Longest time in the secondary for your ales?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Longest time in the secondary for ales?

  • Secondary for ales? Why bother...

  • 2-3 weeks tops - that's the rule

  • Up to one month, but that was pushing it

  • Two months, but you really gotta get it out of there now

  • Three months or more - RDWHAHB


Results are only viewable after voting.

FlyGuy

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2007
Messages
3,604
Reaction score
232
Location
Calgary, Alberta
The topic of [secondary fermentation] (EDIT: I really mean conditioning in the secondary) has come up frequently in recent months. For those of you who believe in using a secondary, I am wondering how long you keep your beer in it, particularly bigger beers like porters, stouts, IPA's, double-IPAs, etc.?

For beers like big, hoppy IPAs especially, I really like the idea of a long [secondary fermentation] (EDIT: i.e. period of time in the secondary) to condition the beer right in the carboy. One distinct benefit is that you can dry hop it after a few months, and get back some of that aroma.

Does anyone else use a lengthy volume conditioning period in the secondary? My longest was about 5 months for a stout (that was incredible!).
 
Why bother. Sorry, just had to. I'm interested in the results for stouts. Thats the next style that I'm going to try and get good at. I'd like to no the characters that it adds with time. Does it mellow it out? Is that what is traditionally done? I will consult Designing Great Beers and get back.
 
For me it depends. My rule of thumb is that I try to age the beer for one week for every 10 points of OG. This rarely happens ;) but when it does, the beer is always awesome. I also almost always 'secondary' in my kegs and serve when ready.
 
I think a long rest in the secondary can REALLY benefit an ale. I've let some big ones sit for several months with no problems. My meads have sat in primary for months at a time.
 
First, let's clear up any confusion about the secondary (EAC?):

Unless you're pitching another yeast strain or adding more fermentables, you are not affecting a "secondary fermentation" when you rack your beer to another fermenter/container. You are simply moving it away from all of the trub and avoiding off flavors caused by autolysis. Better terms for the "secondary" are "clearing tank," "conditioning tank," or "bright tank."

Ok, that aside, I like to let my beers condition for as long as I can stand it after removing the trub. If I'm running low on homebrew, it can be as short as 2 weeks. Preferably, I let it go for 3 weeks or more (up to several months).
 
i'd have to agree with the above definition, makes sense!!
Thats why i just go to the keg which acts as the conditioning/clearing tank if you like.
 
seems like lots of people swear by the 1, 2, 3 rule. 1 week primary, 2 week secondary, 3 week conditioning. Personally I tend to do more like 1, 3, 1. I almost exclusively keg and force carb so waiting for carbonation is not an issue. I tend to go 5 days to 1 week in the primary, 15-20 days in the secondary and when it hits the keg I'm drinking in 2 or 3 days. I know it gets better with age in the keg but I usually have 2 or 3 kegs tapped at any given time so it sits around plenty long and the second half ins invariably better than the first.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
Better terms for the "secondary" are "clearing tank," "conditioning tank," or "bright tank."

Agreed, and using that definition I never secondary ales. I will dry hop in a "secondary" carboy before kegging, but that's just to keep the hops out of the keg. Once kegged, I let them condition until I "need" them :drunk: I had a recent batch that was pouring from the tap 5 days after brew day...it certainly was better by the end of he keg, but it was pretty good at the beginning too.
 
Yuri_Rage said:
First, let's clear up any confusion about the secondary (EAC?):

Unless you're pitching another yeast strain or adding more fermentables, you are not affecting a "secondary fermentation" when you rack your beer to another fermenter/container. You are simply moving it away from all of the trub and avoiding off flavors caused by autolysis. Better terms for the "secondary" are "clearing tank," "conditioning tank," or "bright tank."

Yuri, thanks for the clarification. I re-read what I wrote and that was definitely misleading. I certainly meant conditioning in the secondary fermenter. But some people confuse conditioning with carbonation, so I was trying to steer clear of that confusion. Thanks for clarifying.

I'll edit the original post now.
 
I think this is a tough question to answer because it is not specific. Different beers have different needs. For example, my bigger beers will go to a conditioning 2ndary for 4-14 days at times. Yet other beers will go straight to the bottle after primary, like my stouts... they are amazing beers that never needed 2ndary conditioning time. My tripels on the other hand definatley go to a conditioning pail.
 
Most of mine do 2 to 3 weeks. But the Grand Cru I'm planning for this summer will be in the secondary for at least 5 weeks. More complex flavors need more conditioning time.
 
