Brewing IPA need some advice on fermentation time

So ive brewed 4 beers now from kits (haven't gotten into grains and hops yet) and my next brew is gonna be an IPA and i just have a few questions that are comming up.

My last beer was a Hefeweizen and it kinda turned out under carbed and a little flavorless (it hasnt sit in the bottles that long so im sure things will be different as time goes on) and i think that i might have left it in the secondary fermentation too before i bottled it.

I read somewhere about the 1-2-3 rule of thumb
1 week in primary
2 weeks in secondary
3 weeks in bottles

Im worried that when i prime the beer before bottle after its sit for 3 weeks it wont have much yeast alive to carb it.

Im making a Coopers brewmaster selection IPA putting in 3 pounds of DME and a pound of Corn Sugar during the boil, and im the kinda guy that likes to do things exactly as the directions say (or the fine professionals on Internet Forums ) so what schedule do you think would be good for me? the 1-2-3 rule or should i stay with my 1 week prim. 1 week secondary 1 week bottles before drinking.

Thanks guys i really appreciate all the help this site offers

I only use a secondary when dry hopping or racking on to fruit. I would go two weeks in primary, then start taking hydrometer readings. Once the gravity is the same for two or three days, you can bottle. After bottling, I usually try one after a week, then another after two weeks. IPA's should be ready pretty quick. After four weeks in the bottle, it probably wont get any better.

SUDDZIES said:

IPA's should be ready pretty quick. After four weeks in the bottle, it probably wont get any better.

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Sorry to disagree, but I've got one kegged right now that keeps getting better. The longer it goes the more malt and hops intermingle and become a bit more balanced. Also, if you think to the beginnings of the style, they were on ships for several months before being drank. Drinking an IPA as quickly as possible is definitely not an attitude I would support.

Leave it in the primary for as long as you can stand. Definitely longer than 1 week. I would say at least 2 in primary, but you would gain from going longer. Secondary isn't necessary, and your beer won't be hurt from sitting in primary for several months. As the weeks go by after it is in the bottle you will notice the changes as it ages.

SchizoFilly said:

Sorry to disagree, but I've got one kegged right now that keeps getting better. The longer it goes the more malt and hops intermingle and become a bit more balanced. Also, if you think to the beginnings of the style, they were on ships for several months before being drank. Drinking an IPA as quickly as possible is definitely not an attitude I would support.

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I agree - my best tasting IPA is always the last one of the batch! My favorite thing to do with IPA's is a 3 week primary, a 10-14 day secondary, and a minimum of 4 weeks in the bottle.

I just bottled an IPA that I boiled on the 10th of March. It spent at least 5 weeks in primary, and two weeks in secondary. I'll give it 3 weeks to carb up, and then I'll taste. Patience is a virtue (in my case, procrastination...) But it fermented out nicely. Went from 1.061 SG to 1.012 FG. The sample I tried tasted pretty good too.

well guys i appreciate all the advice. I think i figured out how im gonna do this brew. Im experimenting with the amount of fermentables in it so i guess the more time it has to ferment the better things will be. Thanks again!

My friends just made their first IPA and the LHBS told them to not go longer than 5-7 days because it will start to lose aroma? This didn't seem right to me since I was thinking it might not even be finished fermenting yet.

Is there any merit to what the LHBS is saying? I'm new to this too so I wasn't really sure.

Groo said:

My friends just made their first IPA and the LHBS told them to not go longer than 5-7 days because it will start to lose aroma? This didn't seem right to me since I was thinking it might not even be finished fermenting yet.

Is there any merit to what the LHBS is saying? I'm new to this too so I wasn't really sure.

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No, that's crazy! Unless he meant no need to dryhop longer than 5-7 days, which is true.

I usually let my IPA sit for at least 2 weeks in primary and a week or 2 in secondary before kegging / bottling.

Thanks, you all sort of confirmed what I've learned from this site.

How come the hop aroma doesn't leave the fermenter? Is it because it is in the liquid or because after fermentation has stopped the there is no gas leaving the fermenter? Or another reason?

Groo said:

Thanks, you all sort of confirmed what I've learned from this site.

How come the hop aroma doesn't leave the fermenter? Is it because it is in the liquid or because after fermentation has stopped the there is no gas leaving the fermenter? Or another reason?

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Yes. When you have active fermentation, the CO2 being pushed out takes a lot of the aroma with it. That's why dry hopping after fermentation adds so much aroma.