Beer in primary 5 weeks- yes or no

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Pete08

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I brewed a spiced ale for Christmas, but seemed to have gone overboard on the ginger. I had posted earlier about it being fusel, but since then have suspected the ginger for the taste. It has mellowed dramatically since 8-13. Anyhow, I brewed another very similiar without the ginger so I could blend them before aging. Since they are two weeks apart, would it be okay to leave the gingery one on the yeast 5 weeks, the newer brew would of course be at 3 weeks in the primary.
 
Depends on who you ask. I'm sure there are a number of brewers on this forum who would tell you not to worry about it. But if it was my beer I'd rack it. I'd rather have it sitting in secondary for an extra three weeks than sitting on the trub/yeast for three weeks.
 
Hehe. Good thing he posted first.

I say leave it. I've left for 7 weeks before, and it tasted great.

I'd like you to meet my friends, the Bogeymen...
6868d1216918443-no-longer-use-hydrometer-bogeymen.jpg
 
What chriso said. I recently started drinking a brew that was left in primary for 3 months. It's great! I don't recommend doing it for 3 months but it sure didn't hurt any of the beers I've left in primary for longer than the "magical" 4 weeks.
 
Another vote for leaving it. I rarely leave my beer in promary for longer than about 3 weeks because I usually need to free up a fermenter for another batch, but you could leave it there for a few months with little to no risk of autolysis.
 
All of my beers stay in the primary for at least 2 weeks and up to 4 or 5. It usually all depends on when I have time to get around to racking them.
 
I brewed a spiced ale for Christmas, but seemed to have gone overboard on the ginger. I had posted earlier about it being fusel, but since then have suspected the ginger for the taste. It has mellowed dramatically since 8-13. Anyhow, I brewed another very similiar without the ginger so I could blend them before aging. Since they are two weeks apart, would it be okay to leave the gingery one on the yeast 5 weeks, the newer brew would of course be at 3 weeks in the primary.

No one has asked the obvious question: is there ginger in the primary? If you have fresh, rather than dried, ground, ginger in the primary, I'd rack the beer away to get it off the ginger. If the ginger came from your spice rack in powdered or candied form, leave the beer in the primary and let it mellow.

I did a ginger cream ale last year, using sliced, boiled ginger. It was pretty hot and harsh to begin with but calmed considerably with a little aging. In the end it turned out to be one of my better beers.

Either way, five weeks in the primary will be absolutely fine.

Chad
 
I leave mine in primary for a month....

Having brewed with ginger (I do a ginger orange dortmunder style ale) that using a lot of ginger in the boil (about 1.5 ounces grated in each of 2 additions) I will tell you that ginger takes a LONG time to mellow out....I'm talking a few months in the bottle.
 
Just recently I heard in Basic Brewing Radio interview with White [Labs]. He said that if yeast are healtly, there is no danger leaving if for 4 weeks. But if they are in poor condition - yet after 2 weeks something nasty might happen.
 
I leave mine in primary for a month....

Having brewed with ginger (I do a ginger orange dortmunder style ale) that using a lot of ginger in the boil (about 1.5 ounces grated in each of 2 additions) I will tell you that ginger takes a LONG time to mellow out....I'm talking a few months in the bottle.

I had a suspicion about that, which is why I brewed a second batch, ginger-free, to blend. Better be good since I will have 10 gallons of it!!
 
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