Secondary?

I know this has most likely been answered a trillion times... but....

So i know not to leave the beer in the primary too long after fermentation because of the off-flavors from the trub, but how long can in stay in the secondary without consequence?

Actually this has been covered ad nauseum, usually two to three times a day on here.

And the "off flavors from the trub" idea is a myth....do a search for "long primary" or "no secondary" or search "secondary" and you will see those discussions as well, they are all tied in together...Many of us shot that myth down and leave our beers up to a month or 6 weeks in primary and finds that it actually improves our beers rather than makes it worth....that old idea (fear of the yeast) is a carry over from the the days of old, dried out yeastcakes that sat on hot ships or under lids in stores, and not the case these days of fast turnover, refrigerator storage, where yeast is healthy.

In fact Even John Palmer in how to brew talks about leaving beers alone in primary for a few weeks.

How To Brew said:

Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most canned kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring. And, three weeks in the primary fermentor is usually not enough time for off-flavors to occur.

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Add you can leave beer in the secondary for a long long time, some even need to be bulk aged for a year.

There's plenty of info on here about it....you will find all you need with a little bit of digging. Just scroll through threads in the beginner's section. In fact some of them are even in the "similar threads" box below.

I'm not trying not to be helpful...but this topic is a daily occurrance on here, and most people are have given their thoughts on it. So if you want to get the info it won't be too hard to find.

thanks alot!

it can stay in secondary indefinitely - two to four weeks is common for medium-sized beers.

I had an award winning brown ale that was in the primary for 2 weeks, and then in the secondary for over 4 weeks (mainly out of laziness)....

laziness tends to have me leave my beers in primary for 2-3 weeks, and 2ndary for another 2, no ill effects noticed.

I agree with Revvy, you will find a lot of info in a search. I do however leave almost every beer I make in the primary for 3 weeks. Many of them for longer, and just skip a secondary. GL

I have an Irish Red ale that was in primary for 9 months.

It's not the best beer I've ever brewed, but I think that's mainly due to the recipe, not having been in primary a ridiculous amount of time.

Unless I need to do a secondary for the addition of fruit, I don't bother with secondary fermenters at all anymore...

Revvy said:

In fact some of them are even in the "similar threads" box below.

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I've been reading this forum for 7-8 months and I never noticed that box.. Thats pretty cool!