I always do a secondary for at least a week. I like 'em a little more clear, and it reduces the chance of getting a greater amt of sediment in the bottles, cause I like to brew higher alcohol beers, and after having a few, my pour can get a little sloppy!

I'm thinking about doing and 'Old Ale' sometime soon and letting it age in the carboy until next fall (maybe with a few oak chips), then maybe blending it with a fresh batch of Bitter for a couple weeks, and that will be my winter brew.
 
I brew on weekends. Transfer to to secondary in 10-11 days, which would be
mid-week. Then bottle in another 10-11 days, which would be a weekend.
 
I've gone as long as 3 and half months in the secondary before for a big beer. I have heard, and this is for wine, not sure if it's the same for beer or not, that it ages better in bulk. Like the really big wine bottles you see out there, can't remember what they are called, but wine ages better in them, at least that is what they told me at a local winery. Like I said though not sure if it's the same for beer, i would imagine that it is.
 
I just made an Old Ale and plan to keep it in the secondary for six weeks and then bottling it.

Doh.. I guess these need up to a year? Or does it need up to a year to come to style?

I used 3 lb amber DME, 3 lb dark DME, 1/4 lb blackstrap molasses, 3/4 lb demerara.

Steeped grains, 1/2 lb british 50-60L, 1/2 lb british chocolote, 1/4 lb british black patent.

I'm not going to worry I'm sure it'll be good but I'll definitely try to age some for a year. Keyword: try.
 
My 1st Barleywine was in the primary for a month and the secondary for 8 weeks. From what I understand, that's way on the low end for the style.
 
I have a sour that will be going on 4 months in 'secondary' I will probably keg it come May of 2010.
Ales i dry hop, such as ipa's , i keep for 10 days in there and i have a RIS i plan on aging in secondary for 6 months. Like the others said, just depends on style.
 
For the past ten or so batches the only secondary vessel I use is the keg it's going into, 3 to 4 weeks on the primary until i reach my desired FG. Keg, chill,(Some times filter) and carbonate. I usually don't serve the first pint to any one but my self, because there can be a bit of turb in that one, but the rest are clear enough.

Works great.
 
You can leave a beer in the primary for as long as the beer is good, meaning just as long as you would leave it in a keg. However, you should make sure it's capped well, there is very little headspace and the airlock doesn't get full of fruit flies.

Too much headspace will inevitably lead to oxygen getting into the beer. At the very least, purge with co2 to fill up that space every once in a while (like every month or so) and change out airlocks.
 
After my first couple of extract beers, I have never used a secondary. Now I have this 5 gallon carboy that only holds sanitizer sitting around taking up space.

I just leave my beers in the primary for a long time. I don't really follow any time rules. I have a pretty deep pipeline and I'm in no hurry to get beer moving along. 8 weeks in the primary is not unheard of for me and nothing bad has happened doing this. The beer is very clear and I just try to disturb the trub as little as possible. After that it gets kegged and sits on the gas at serving pressure for about a month before it goes to the serving fridge. That's also not exact, I just move stuff as needed.

Mike
 
For those of you who condition your ales in a second vessel for a period of time and then go on to carbonate in bottles, do you find the need to add yeast at bottling time?
 
Can you explain process of adding yeast in more detail. I know you add to bottling bucket and sprinkle a half packet of yeast after adding priming sugar. Do you let it sit in there for.a few hours before bottling. Im afraid yeast will just float and not get into allI bottles uniformly
 
10 months for me. Barleywine. Recipe called for aging it 1 year. It'll sit in the bottles until November, when I'll sample it on its 1st birthday.

I added Montrachet yeast at the time of bottling.
 
18 months, Belgian Strong using Flanders Golden as primary yeast and adding T-58 2 weeks before bottling. It's now 2 years old and am about ready to crack open for a sample.
 
I aged a barleywine in a secondary for 7 months before. I bottled with no extra yeast. It carb'd fine within 6 months.
 
I always let the batch sit in the primary for a week *sometimes 5 days*. I only use the secondary if it is a darker or higher % Alc beer. I have yet to have the patience to let a beer sit for a month or longer. That's like bringing Cindy Crawford home and telling her you'd like to talk over a cup of tea.
The Oatmeal Stout I have right now is just going to sit in the primary for 2 weeks.
 
How do you go about adding the yeast before bottling.... Just pour 1/4-1/2 packet to bottling bucket with priming sugar and bottle??? I am thinking about Hydrating yeast, adding it to the carboy..... Letting it sit for 1-2 hours and racking to bottling bucket.... Hoping to mix it without stirring....
 
Back
Top