What's the longest you've left it in secondary?

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Alamo_Beer

Alamo_Beer

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Hey I've got a question

I've got 2 carboys and a limited supply of bottles. I'm thinking about brewing another beer when my primary is free and leaving the second beer in secondary while my first is in bottles. Then when my bottles are free I'll bottle my second.

Question is how long can I leave a beer in secondary? BC i'm not sure how fast we'll drink up the first beer.

Also, I was wondering how long some of you have left a beer in second just for kicks..

Thanks
 
I just bottled a stout that was in the secondary for nearly 3 months. They haven't fully carbonated yet, but I couldn't resist and popped one open to try. Excellent. I concur with a recent thread on large-volume conditioning, and am now thinking that I need an extra secondary or two to long-term condition all my heavier beers in volume.

I transferred it to my bottling bucket with very little sedmiment, so I did add a bit of dry yeast, just to be safe though.
 
Right on..good stuff

I guess I should also ask...

How long does a 5 gallon batch last you?

I guess it depends if you have parties or what but just wondering..

Thanks guys
 
For me, I had a cherry stout that was in secondary for 2 1/2 months and it turned out great. I'm drinking one right now. A 5 gal. batch lasts on average about a month.

Happy brewing
 
Depends on the beer. I've had 5 gallons in a keg that went in a few weeks, while I still have half of the 3 gallons of barleywine that bottled at the end of 2005.
 
I have so much on hand that even the normal gravity brews hang around for several months.
 
I've got an Imperial Stout that is six months old that I just bottled from the secondary three weeks ago. I did not pitch any yeast at bottling time. I just tried one and the carbonation is perfect! Six months is still young for a RIS and now that I know it's carbonated, it's down to the cellar to age for another six months. With an occasional test bottle of course.

John
 
Wow...well I'm not too worried about it then..

that's a **** long time for some of you guys *barlywines aside* I guess it helps clear huh?
 
greenhornet said:
I guess it helps clear huh?
Click to expand...

It does clear during that time, but if it a real dark beer you will hardly be able to notice. The most important thing that is going on while the beer is aging is the mellowing out and blending together of all the complex flavors in the beer. The yeast also clean up after themselves during this time. They metabolize a lot of the fermentation by-products they produce during the primary fermentation.

John
 
One week ago we transferred our chocolate-coffee Imperial Stout to the secondary after a week in the primary. Once in the secondary, CO2 bubbles ceased to exist after a couple days (very little sediment was transferred). Our recipe calls for 3 weeks in the secondary. We are concerned that with a lack of pressure generation, the batch might be susceptible to trace amounts of O2 entering and oxidizing our black gold. Is this a realistic concern?

That is, do you long-term secondary fermenters have constant CO2 production throughout, or does it subside with no consequences?

Thanks!
-AX Brewers
 
mophead77 said:
One week ago we transferred our chocolate-coffee Imperial Stout to the secondary after a week in the primary. Once in the secondary, CO2 bubbles ceased to exist after a couple days (very little sediment was transferred). Our recipe calls for 3 weeks in the secondary. We are concerned that with a lack of pressure generation, the batch might be susceptible to trace amounts of O2 entering and oxidizing our black gold. Is this a realistic concern?

That is, do you long-term secondary fermenters have constant CO2 production throughout, or does it subside with no consequences?

Thanks!
-AX Brewers
Click to expand...
You'll be fine - The CO2 production subsides but doesn't create issues unless you keep opening the secondary to allow air in.
 
greenhornet said:
Right on..good stuff

I guess I should also ask...

How long does a 5 gallon batch last you?
Click to expand...


me and two of my best friends killed a corny by 3am.

but as for the original question...

Its right now. I have a Kolsch in its secondary, sitting at 48* for the past 3 weeks. Its got 2 more to go.
 

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