Milk Stout - How long to secondary ferment!?

I brewed my Mackeson Milk Stout Clone on 9/20/09 and the only thing I did special was add about 12oz of unsweetened nestles baking cocoa.

I racked it to the secondary on 9/26/09.

How long would you all leave it on the secondary, is it time to bottle this weekend!?

6 days to racking is extremely quick. Even though fermentation may be complete, yeast need time to clean up/metabolize by-products of the fermentation such as acetaldehyde (green apples) and diacetyl (butter). Not only that, but you want your yeast to complete flocculation and clear/drop out.

Assuming your fermentation was complete, I would keep it in secondary for 2-3 weeks. I know you want to drink it soon, but patience is rewarded in this hobby.

What PseudoCHef said. Use the Hydrometer. It knows all

yea - 1 week in the primary is pretty quick.

I would wait at least two weeks in the secondary and it will be at it's best, 3 or 4 months after bottling.

Lots of stuff going on in that brew that needs a good aging. All of my Stouts are peaking at 6 months! Taste good early but need aging for sure.

IF I were you I would wait until the NEXT weekend but this weekend is OK.

zman said:

What PseudoCHef said. Use the Hydrometer. It knows all

Click to expand...

It's not really using the hydrometer, it's just simple waiting.

Thanks guys, Yep, I'm in NO real hurry with this beer. This is my first stout. The reason I racked it to secondary in 6 days was I had the help to move the 5 gallons so it made sense to rack it. Somehow I either got a hernia and/or just some strained muscles and so when i had the help I wanted to rack it, plus the visible signs of primary fermentation were definately over when I racked it. I'd gladly leave it for another week or more, I'm in no hurry to lift it yet!

hernia!!!! I had one of those when I had a 55 gallon fish tank - SUCKS!!

Also - TOTALLY suck if I had one since I start brewing.

you have to make 1 quart batches.