Extra week in secondary?

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schneemann

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I'm going to go on vacation starting next weekend and have a lot to do in advance of the trip.

I have two batches in a secondary right now - a New Castle Clone and an Oktoberfest. Their 2nd week in the secondary is over this weekend. Would another week hurt? Help? make no difference?

I could bottle it Friday if I had to, but really would rather wait than rush it.
 
Another week would make it very slightly better. We're talking pretty small margins here, but you could leave it in secondary for a couple of months and it'd continue to improve.

It would do absolutely no harm whatsoever to leave it in secondary a little longer, so enjoy your vacation in the knowledge that your beer will have bulk-conditioned in your absence, and will be all the better for it.
 
Yeah you'll be fine. I'll leave my ales in the secondary for 2 weeks minimum and have gone almost 2 months on some so no worries. :cool:
 
I hate bottling so I typically procrastinate when that time comes. Sometimes my beer sits in the secondary for two weeks, sometimes four weeks, it just depends how motivated I am.
 
FWIW You can leave beer in the secondary for years if you have a high ABV. Hoppy beers I would not suggest long secondaries... maybe a few months at most. Strong malty beers may require some aging in the bottle/keg/secondary. Your oktoberfest may benefit if it's a high ABV brew.

Good luck!
 
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