leaving ales in the primary more than 10 days

ChickenSoop said:

Is it possible to leave it in the primary/secondary too long?

I have a cream ale, OG: 1.04, FG 1.008, made with 7 lbs LME.
All went to plan, 2 weeks in primary, 2 weeks in secondary.
Then I bottled it. It was a kit, and they supplied 8 oz of corn sugar for priming - I probably only should have used 5 oz. I have plastic bottles, so no worry on bottle bombs.

I was very patient and waited 6 weeks after bottling.

On week 6, I put one in the fridge for 3 days for testing. I tested it - expecting a nicely finished beer, but instead it was sour green apples.

Did I leave it on the primary too long and maybe too much yeast dropped out?

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Henry Hill said:

Heh, sorta right along with the just give it time advice, this is an off flavor that that is discussed here:

How to Brew - By John Palmer - Common Off-Flavors

"Acetaldehyde=A flavor of green apples or freshly cut pumpkin; it is an intermediate compound in the formation of alcohol. Some yeast strains produce more than others, but generally it's presence indicates that the beer is too young and needs more time to condition."

The yeast may have lagged; I have taken to swirling the primary and giving it a couple more days before even taking a hydrometer reading, to see if it should be racked, just because.

I had a big stout in a bottle that a friend of a friend gave us to taste, that had this and it actually paired quite good with the heavy chocolate stout; thing is it won't last. I wish I knew how to make such a natural flavor of green apples as this was because it was friggin awesome in that beer.

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Henry Hill said:

I had a big stout in a bottle that a friend of a friend gave us to taste, that had this and it actually paired quite good with the heavy chocolate stout; thing is it won't last. I wish I knew how to make such a natural flavor of green apples as this was because it was friggin awesome in that beer.

Click to expand...