I really want to skip the secondary

Brewed up an AG ESB. 82% efficency, hit everything spot on. Pitched the yeast and its been bubbling for 5 friggen days.
As the fermentation draws to a close, for the first time since I started I'm thinking about skipping the secondary. I want to leave it in the primary for a few more days and then on the 9-10th day put it in the keg and let it age there.

Any thoughts?

That is what I do except leave it in primary a minimum of 14 days.

Do it.

Too young I would say. I skip secondaries often but I leave in the primary for three weeks minimum. However, I bottle - the ground rules may be different for kegs.

It can age in the a keg, it can age in bottles, or it can age in a carboy. The end result is beer.

Beerrific said:

That is what I do except leave it in primary a minimum of 14 days.

Do it.

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Had I been here on time....I'd have said that.

The fact is once fermentation is complete you can do anything with it. The only question is what will make it better? I personally know you can bottle after one week and make good beer.

If your going to just move it to a keg and let it sit it's the same as using a carboy to secondary anyway.

Conroe said:

I personally know you can bottle after one week and make good beer.

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There are many Many MANY levels of "GOOD"
If that's a level of good that you are satisfied with....Bottle it up....as long as you are sure that fermentation is COMPLETELY finished.
If you want to make better beer....With less sediment in the bottles as a bonus....Leave it on the yeast for a minimum of 14 days. BierMuncher has a nice thread as to why you should do this....In short...it lets the yeast clean up after themselves.

Take a reading and if you hit your numbers.. then move it to a keg ... I say...
If you do what Bier Muncher says.. and bend your dip tube in the keg a little so that there is extra room for the sediment to lay un disturbed then go for it.

I take my Basic Beech Blonde to Kegs after 10days drop it to 33F and 30PSI and in 2-3 days .. I can pull a pint. Granted light grain bill and most of the time I have plenty of beer in the pipeline that I do not NEED to do that .. but I have done it..
Grain to Glass in 2 weeks - it is possible on lighter grain/hop bills.

I only use my 2nd's when my kegs are full.
T$

There have got to be like a million, kazillion, bagillion posts in umteen threads on this forum from senior members recommending, under no circumstance, should you ever ferment a brew for less that 14 days. And even then, all those same countless threads go on predominently recommending that it is even better (patience Grasshopper) to leave it in the fermentor for 21 days. Am I crazy? Of course all that takes patience which is a rough go, especially when you start to have those blissful dreams about cracking the top on the first and enjoying the fruits of labor.

Its already been said but what the hell... Go for it.

Like Conroe said...the end result = BEER

BigKahuna said:

There are many Many MANY levels of "GOOD"
If that's a level of good that you are satisfied with....Bottle it up....as long as you are sure that fermentation is COMPLETELY finished.
If you want to make better beer....With less sediment in the bottles as a bonus....Leave it on the yeast for a minimum of 14 days. BierMuncher has a nice thread as to why you should do this....In short...it lets the yeast clean up after themselves.

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I agree, but the thread is not about bottling and I fail to see any difference from a keg or a carboy for a secondary.

As to if it would have been better if I had waited longer; I think it would have (but not necessarily with all beers.) The point was ingredients to glass fast and still be good. That apparently is not what most on this forum are about. I hope to get my pipeline going so I can age longer but my wife drinks faster than I can brew, hench the hefeweizen I'll brew next week!

If you are kegging, cut 1/2" off your dip tube and you'll never need a secondary for anything but fruit or oak. I have a Munich Helles I did for 2 weeks at 50*F then 4 weeks at 42*F in the primary, three weeks in the keg at 42*F and it was perfectly clear and wonderfully tasty. Still is, and going fast, in fact.