Question about my New batch..

So I have a new batch of White House Honey Ale in the fermenter. The instructions say to ferment for 2 to 3 weeks then transfer to a secondary for another 2 to 3 weeks for conditioning. Is the secondary necessary?

No.

It seems most kit instructions advocate a secondary, while many if not most here say otherwise "for normal beers".

If it's a really big beer, or you're aging it on fruit or oak, or brett, do a secondary. Or, if you just want to. But it really doesn't need it. More trouble than it's worth.

Nope. You'll be fine in the primary. I'd only go to secondary for aging past 3 months. Some say up to 6 months in primary is fine, but 3 is my limit.

Thank you for the replies. So if I choose not to go to the secondary, based on the instructions ( 3 weeks in primary, 3 weeks in secondary) how long would I keep it in the fermenter if I do not transfer to secondary? 6 weeks?

It should be fine to bottle it after 2 or 3 weeks in the fermentor. I give all my beers a minimum of 3 weeks in the primary.

My rule of thumb for most beers, keep it in the primary until it is done fermenting (as determined by hydrometer readings) plus 1 week and then bottle.

Ok, I am on Day 12 of this batch. My OG was 1.060, right now its 1.020. i will check again in a few days. My airlock was bubbling the day after pitching, then stopped and hasnt shown any signs of activity since. should I be concerned? I also have a 5 gallon batch of Wiezen Beer that has been bubbling for over a week now.

No, you shouldn't be concerned. Airlock activity (or lack thereof) isn't a reliable sign of whether or not fermentation is afoot.

Keep taking hydrometer readings - when it doesn't move for a few days in a row, you should be done with fermentation.

Did the instructions give a estimate on FG?Was this extract or all grain? If it was extract estimated fg is usaully close to where it stops.

I aged a beer in the primary for a year once. No issues.

BrewerBear said:

Did the instructions give a estimate on FG?Was this extract or all grain? If it was extract estimated fg is usaully close to where it stops.

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This is the kit from Northern Brewers. Its a combination of DME, LME, and grains. Not sure what you would call it(noob here lol). The instructions that came with the kit did not specify OG or FG. I looked up a couple recipies online and found one that said OG=1.055 and FG= 1.013 and another that said OG =1.060 and FG= 1.017. My OG was 1.060. Not sure which one is correct.

unionrdr said:

Se if NB has a PDF file describing all the numbers & instructions. I know midwest does. That should give you OG/FG. The kit you have is called extract with steeping grains.

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Thank you for that info. I looked on NB's website and downloaded the instructions and info but it only give an OG of 1.062 does not list a FG. I guess ill just keep an eye on the hydrometer readings for now lol.

just wondering your opinions. My White House honey ale has been in the fermenter since 11/03/12, the OG was 1.060. I checked the Gravity again on 11/14, it was 1.020, then again on the 18th and it was 1.017. so I am assuming things are going ok. When I checked on the 18th I also did a smell and taste test. It smelled ok, and looks great, a lot of the sediment seems to be gone, but to me it tasted a bit on the sour side. There dosnt seem to be any signs of infection in my fermenter. Could it be going bad?

unionrdr said:

I think you're just tasting green beer. It has a flat,kind of bitter/tart quality to it since the hop to malt fklavors are undeveloped at that point.

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Its probably just me being paranoid lol, I did the same thing with my first batch of Wiezen beer, then once bottled and chilled it tasted great. Thank you for the re-assurance