Month long primary... I'm a believer!

So my brother and I brewed our 5th batch in late October. It was an IPA that we had to kind of wing... he got the wrong ingredients at Midwest when he took a trip to Minneapolis, so we had to make do. After reading these forums, I decided I was dead set on a month long primary fermentation, as opposed to racking to secondary. Took a hydrometer reading, and the stuff is clear as a bell!!!! Also, the best tasting hydrometer sample yet! You guys have convinced me, and thought my input would help convince other beginner brewers out there that it really is worth it! Can't wait to drink this at Christmas!!!!!

believe in cold crashing for 48 hours too it makes it even better

Congrats on your success!

I'm three weeks into my first long primary/no secondary batch. Can anyone comment on whether I should expect the top surface of the beer to be clear of bubbles and residue before I bottle?

i've got a porter and a hefe with month long primaries ready to bottle this weekend. The first beer i ever tried it with was a maple syrup dunkelwiesen last year and it was amazing.

I've recently been doing 3 week primaries followed by bottling and I have some bubbles on the top. I've noticed once I move the beer for bottling, the funk kinda takes care of itself.

I even dry hopped with pellets, had a bunch of hops floating on the top and I just siphoned it off and I left the large part of it in the primary. When I bottled, some of the hops came along for the ride, but most of them stayed in the bottling bucket.

The long and short of it, floating stuff (non-mold), I think doesn't matter much.

A little off topic, but I'm going to try my first month long primary, two week dry hop with my English Ale.

It's awesome. I have a Stout that I think I am going to leave in primary till two other dark beers I have kegged are gone so it could sit for 2 or 3 months in primary and I am sure it will just get better.

I too have become a believer.

I made a kit beer ( Irish Red by the LHBS ) and FORGOT about it. Seriously. I put it in a different room than normal, and "found" it a month later.

Best beer I have made so far. I usually put 6 in the fridge at week 2 of bottle conditioning to check and drink one a night with my other beers for a week to see where they are at.

Drank all 6 the first night. Immediatly put 18 more in house fridge and the other 23 in my man cave fridge.

Now I will not touch a fermentor earlier than 3 weeks, but try to go with 4, and have an Imperial sitting right now in week 5..

great timing... i was getting anxious about some brews I got in primary (milk stout & triple hopped ale). I've been reading about the benefits of leaving in primary & can follow the logic *they are rocking into their 3rd week primary* but it's just NOT the way it USED to be done! (i brewed a handful of years ago and am just getting back) And I am built for worrying. And beer. Maybe even worrying about beer but I want to thank you for posting to calm my ulcer-causeing-type-personality..........

I've read a number of posts preaching that a month long primary is better than racking it into a secondary. Why is it better? what is the logic?
I have one that I'm ready to rack today or tomorrow so this is timely.
cheers!

whitebirdfeathers said:

I've read a number of posts preaching that a month long primary is better than racking it into a secondary. Why is it better? what is the logic?
I have one that I'm ready to rack today or tomorrow so this is timely.
cheers!

Click to expand...

This is the most discussed topic on here, has been for 4 years. Read this thread rather than having us re-explain what's already been covered.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/

3 week primary here. dont worry about bubbles or yeast rafts even if they are still there at bottling time. They won't hurt a thing.

As to why the long primary is better than primary/secondary ...... I don't know that it's necessarily "better". I think its just more that the secondary really provides no benefit. It's an uneccesary step. You have to sanitize equipment. If not done properly you risk infection or oxidation.

The yeast drop out when they are done in the primary just as they would in the secondary. I even dry hop all my beers in the primary and have had great results.