Total time until kegging estimate

I am looking to brew a Magic Hat #9 clone. However, I have a week of travel coming up. How many weeks do you think it would be from brew to keg? I will be around to move it from primary to secondary, but how long can it stay safely in secondary? If it had to stay there an extra week, does that matter?

Thanks!

Mappler,
I'm fermenting an AG Magic Hat #9 (clone) batch as of 2 days ago.

I'm going to let this sit fermenting for 2 weeks,
Then rack to another keg, ( I'm fermenting in a keg)Then add the Apricot fruit to my keg,

And let it sit for at least another week, Maybe more?

I learned, I don't have to baby-sit my fermenting beer any more. If I seen it at least bubble a little in the beginning, Thats enough for me to just let it sit and do it's thing.

How long you going to be away?

Hope this helps!

mappler said:

I am looking to brew a Magic Hat #9 clone. However, I have a week of travel coming up. How many weeks do you think it would be from brew to keg? I will be around to move it from primary to secondary, but how long can it stay safely in secondary? If it had to stay there an extra week, does that matter?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Let it sit in the primary. Skip the secondary. Well, let me rephrase: Let it sit in the primary until at least the FG level is reached. (I usually make sure it has by letting it sit at least a few more days and doing another reading.) Then, instead of a secondary, rack the beer to a keg and add co2. Vent. Add co2. Vent. Add co2. Now, let this sit as your secondary/conditioning keg for at least another week. Then carbonate.

In terms of your travel, simply letting it continue to sit in the primary while you are traveling is ok, especially if you don't futz with it so that it maintains a good co2 layer.

The only time I would use a secondary (instead of the above) is if I were doing something where I'm adding stuff to the secondary that I don't want in the final beer. I'm not talking about dry hopping, as that is simple enough to do it in the keg. But for a fruit beer, I would likely add the "fruit stuff" after racking from a primary to a secondary, and then after it does it's thing rack again from a secondary to a conditioning/carbonation keg.

This beer has Apricot, so it will want to be in a secondary.
I'll be gone for a week, 4 weeks from now.