Primary for over 2 months?

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ndhowlett

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I've got a little extra time before I go on a two month trip and was considering brewing a beer, but won't be here to put it in secondary. I've got a bad habit of kegging beers only after two weeks, so this two month thing is really good for me. I've got two good beers in secondary that will sit and wait for me to keg when I get back (CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT DAY).

So my question is... Could I brew a high OG and high HBU beer and leave it in Primary for two months without the diacetyl effects. What effects will the diacetyl have on a high gravity beer? I've heard some talk of high HBU beers benefiting from the diacetyl in the yeast, in particular dog fish's 60 and 90 minutes IPAs.

Thanks in advance for the wisdom that will be gained!!
 
depending on what yeast you use diacytal wont be a problem. Usually you need to rest in a lager fermentation to get rid of diacetyl but if your doing an ale it shouldn't matter. Pick something that is higher gravity that what you would normally do, like a porter or barley wine. They all age well. IPA is also a good choice but as per diacetyl in those batches i cannot speak. As far as i know DFH doesn't have any but i could be wrong...
 
I'm going to go ahead with it!!

I'll post my results when I get back. Not really worried about it since I have extra hops I need to use and two beers waiting for me that I know will be bueno. This third beer will be the beer to either prove or disprove various theories about leaving in the primary for too long.

Thanks for the input scinerd3000!
 
Are you using a bucket for primary or a carboy/better bottle? I have left beer in primary for extended periods, but not in a bucket. You may be concerned about oxidation in a regular ale pail.

As for DFH 60/90 and diacetyl, that may be from the rec to use ringwood ale yeast. That yeast would require a diacetyl rest in primary. Leaving it in primary without crash cooling for 2 months would clean any diacetyl up.
 
I bailed on the plan. I saw in by Brewer's Companion that a soapy taste may occur. This is on off shoot of dead yeast primarily. The dead yeast create this off flavor and there is no removing it, not even time.

If I were a millionaire I would spend all day testing subjects such as this!
 
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