Opinions? Bottle now or age longer?

I have a Rochefort 10 clone sitting in secondary now and it's been sitting there for a LONG time! I brewed this on March 1 and transferred to secondary on the 17th. It's been sitting in there ever since. Since i know this is a REALLY big beer, i waited a long time bulk aging it. So, should i let it sit a little longer or bottle it now and let it bottle age? BTW, abv is somewhere around 11%!

That's a very strong beer!
If you have the space, I think you can age it longer in the secondary carboy. I normally age it in the bottles because of space constrains and I need my fermenter for something else.

let that thing sit longer. You'll thank yourself in the end. I plan on letting my quad sit in the secondary until I get back from my trip on June 1 and then maybe bottle it, only to let it sit in bottles until say December.

How much longer do you think though? I have to move in august so i can't let it sit too long. It's already been in secondary for a little over 6 weeks and in primary for 2 1/2 weeks before that. I really could use the space but if needed i could bottle my apfelwein and use the fermenter (ale pail) as a secondary for my other beers that need to secondary i guess.

Bulk aging is better so put off bottling as long as you can.

If you're moving in August, you could plan on bottling the last week of May so you have one less thing to worry about at packing time.

It already smells great and i can't help taking samples from it! Thankfully i topped off pretty good. Right now though the taste and smell kinda remind me more of St. Bernardus Abt. 12. The Rochefort smell is starting to come around but the taste seems to be taking longer. Hopefully it comes out with that unique taste in the end!

EDIT: Oh yeah. And i've already had a few scares with it too. The other day i found mold in the airlock just above the water line. Changed the water and cleaned the airlock real good but it came back two days later. Completely changed airlocks and haven't seen it since. Never saw mold on the beer thankfully.

mullimat said:

It already smells great and i can't help taking samples from it! Thankfully i topped off pretty good. Right now though the taste and smell kinda remind me more of St. Bernardus Abt. 12. The Rochefort smell is starting to come around but the taste seems to be taking longer. Hopefully it comes out with that unique taste in the end!

EDIT: Oh yeah. And i've already had a few scares with it too. The other day i found mold in the airlock just above the water line. Changed the water and cleaned the airlock real good but it came back two days later. Completely changed airlocks and haven't seen it since. Never saw mold on the beer thankfully.

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That in itself is a good reason to leave it in the secondary! If you bottle it you will be tempted to drink it before it is ready. If you are going to brew high gravity beers get some more carboys so you can bulk condition/age them for a long time.

GT

yeah and get some cheap vodka in that airlock, I guarantee mold will never grow in there again.

If you have time, could you post the recipe?

It's only an extract recipe because it was my second batch (doing PM now). The recipe is this though:

11 oz. Caramunich
1/4 lb. Chocolate Malt
1/2 lb. Munich Malt
13.5 lb. Extra pale extract
1 lb. Dark Candi

60 mins.: 1 oz. Willamette
1.5 oz. Crystal

5 mins.: 1/4 oz. Willamette
1/2 oz. Crystal
Wyeast Belgian Abbey II 1762

Would like to try this recipe as PM but AHS doesn't offer this anymore. Any way someone could work it up to be a PM recipe?

Mash the specialty grains with 2# of 2 row in 1 gal of water at 152F for 30-60 minutes, drain and rinse with 1 gal of 165F water and add whatever volume of water you need to get to your usual pre-boil volume. Subtract ~2# of the extra pale extract if it is liquid, subtract ~1.6# if it is DME as the 2 row will add fermentable sugars.

GT

BierMuncher said:

Bulk aging is better so put off bottling as long as you can.

If you're moving in August, you could plan on bottling the last week of May so you have one less thing to worry about at packing time.

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Or if it will still age well he could leave it in and move it to the new house, then bottle it after he is settled in... Make a nice way to not touch it as much.

nugget said:

Or if it will still age well he could leave it in and move it to the new house, then bottle it after he is settled in... Make a nice way to not touch it as much.

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I wouldn't want to move a secondary. Not only would you stir up anything settled out but you also risk infection. It's highly unlikely but possible you have some mold spores near the mouth of the container (you got some in the airlock). If the beer gets sloshed around inside you could potentially contaminate the batch. Not to mention just the dangers of 40 lbs of beer + container weight, UV/light, temperature variation, etc. Basically just not a good idea...

Oh, and I took the advice before my first brew to fill the airlock with vodka. I had a cheap horrible 1/5 of it left over from a fruit punch I make, and it gets the job done. Also in the off chance you somehow spill some in when removing the airlock, you know there is no chance of contamination, just more alcohol!

No way i'm going to move across the country with a secondary. Lol. That would definitely be a pain in the arse. Especially in august where down here it will be WAY hot! And with a lowered car where you feel EVERY bump it just wouldn't work. And as for the vodka i've been meaning to get some, just never get around to it and when i remember to go get some the liquor store is already closed.

You know, carboys take up as much space empty as they do full.....


Just sayin.

EvilTOJ said:

You know, carboys take up as much space empty as they do full.....


Just sayin.

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I had to smile, that has a chinese proverb-like ring to it.