recipe/secondary advice

Hi I need some advice on how long to leave my porter in the secondary.
The recipe I followed says 1 week primary and 2 secondary 4 weeks bottle conditioning. However I have been checking out other similar recipes which only suggest 1 week prim. 1 week secondary...

I know temperature is part of it but I just want some suggestions.

... and because I am thirsty.

you can do 1,2, or no weeks in the secondary. you dont have to use it if you don't want. 1 is good, 2 is better. also it really only takes about 2 weeks to carbonate, but if you can wait 4 weeks it'll be better.

Maturing your beer certainly improves it. The longer is sits, the better it gets.

Of course, very few of my batches make it six weeks. At five weeks, the last few survivors are getting picked off and enjoyed. It's a vicious place here, if you happen to be a tasty homebrew.

i'd let it sit in the secondary at least a week before bottling.

I second Drengel. My first batches sat in primary for 10-14 days and the in bottle to condition. Now it's at least 1 week in primary and at least 2 weeks in the secondary. If you can wait the 4 weeks, your porter will thank you later.

I usually let most of my beers sit in the secondary for two weeks, sometimes three. I agree with the happy mug, the longer it sits, the better it gets. Letting your beer mature is important. Bottle conditioning most often refers to natural carbonation.

I'd especially let it sit for a while if you've added complex flavor elements (i.e. many different specialty malts, flavor extracts, essences, etc). It's important for things to combine and mellow.

I second the second week in the secondary adivice!

I'm with you guys. As for bottling, my new strategy is to use 1.5 cups light DME when bottling. This gives me good carbonation in a week or week+, then I (try) to let it cool for a week prior to bottling. By the time my beer has been in bottle for 3 weeks, it's about 10 soldiers lighter than the original troop size.