Revvy

Recipes 

The 3 weeks at 70 degrees, that that we recommend is the minimum time it takes for average gravity beers to carbonate and condition. Higher grav beers take longer.

Stouts and porters have taken me between 6 and 8 weeks to carb up..I have a 1.090 Belgian strong that took three months to carb up.

And even carbonation doesn't mean that they will not still be green and need more time to condition....

Everything you need to know about carbing and conditioning, can be found here Of Patience and Bottle Conditioning. With emphasis on the word, "patience."

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beerguy2009

Recipes 

So why do several of the kits I look at only have you ferment for a week and not 2-3 weeks before bottling?

ArtVandelay

Recipes 

Because they're based on outdated old school brewing practice. You can pretty much disregard the instructions that come with any kits

beerguy2009

Recipes 

Well I did follow the brew instructions on the last 2 kits. I thought about waiting to add the LME on the last one but went ahead and added it when it said which was the beginning of the boil. I read that waiting is better so I don't know why I went ahead and added it when I did. Oh well, I hope to have some English Brown ale to enjoy soon but I am leaving it in the primary fermenter for 2 weeks (not 1 week like the instructions say).

ArtVandelay

Recipes 

There was nothing wrong with adding the extract right away. Adding it late most just would help increase bitterness from the hops and isn't a benefit unless you want to do that.

I guess what I was trying to warn is that most kit instructions tell you to remove from primary prematurely due to outdated brewing knowledge. I got confused on my first couple batches because of this but this forum has been a great help and knowledge base

TipsyDragon

Recipes 

because they want to sell more kits. if they cut the fermentation time down they figure you will buy more kits. ignore the fermentation time based instructions.

for the brewing instructions follow them to the letter. the kits are made to be brewed that way. all the math has already been done with those steps in mind. if you changed when you add the extract in relation to when you add the hops the finished beer will have a different level of bitterness.

for instance if you add the hops after steeping but before adding the extract your boil gravity will be lower and you will get more bitterness out of the hops. if you add the hops after steeping and adding the extract the boil gravity will be higher and you wont get as much bitterness from the hops.

TipsyDragon

Recipes 

thats not entirely true. yes it will affect the bitterness and it will also affect the darkness of the finished beer. the longer you boil the extract the more the mailard reactions will darken the brew. late extract addition lessens this affect.

beerguy2009

Recipes 

So the English Brown ale I have fermenting and was planning on leaving in the primary for 2 weeks. Will that be long enough for a brown ale to fully ferment and condition?

TipsyDragon

Recipes 

typically that is the minimum amount of time needed to ferment a batch of beer. use your hydrometer that is the only real way to tell when fermentation is over.

Hang Glider

Recipes 

And, even if fermentation is over, letting it sit to condition is a good thing. Two weeks is mediocre. Three is better. Four if you can stand it. This game is all about patience.

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It must be understood that common sense and caution are factors which cannot be built into this product and must be supplied by the operator.