[wishbonebrew]

so i'm going to start a blonde ale tomorrow, forgot the irish moss, im using citrus hops and im going to add organic vanilla bean to the secondary fermenter. my plan was to keep it in the primary for 1 week then transfer to the secondary and add the vanilla bean and let it sit for another week than to the bottling bucket, bottle the beer than age for two weeks?  this is the timeline I received from my local brew store. anyone think i need to change it up before i start. thanks every one

[bassman15169]

I usually go 2 weeks in primary and another week in secondary. I bump it up if  its a big brew to 3 weeks in primary and 2 in secondary

[wishbonebrew]

I usually go 2 weeks in primary and another week in secondary. I bump it up if  its a big brew to 3 weeks in primary and 2 in secondary

roger that. what do you mean by big brew? size or type

[Wort-H.O.G.]

FWIW you dont need a secondary. move on from primary +- 2 weeks ans keg or bottle.

[bassman15169]

if the brew is above 7% or so I usually go a week longer in each. ive never gone from primary directly to bottles but I have heard plenty of people that say secondary is unnecessary

[Stevie]

I doubt a blonde ale would benefit from secondary. I would bottle after 2 weeks, allow to carb for an additional 2 weeks, chill and drink. It could benefit from some cold conditioning in the bottle.

And time frames are guidelines, beer is done when it is done. Use your hydrometer to determine this.

[bassman15169]

I have never done any experimentation with doing a secondary vs not...LHBS shop recommended 2 weeks/primary and 1 week/secondary regimen so that is what I have always done. hydrometer has always proven beerbto be finished with this routine. I guess it is up to the individual brewer

[HoosierBrew]

I doubt a blonde ale would benefit from secondary. I would bottle after 2 weeks, allow to carb for an additional 2 weeks, chill and drink. It could benefit from some cold conditioning in the bottle.

And time frames are guidelines, beer is done when it is done. Use your hydrometer to determine this.

+1.  No need to secondary the vast majority of beers, and racking to secondary on a set time frame can cause your beer to be slow to reach FG, and not give the yeast a chance to clean up off flavors and aromas. Don't ever rack before you verify that you've reached FG.

[bboy9000]

1-3 weeks in primary, but this is dependent on yeast and OG so wait until the gravity is stable for 3 days in a row.  No need for secondary.