Extra Week of Primary vs Extra Week in Bottles

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kcbrewcom

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I've got a Coffee Milk Stout in primary right now that has been there for almost three weeks. I am hoping to roll it out to my family and friends on Christmas, I am debating leaving it in primary for a total of four vs five weeks which means in bottles for four or three weeks. So I guess my root question would be would four weeks in primary and four in bottles be better than five in primary and three in bottles? Thanks in advance for your help. Cheers!
 
I certainly cant say for sure but my opinion is an extra week in bottles would be better so you will be sure that it is fully carbonated!
 
What's your OG? If its not a big beer, I'd say the extra week in bottles. Both sides have a fair argument though
 
I say the extra week in the bottle will help the finished product more given your time restraints.
 
OG would help out a lot. Also, pull a sample if you've not confirmed its at FG. If it is at a stable FG, and a lower ABV batch (under ~6%) then you could bottle. But taste the sample to make sure its actually ready to go to bottles first. You'd be amazed at what an extra week in primary will do compared with an extra week in bottles.
 
Being new to this I have put together my own kit which currently doesn't include a hydrometer. I've been meaning to pick one up so maybe this will give me the kick needed to pick one up.
 
If you've reached Target Gravity, leaving it in the fermenter won't do much of anything, other than put the flavor of your trub into your beer (which may be a good thing, depending on style i guess).

If it's done fermenting, bottle it and put it away until xmas.
 
If the beer is at FG, which I am pretty sure it is at this point, and it tastes perfectly fine then there is no benefit to letting it sit any longer, package it up and let it carbonate and condition
 
Regarding the comments of the last two posters, I just want to address the falsity of trub flavor going into your beer if it's left in the primary for 3-5 weeks, and the poor practice of racking as soon as desired FG is reached.

The first situation will not happen unless yeast autolyzation sets in after a period of months. Furthermore, after the yeast use sugar and oxygen to create alcohol and carbon dioxide (which takes a total of 3-7 days) their job is still technically not complete. Your beer may very well at target FG, but it will also contain a ton of precursor laden off flavors. These precursors should really be reabsorbed by the yeast if you want a quality beer. This takes time - usually takes 3-4 weeks total in the carboy in the 60's (F). Lastly, I've noticed 17-21 days of bottle conditioning at 72 F is ideal for my ales.
 
bobbrews said:
Regarding the comments of the last two posters, I just want to address the falsity of trub flavor going into your beer if it's left in the primary for 3-5 weeks, and the poor practice of racking as soon as desired FG is reached.

The first situation will not happen unless yeast autolyzation sets in after a period of months. Furthermore, after the yeast use sugar and oxygen to create alcohol and carbon dioxide, their job is still technically not complete. Your beer may very well at target FG, but it will also contain a ton of precursor laden off flavors. These precursors should really be reabsorbed by the yeast if you want a quality beer. This takes time - usually takes 3-4 weeks total in the carboy in the 60's (F). Lastly, I've noticed 17-21 days of bottle conditioning at 72 F is ideal for my ales.
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Highly agreed!

Once I started leaving my beers in primary for a minimum of 21 days they have improved greatly! Yeast need time to clean up their fermentation bi-products!
 
Yes,definitly. I let the beer get down to FG,then let it sit another 3-7 days to clean up & settle out clear or slightly misty. Then bottle. They'll nedd time to not only carbonate,but condition as well. I've found conditioning takes about a week longer than carbonating on average. It does depend on the gravity/ABV as well.
 
+1 for bob's comments. There's a very strong case to be made for leaving it on the primary for longer than what is strictly needed to bring it down to FG (if Revvy were here, he'd give you many more reasons why). But if it's already been on for three weeks, I'd say extra time in the bottle is probably more beneficial than extra time on the primary, on balance. But leaving the beer on the primary for 4 weeks as opposed to 3 will almost always give you better, clearer, cleaner-tasting beer, as opposed to imparting "trub flavors", whatever that means. And autolysis generally takes WAY longer to become an issue than the time periods you're dealing with here. Don't fear the primary!
 
kcbrewcom said:
Being new to this I have put together my own kit which currently doesn't include a hydrometer. I've been meaning to pick one up so maybe this will give me the kick needed to pick one up.
Click to expand...

Get either a hydrometer or refractometer ASAP. Having a way to get gravity readings is important. I'd say its even more important (critical) for new brewers. Until you've brewed enough with the same yeast, under a range of conditions, you need a way to KNOW when its actually done. Then you can let taste tell you when its time to move the batch to next steps (bottle, etc.).
 
Check the gravity. If it's terminal, then bottle at the 4 weeks. 1 extra week or so should be good enough for any yeast clean up.

I'd rather have a better chance at proper carbonation than worry about 4 vs 5 weeks primary.
 
bobbrews said:
Regarding the comments of the last two posters, I just want to address the falsity of trub flavor going into your beer if it's left in the primary for 3-5 weeks, and the poor practice of racking as soon as desired FG is reached.

The first situation will not happen unless yeast autolyzation sets in after a period of months. Furthermore, after the yeast use sugar and oxygen to create alcohol and carbon dioxide (which takes a total of 3-7 days) their job is still technically not complete. Your beer may very well at target FG, but it will also contain a ton of precursor laden off flavors. These precursors should really be reabsorbed by the yeast if you want a quality beer. This takes time - usually takes 3-4 weeks total in the carboy in the 60's (F). Lastly, I've noticed 17-21 days of bottle conditioning at 72 F is ideal for my ales.
Click to expand...

I'm not arguing, by any means, but hadn't read anywhere about the yeast cleanup. It makes perfect sense, but i've read a couple brewing books & guides and hadn't come across it.

I also agree with your conditioning process. room temps for 2-3 weeks at a start. I usually only put beers in the fridge when i know i'm going to drink them in the next week or so.

A question. would leaving in the primary to let the yeast "clean up" be better than racking to secondary, or are the generally the same process?
 
matt-tastic said:
I'm not arguing, by any means, but hadn't read anywhere about the yeast cleanup. It makes perfect sense, but i've read a couple brewing books & guides and hadn't come across it.

I also agree with your conditioning process. room temps for 2-3 weeks at a start. I usually only put beers in the fridge when i know i'm going to drink them in the next week or so.

A question. would leaving in the primary to let the yeast "clean up" be better than racking to secondary, or are the generally the same process?
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Leaving the yeast in primary is more beneficial to clean up since its the yeast that does the cleaning up. If you rack to secondary you leave the yeast behind:)
 
duboman said:
Leaving the yeast in primary is more beneficial to clean up since its the yeast that does the cleaning up. If you rack to secondary you leave the yeast behind:)
Click to expand...

Thanks. I would think that the yeast left in suspension would still get the job done in secondary, but i'll try leaving my next one in primary longer to see if there is a considerable difference.

:)
 
matt-tastic said:
A question. would leaving in the primary to let the yeast "clean up" be better than racking to secondary, or are the generally the same process?
Click to expand...

It's not better or worse. Either way, there should still be plenty of live yeast in your beer to ensure proper clean up.

That said, if I were racking to secondary, I wouldn't do it until around week 3 (or when it was time to dryhop). Reason being, I would want as much clarity as possible. Let gravity, patience, and time do 90% of the work for you in that regard.
 

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