Christian

Recipes 

I like to brew allot of stouts and in my experience i prefer conditioning in bottles over bulk aging in secondary more than 8 weeks or so. I have had an Imperial Stout in secondary for close to 6 months and the only problem i had was getting it to carb up, it took forever because so much of the yeast had settled from being in the carboy for so long.

__________________
I believe Homer Simpson said it best "Alcohol, the cause of and solution to all of life's problems"


CMAC'S Brewery

budbo

Recipes 

If it smells like burnt rubber toss it, if not, enjoy

EvilTOJ

Recipes 

Autolysis usually doesn't occur even if it's been in the primary a long time. I have a few beers that are still in primary a few months already that smell and taste pretty good. And there's no difference in conditioning in secondary or bottles. Some say bulk aging makes a more consistent end product, but it's debatable.

__________________
There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

sparkyaber

Recipes 

Thanks for all of the input!!

Halaster

Recipes 

I have a stout that has been in my Secondary Carboy since August 5th, 2008. When I bought the kit from Midwest, they even had in the instructions that it's best to leave it in a secondary for up to a year.

Helter

Recipes 

I had an amber that I forgot about in my basement for over a year. I was cleaning out the basement one day and found it. The airlock was bone dry, but I figured "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead". I bottled it without tasting, and after it had bottle conditioned for a few weeks I tried it.
It was good, flat, but good. To be honest, I hadn't brewed any during that year (it may have been my last at that point), so I think I might have forgotten to prime it. That would explain the flatness at least.
Anyway, my point is that leaving it on the cake for too long won't necessarily damage it.