SMOKEU

Recipes 

in leaving my brew to ferment for 2 weeks in the primary, as opposed to leaving it for a week instead providing the SG remains constant over 2 days?

SkewedBrewing

Recipes 

Yes, even though fermentation has appeared to have ended, the yeast are still in their working.

If you can't wait, go for it. But there are definitely advantages.

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david_42

Recipes 

Just leave it for 3 weeks and it will clear enough you can go straight to the bottling bucket, and taste better.

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Makeyermark

Recipes 

Clarity and avoiding gushers are two reasons that come to mind.

SMOKEU

Recipes 

I bottled my brews after 7 days, but I added finings 24 hours before bottling and after a month of conditioning it's quite clear. Next brew I'll leave for 2 weeks in the primary.

Reno_eNVy

Recipes 

Full month in the primary FTW!

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Schnitzengiggle

Recipes 

I've got a Dubbel going on it's 6th week, but I would recommend 21 days for a normal gravity brew, at least 28 days for higher gravities in the primary. My dubbel may even go on a 7th week due to a family birthday this weekend, so we'll see what happens.

Longer primaries have made a definite improvement on the overall flavor in my brews.

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ifishsum

Recipes 

Even when the yeast are largely finished with the primary fermentation process, if left to work longer they will clean up a lot of their own by-products, usually resulting in a cleaner flavor. I also noticed that I often get an extra point or two drop in FG since I started leaving them in primary longer (compared to the same recipe done with a shorter primary). In addition, after a 2 week primary - 2 week secondary and 3 weeks bottle conditioning, 90% of my batches have lost their green flavor and are ready to drink.

I prefer to secondary most of my beers, but many folks on here skip the secondary and instead opt for a 3-4 week long primary. I started out using the 1-2-3 method but as my brewing progressed (and my pipeline built up) I increased my primary time to 10 days, then to 14 days and I'd definitely say my beer has improved.

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Primary 2: Edwort's Robust Porter
Secondary 1: LW Pale Ale
Secondary 1: Blackened Soul RIS
Kegged: Dead Guy Ale
Kegged: Rye Pale Ale
Kegged: Haus Pale Ale
Kegged: Nut Brown Ale
Kegged: Afrikan Amber
Kegged: Jock Scott Ale
Kegged: Afrikan Amber

schweaty

Recipes 

I'm in the same boat as ifishsum. 2 weeks - 2 weeks - 3 weeks for me. And I too have noticed an increase in quality. How you choose to do your process comes down to the equipment you have at your disposal and your patience.

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SMOKEU

Recipes 

Would I get less severe hangovers with a longer primary? And how long before bottling should I add finings?