet cardboard or stale cracker flavor. If you don't taste those flavors, relax, don't worry and have a non-oxidized homebrew. |
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I use 5 gal carboys for secondary... when I use a secondary. Lately I have gotten lazy, except for lagers, I only use a primary. |
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