you can leave it in the primary for more than 2 weeks and probably you'll be fine. but at 4-5 weeks i guarantee you that protein will have started to break down and will get into the beer. if you're fermenting for more than 2-3 weeks in a primary, it really should go into a secondary
You can gaureentee, this, huh??? Wow you must know more than most of us, including John Palmer, because we seem to gaurentee quite the opposite.
In fact we've been gaurenteeing that the OP's beer will actually BE BETTER by leaving it in Primary for a month.
You're going by outdated information....that idea has been dying over the last 4 years or so, driven by our experiences here. It's an outdated opinion, based on old fears about yeast contact.
You'll find that more and more recipes these days do not advocate moving to a secondary at all, but mention primary for a month, which is starting to reflect the shift in brewing culture that has occurred in the last 4 years, MOSTLY because of many of us on here, skipping secondary, opting for longer primaries, and writing about it. Recipes in BYO have begun stating that in their magazine. I remember the "scandal" it caused i the letters to the editor's section a month later, it was just like how it was here when we began discussing it, except a lot more civil than it was here. But after the Byo/Basic brewing experiment, they started reflecting it in their recipes.
Contrary to what you may think, it's been discovered that actually taking it off the yeast too soon prevents some much needed cleanup (and the true secondary fermentation period) from happening. That's why many of us have opted for LONG primary/No secondary. Instead of rushing the beer off the yeast cake before the job is done. The yeast are very tenacious creatures, and if we actually leave them the heck alone, and not move them too soon, they will actually clean up after themselves, and remove their own waste/by products of fermentation, and actually will lead to cleaner, clearer and fresher tasting beers.
Moving it during fermentation more often than not has led to stuck fermentations.....And off flavors. Because the strongest, most active yeast is still in primary, rather than relying on some weaker, less flocculant yeast to clean up the messes.
It's very similar to a diacety rest, but for ales no change in temp is required. You can read a citation for that here
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f13/pr...d-butter-please-70438/index2.html#post1080693
That old way of thinking that the yeast is the enemy has gone the way of the dinosaurs. Back when yeast was crappy, and may have come in hot cargo holds of ships, and sat on store shelves for an indeterminant length of time. Now with modern, healthy yeast we put it to work for us..."vomit" or "Autolysis" yeast is pretty much a myth for todays homebrewer.
Even in subsequent editions of How to Brew, John Palmer has changed his tune. But even in the first edition of the book he said this..
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.
You can read about that here, and have all your questions answered about that as well. THIS is the most updated information;
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/
It won't, as you gaurentee, happen automatically on day x....the yeast won't just take a powder and start pooping in the beer. People have succussfully left their beer in primary for 6 or more months, with NO issues.
Bottom line, we leave our beers alone, some of us for a month, it let's the beer ferment and the yeast clean up after itself. Many of us have found a remarkable improvement on our beers since we "entered the 21st century."
You don't want to stop the conditioning process,
you want to embrace it.
I'll see your gaurentee, and
and raise it with some facts.
AND my scores and medals from the beers I've been leaving in primary for a month as well.....
