9 weeks plus in primary

[Jtd6628]

I am about to bottle two separate batches today, both have been in primary over 9 weeks. Neither was intended to stay in primary past three weeks but I have been real busy. One is a plain pale ale that I dry hopped 6 weeks ago so I will now know if is ok to dry hop on yeast cake and what long term exposures dry hopping will have on the beer. I hope I get enough yeast while bottle for sufficient carbonation. The second batch is a rye pale ale.

 

[WileECoyote]

WOW 9 weeks, Im posting so I can follow this thread.

Cheers

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

Long time for dry hops, it'll be grassy/vegetal for sure, but that'll fade w/time. Other than that, you should have plenty of yeast in the beer to get it carbed up. Next time, dry hop a week or so before you know you'll be able to bottle, but that time on the yeast won't be an issue.

 

[Jtd6628]

Finished the first bucket a cascade williamette IPA yielded 45 bottles I am happy with that the aroma is amazing very hoppy. The taste is hoppy then a little malt sweetness and then a mellow bitter finish nothing outstanding but really good

 

[Revvy]

I've had beer in primary for 6 months, and there was plenty of yeast to do the job. There's nothing new about 9weeks.

 

[Akavango]

Have done 9 weeks a couple time without any problems or off tastes. It was not an IPA tough.

 

[justins2582]

I'd throw in a few more ounces of hops in both

 

[MultumInParvo]

Long time for dry hops, it'll be grassy/vegetal for sure, but that'll fade w/time. Other than that, you should have plenty of yeast in the beer to get it carbed up. Next time, dry hop a week or so before you know you'll be able to bottle, but that time on the yeast won't be an issue.

The above is right. It will be a little grassy, but that will fade with time.

Other than that, no problem. 9 weeks 9 months, dead flies, dog hair, RDWADHB.

 

[Calder]

It will be fine. The last couple I did were in the fermenter for 11+ weeks. The bottle I opened Friday, showed it of them to carb up fine within 2 weeks. Actually a lot more than I had expected in that time (they were gushers). Like Revvy, I've gone 6 months and not had issues.

Long time for dry hops, it'll be grassy/vegetal for sure, but that'll fade w/time.

I disagree. I've never had grassy/vegetal, and per a lot of folks I should get it every time since I usually dry hop for 2 weeks. Once I dry hopped for 5 months (just didn't get around to bottling) and it turned out to be a really great beer ... -no grassy/vegetal.

 

[MultumInParvo]

Once I dry hopped for 5 months (just didn't get around to bottling) and it turned out to be a really great beer ... -no grassy/vegetal.

How many oz. are you dry hopping with? 1-2 you may not get much at all.

Of course it will also depend on style etc... You're not going to get much grassy notes from you IIPA with a pound of Centential you just brewed..

 

[scoundrel]

I have a porter sitting for 10 weeks now and I'm not worried. If you process is clean and your yeast is healthy, it will be fine.

 

[Jtd6628]

I tasted the pale ale after in closet at 78 room temp after in bottles for 8 day and the taste is like a cider. This taste was not present at all on bottling day and with a 9 week primary I figured as long as it was carbonated it had aged and conditioned in primary. Where and how did this taste get in my beer.

 

[DrummerBoySeth]

I tasted the pale ale after in closet at 78 room temp after in bottles for 8 day and the taste is like a cider. This taste was not present at all on bottling day and with a 9 week primary I figured as long as it was carbonated it had aged and conditioned in primary. Where and how did this taste get in my beer.

8 days is not enough for proper carbonating/conditioning. You are probably tasting the by-products of the re-fermentation/conditioning process. Give it at least another week, and try not to worry too much.

 

[PilotsPheer]

I tasted the pale ale after in closet at 78 room temp after in bottles for 8 day and the taste is like a cider. This taste was not present at all on bottling day and with a 9 week primary I figured as long as it was carbonated it had aged and conditioned in primary. Where and how did this taste get in my beer.

This happened to me on two batches and the cider flavor greatly started to diminish around 3 weeks in the bottle and then a minimum of 2-3 days in the fridge. Also, my temperatures when this happened were 78-80 degree's and I've been a lot happier with the beer in the basement at around 65 in the bottles. The temperature part may just be a coincidence, but 2 more weeks in the bottle and you'll notice a difference. I think the beer has to kind of re-condition itself when it's introduced to the bottle and new sugar is added, regardless of how quick it carbs, that sugar needs some time to meld in.

 

[Revvy]

You really need to wait at least three weeks in the bottles before you even start worrying about how it taste, more like 6....You can't judge a beer, til it's REALLY done.

 

[Jtd6628]

Thanks for the quick responses yeah I will get back to y'all in three week. But I have wondered if bottle conditioning close to 80 is not necessarily a bad thing but I might develop better beer if I could reduce that temp but with a one closet apartment I don't have much of a choice. What are some trouble shooting that others have had sucsess with to reduce temps in a closet?

 

[PilotsPheer]

Thanks for the quick responses yeah I will get back to y'all in three week. But I have wondered if bottle conditioning close to 80 is not necessarily a bad thing but I might develop better beer if I could reduce that temp but with a one closet apartment I don't have much of a choice. What are some trouble shooting that others have had sucsess with to reduce temps in a closet?

I'd keep your beer on the bottom-shelf if you can, or even the floor. A cheap silicone or rubber mat on the floor of the closet will help regulate temperature swings throughout the day if you're able to keep the beer low. The ambient temperature of my bathroom closet in the summer swings from 70(72) at the bottom to 80+ at the top. Again, I'm pretty new to this, but all the brews I've bottle conditioned at 76+ took much longer to taste "good", especially extract or partial-mashes. And I mean like 3+ weeks in bottle and 1 week in the fridge, minimum. Maybe some more experienced home-brewers have bottled in 80+ conditions, but I haven't had any good results when it approaches that region.

If you can invest in a thin plastic painters tray that fits the bottom of your closet you can fill it with a little water, and place the bottles directly in it and add frozen water bottles daily to negate the ambient temperature. Water temperature is much slower to adapt than air temperature, especially with an insulator below it. Also, if this is near a bathtub, make sure to close the tub doors/curtain as the cool air will continue to sink into the tub if you don't.

Generally speaking, even if the outside temp is 90+, and your indoor temp is around 80, this should keep the brew below 76 and probably lower. I did this before I had a basement and it worked, keep us updated.