44 Hour Primary?

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pkincaid

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I have a recipe that calls for a 44 hour primary, then rack to secondary for 1 week and it's done. It's a Porter recipe, is this normal? Advised? It's a recipe from "Homebrew Favorites" by Karl F. Lutzen and Mark Stevens, page 101

I'm skeptical....

I'm prepping for 3 batches on brew day and just trying to clear up any questions I may have...

** P.S. Sorry for the flood of questions since I joined, but that's what you guys are for right! :)) **
 
It is done when the specific gravity says its done, not before. I dont really see it being done before 48 hrs, esp for a porter which is likely a higher gravity beer. Pitch extra yeast, control the temp and youll do just fine. Typical wait time, on a good pitch of active yeast, is 2 weeks. If you rack off the yeast cake, it wont ferment anymore and you will have a really sweet, low alcohol beer. Check with the hydrometer at the proper temp for the hydrometer calibration (or adjust accordingly). That is the only way to know when it is done. Unless there is a ton of trub and break material in the bottom of the ferm vessel, you probably dont need to secondary; I only do a secondary with fruit or maybe oak.
 
You'll want to give those yeast at least a week to ferment / clean up any leftover undesirable compounds floating around. While a 44hr primary would be nice for the impatient, stick to gravity readings if you're in a hurry to rack to secondary, otherwise, be patient, give it time =)

We'll save the secondary debate for another time. Might I say though, that books aren't the be all to end all of how you should be doing things. I would only go for a secondary if you plan on doing long term storage, or want to free up your primary. To each his/her own though.
 
That's what I thought...I don't mind leaving it in Primary for a while, or eventually going to secondary at a later date.

It was just strange that the recipe would say 44 hours...Most of my kraussen is still hanging around the top at the 44 hour stage. I think i've had 1 batch that was done visibly fermenting after about 48 hours, but it was unnaturally warm in my carboy room during that time.
 
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