Pleasantly Surprised

Well, I just finished bottling my first batch (Extract Kit: Cooper's Dark Ale). From what I gathered and from some of your advice, I kept the following schedule.

Primary: 3 weeks
Bottle Con: 3 weeks.

It's a dark ale, and I was pleased at how clear it was running through the cane. In a glass it is a good dark-reddish-brown color. I have to say, that I think like the idea of primary for 3 weeks and skipping the secondary, at least for the dark brews. So for the new guys like me, I'd say do the 3 weeks. It's hard to wait so long, but I think it turned out well. Thanks all.

no reason why you can't just do a long primary for lighter beers, too.
i'd guess you're beer will get better over time, too. the darker beers can sometimes take more time to fully meld flavors, etc.
hope it gets you hooked and you start doing more brews.

Just don't drink them all.
Set a few aside for 3 months, 6 months. You'd be surprised. We all preach patience. (and that usually means more than 3 weeks). So, time to brew again and start filling up your pipeline. Next thing you know, everything you're drinking is 3 months old and AWESOME

+1 to holding some back for a longer time. I rarely touch my stuff until it has been in the bottles for 8-12 weeks.

3 weeks is an excellent tasting point for a new brewer though. Taste one and then taste another a week later, and then a week later, and so on and you will get a nice feel for how the beer matures with time...