How can I leave beer on the yeast?

Hi,

I brewed a batch on 11/2, but am about to leave town on business for a few weeks. I decided NOT to do a secondary fermentation, so I'm wondering how long it's "safe" to leave the beer on the yeast in the primary before I have to worry about off flavors? It will probably be 3 weeks or so before I'll be able to bottle.

General consensus is no more than a month, but others are able to get away with more than that.

I tend to go 4-6 weeks on most of mine. I think that you will be fine. What style/recipe are you brewing?

I'm brewing a Red Ale.

You'd probably be ok, but I would probably rack to a carboy and then leave it. I don't know how long exactly it would be before the flavor would be harmed (I don't think anyone can tell you that) because it depends on yeast health, temperature, etc, but I can't think of any benefit of leaving it on the yeast cake either.

I'd rack it and then have no worries at all.

My 0.02...

I think it'll be fine. If the yeast is healthy, it'll go dormant and you'll have nothing to worry about. The environmental factors that will cause yeast to die and rot, the dreaded autolysis, are many. The most common are over pitching, high temperatures, and high ABV. With a red ale, find a cool spot for it and enjoy your trip.

It should be fine. I find that if I leave my beer on the yeast for about a month (in general), the yeast cleans up some of flavors. Leave it be!

I think you will be amazed at how good. clean tasting, and clear your beer will be when you return if you leave it where it is. I most often leave mine for 4 to 6 weeks but have left it for 3 months and the beer was fantastic.

I lagered a beer on the cake this summer just to see what would happen. may-october, no off-flavors.

I'd leave it alone and keg/bottle when you get back.

due to laziness i have given up on doing secondaries, as a result my last 3 batches of beer have been clearer and better tasting due to not fussing with them and letting the yeast clean up after themselves. i second the idea of moving it to a an area that wont get too hot or too cold,. take your trip forget about it. When you come back then you decide whether you want to bottle it or rack it.

ive left my last 3 beers in primary for 6 weeks and have had great results.

This is the one hobby where laziness is rewarded.

brettaok said:

Hi,
.................... how long it's "safe" to leave the beer on the yeast in the primary before I have to worry about off flavors? It will probably be 3 weeks or so before I'll be able to bottle.

Click to expand...

The key wording here is OFF flavors. I agree with those who say it is fine to do primary only brewing. However, just because there won't be any off flavors as a result, leaving the beer on the yeast will lead to it's own set of flavors which many people like, some don't mind, some aren't even aware of, and others don't like. You can still get a great beer this way. I brew a fair number of lighter styles of beer, and I'm not a fan of the flavors I get when I'm too lazy to transfer the beer to a secondary. It is still a fine beer, but just not quite up to what I ideally want in terms of flavor profile. It is up to the individual to decide.

Don't need a secondary, does not mean one shouldn't do one. One doesn't need a Sabco Brew Magic system, that does not mean one shouldn't want one

What temperature? It's already been 3 weeks? And will be another 3 weeks? At what temperature? Try to get it cold.

My brews all stay in Primary for 4-6 weeks and my beer has gotten better for it. If you're worried, cold crash it, but I wouldn't worry about it.