secondary vs bottle

I was wondering.....is it better to leave it in the Secondary longer than in the bottle...for example in the Secondary for 4 weeks and bottle for 2 weeks...VS ....Secondary 2 weeks and bottle 4 weeks?...what are the PROS & CONS of each?

The main benefits are bulk aging and clarification (for secondary). It's a bit tricky to search on, but I think if you search on 'secondary bulk aging' you'll find some interesting threads.

Trouble is if you leave it in the secondary too long and it clears down too much you can have problems with carbonation in the bottle (or lack of) or at least it can take months to condition (although this is less likely with a quality yeast).

Let my last batch sit in the secondary for 10 weeks. It's been and excellent beer and very clear and I had no problems with carbonation. When I bottled it I left it for about 2 weeks and every bottle has been great!!

IGOR

I've left beers in the secondary for over 2 months without carbonation problems (although there's always a first!). I have seen recipes, particularly for big beers, that call for many months in the secondary and then another innoculation of yeast around 3 days before bottling.

so can I assume that 4 weeks in the secondary / 2 weeks in bottle is better than 2 weeks in secondary / 4 weeks in the bottle ????
waht would be the differences between the 2?????

is this a trick question? are you planning on drinking all the beer after the 2 weeks is up? or are you going to put the beer back in the secondary after its been bottled for 2 weeks? i keep my beer in the bottles for eternity, or untill i drink em...

as far as the secondary, basicallly 4 weeks is better than 2 weeks unless of course 'better' means you can drink em quicker, then 2 weeks is better than 4 weeks, or better yet 6 weeks is better than 4 weeks and 2 weeks but not 20 weeks, unlesss you think its better to drink oxidized beer which means that 1,000 weeks is the best scenerio...i hope this clears things up for ya...

adrphij said:

so can I assume that 4 weeks in the secondary / 2 weeks in bottle is better than 2 weeks in secondary / 4 weeks in the bottle ????
waht would be the differences between the 2?????

Click to expand...

BeeGee said:

The main benefits are bulk aging and clarification (for secondary). It's a bit tricky to search on, but I think if you search on 'secondary bulk aging' you'll find some interesting threads.

Click to expand...

What kind of beer is it? Is six weeks a magic number for drinking it? If it's an ale and settled at 2 weeks secondary, then bottle it. Give it a taste test at 3 weeks in the bottle. If you're happy with it then (carbonation and taste), consume. If not, let it set another week. Rinse and repeat.

wow, you guys wait that long to drink your brews? I have up to one week in first, 1-2 in the secondary. 1 in the bottle/tap-a-draft, then it's time to drink! I suggest 2 weeks though... Does taste a bit green after only a week.