Going to try using dry oak chips in my secondary fermenter. How do you recommend sanitizing the chips before adding them?

About 10 days after transferring a cider to secondary, it developed a faint diacetyl aroma. I moved it to a warmer location (~70degF) for a few days for a diacetyl rest, but the smell is now more pronounced. I am considering the following next steps: If it is from bacteria, I am considering shocking it with campden and adding fresh yeast and a little sugar to allow the yeast to metabolize the diacetyl. If it is from the yeast, I …

I'm planning a Vanilla Coffee Porter this weekend but I'm unable to decide when, or even if I should, rack to a secondary. My original plan was this: Primary for 7 days in bucket, then add 2 vanilla beans to secondary carboy and rack over. Let it sit in secondary for 2 weeks. Add cold brew coffee and priming sugar to bottling bucket, rack over and bottle. I'm unsure now whether to do a secondary though. I've been reading that …

After 3 weeks in fermenter, doppel bock went from O.G. 1.067 to 1.013, still bubbling occasionally, but not changing. However, after racking to secondary I see no fermentation or bubbling and wonder if the remaining yeast will be viable enough to carbonate upon bottling?

Anyone have a clue what these formations are in my Kolsch style beer? Been in secondary for about 3 weeks due primarily to lazyness. I cleared with gelatin about two weeks ago and it's nice and clear but these have formed on the surface. Wondering what they are. Beer smells delicious and tastes fine so I'm not necessarily worried just curious.

I am taking the opportunity to use the current situation to get brewing again. I'm only using kits at the moment, but plan to move to next stages soon. I currently have a Festival kit of Old Suffolk ale in primary and will be bottling early next week. I'd like to remove as much of the trub from the bottles as possible, and will probably use finings in the secondary before adding the priming sugar and bottling. My question is …

If I put some beer in a secondary vessel for medium-term condition (e.g. lagering or dry hopping), do I need to put an airlock on it or can I just close it up with a stopper or put it in a keg and seal it? Presumably the yeast are not really generating any more CO2. (Note: I'm not talking about an actual secondary fermentation with fruit or something, where the yeast will clearly be active.)

I made a kettle sour and added guava in secondary. Everything was going well for a week. I went out of town for the weekend and noticed my carboy stopper and airlock about three feet away on the floor. Beer looks like it may be contaminated... thoughts on what to do? Could I add some campden drops or reboil? Or is it ruined?

I put my wine in secondary at 1.025 and in 1 day it was down the 1.002. Why so fast? Did I do something wrong? Do I just let fermentation play out or do I stop it?

I'm brewing an imperial stout. It will have 10-12% ABV in the end (hopefully). I never used wood chips before, but want to add it to this beer. I read through guides but I read everything from just 24 hours to 2 months. I have about 12 liters of the stout and want to add the chips next week after primary fermentation is done. How much do I add and how long? I would prefer to do it for 2 …

Over here PJ asked "How do you differentiate primary to secondary if you keep it in the same bucket?"

We are brewing a Pliny clone, IPA with dry hopping. We had an OG of 1.065, and racked to secondary six days later. Our current FG is reading 1.032, which is nowhere close to where we want to be. Initial fermentation with 1056 American Ale Yeast, started at 78°F, held at around 70°F for four days of active fermentation. Should we add more yeast at this point (15 days) to force more fermentation and raise alcohol level?

A friend gave me a 20l (5 gal) wooden barrel. It had bourbon before, and was emptied two or three days ago. My friend said the barrel needs to be prevented from drying so that the wood doesn't contract and the barrel becomes leaky. I don't have anything to put in the barrel, and I cannot brew till in 2 weeks. My friend recommended putting it in shrink wrap, but that'd look ugly. (The barrel looks nice as is and …

Does using gelatin effect aromatics or flavor appreciably? I was reading this post about using gelatin. I have one keg that I use as a cold conditioning vessel (sort of like secondary), and I was going to try experimenting with gelatin for a few beers to see if I liked the results. Thoughts on the negative, if any, impact of gelatin.

What is the best method for preparing different fruits for fruit additions into secondary fermentors? There are issues of sanitation and good fruit to wort contact, via chopping, slicing, mincing or puree.

I am making a chocolate + oat stout on the weekend and would like to add some additions (cacao nibs predominantly - toying with adding some rum soaked raisins). I do not however have a suitable secondary fermenter. Will adding these to the primary cause any issues and is there anything else I should consider? Cheers!

I've brewed a simple base ale recipe. It's fermenting happily. I want to add Chile Peppers to the beer to make a spiced ale. I'm not looking for something with a lot of heat, but I do want some flavor in the back of my mouth. My thought is to buy 5-10 dried peppers, freeze them to break down the cells, then put them in the secondary, sampling it until it tastes right. I have two questions. First, has anyone …

My first home brew beer is ready to be bottled but I've been busy and haven't gotten around to it yet. The beer was in a primary fermenter for 2 weeks, then I racked it into a secondary fermenter (carboy with airlock) where it has been for about 3 weeks now. Do I need to bottle it immediately or can it sit in the secondary for another week or so?

A few weeks ago, I brewed a Belgian double, its done fermenting and ready for the next step. I've noticed that the beer is still very cloudy so I prefer a cold-crash/lagering period before bottling first. Now the 'problem': I don't want to transfer the beer twice ( primary -> sec -> bottling ) because of the increased risk of contamination, but also the extra work and time involved. I've cold crashed in the primary before, but once the beer …

Let's assume I've read all I can about the pros and cons of racking my beer from primary to secondary and I've decided that I want my lager clear and I'm going to rack away. I've brewed a dozen batches and have learned how to keep things sanitized, how to carefully use my auto-siphon, how to properly transfer to my bottling bucket, etc. I'm careful and deliberate. I'm doing my best to keep the beer from splashing and bubbling as …