in primary since october 5th 08

i have a stout that i brewed on 10/5/08 and i got very busy and i was wondering if this beer is still ok? it is still in the primary looks very clear and temp has been stable.. thanks!!

is there still liquid in the airlock?
that's not too terribly long. It'll be fine.

It should be okay. I have heard of others going longer. It's not recommended though because autolysis can happen. This can give major bad aftertastes. I recommend getting it out of that primary ASAP. Bottle or keg - whichever you do - and give it some time. Off flavors, if any, can fade in time. No point in tossing what could possibly be a good or great beer until you know for sure that it blows. Worst case scenario, other than it being a completely useless batch, is that it may take 6 months or so to rid itself of off flavors.

Ten weeks isn't excessive. You can plan on drinking this one as soon as it's carb'd.

It is a stout though and they can benefit from aging, regardless...

devaspawn said:

It is a stout though and they can benefit from aging, regardless...

Click to expand...

+1

I think it should be fine given that it is a stout.. also you should be very mellowed.

Still...get it off that yeast cake into secondary if you haven't already.

I have a question along the same line. I am thinking of doing an Imperial Stout (kit), and in the description from midwest supplies it says that it should ferment for 6-12 months before being ready. Does this sound correct?

sparkyaber said:

I have a question along the same line. I am thinking of doing an Imperial Stout (kit), and in the description from midwest supplies it says that it should ferment for 6-12 months before being ready. Does this sound correct?

Click to expand...

That sounds perfectly plausible. I think the best way to do that would be to leave it in primary for a month or so, and then for the remaining 5-to-11 months rack it to secondary to get it off the yeast cake and avoid any risk of autolysis.

so basically I am conditioning for that length of time. Autolysis will not occur if pulled off the yeast cake in my primary? So what is the difference between conditioning in the secondary or in a bottle?

I like to brew allot of stouts and in my experience i prefer conditioning in bottles over bulk aging in secondary more than 8 weeks or so. I have had an Imperial Stout in secondary for close to 6 months and the only problem i had was getting it to carb up, it took forever because so much of the yeast had settled from being in the carboy for so long.

If it smells like burnt rubber toss it, if not, enjoy

sparkyaber said:

so basically I am conditioning for that length of time. Autolysis will not occur if pulled off the yeast cake in my primary? So what is the difference between conditioning in the secondary or in a bottle?

Click to expand...

Autolysis usually doesn't occur even if it's been in the primary a long time. I have a few beers that are still in primary a few months already that smell and taste pretty good. And there's no difference in conditioning in secondary or bottles. Some say bulk aging makes a more consistent end product, but it's debatable.

Thanks for all of the input!!

I have a stout that has been in my Secondary Carboy since August 5th, 2008. When I bought the kit from Midwest, they even had in the instructions that it's best to leave it in a secondary for up to a year.

I had an amber that I forgot about in my basement for over a year. I was cleaning out the basement one day and found it. The airlock was bone dry, but I figured "damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead". I bottled it without tasting, and after it had bottle conditioned for a few weeks I tried it.
It was good, flat, but good. To be honest, I hadn't brewed any during that year (it may have been my last at that point), so I think I might have forgotten to prime it. That would explain the flatness at least.
Anyway, my point is that leaving it on the cake for too long won't necessarily damage it.