Aging rules for stouts?

[Brewday365]

Just to followup on this, here is a cool article about what leaving the beer on the yeast can do...

Seems like there's isn't a real good consensus really...

http://***********/component/resource/article/1960

The interesting thing about the article is that it really drives home the idea that two or three additional weeks have only marginal affects on the taste of the beer. So this brings up a question. What flavor affects do yeast have after high krausen? We are all schooled on yeast pitch rates and temps (phenols, esthers, and diacetyl). We also know that yeast reabsorbs diacetyl. At that rate, lager brewers have cut weeks off their lagers with diacetyl rests. So after diacetyl, what flavor impacts are left? And are we confusing conditioning (which in my mend mellows flavors) with actual primary or secondary fermentation?

 

[DSmith]

im going to leave my ESB in its primary for 4 weeks secondary for 5 days if needed and then bottle. i have always been a 1-2-3 guy but the more i talk to local brewers the more i hear i should leave the yeast 4-6 weeks it seems i will give you all an up date on its conditition when it bottles, still in the active fermentation stage

Every transfer is a risk for oxidation. I'd skip the secondary if it's just for 5 days. You will have very clear beer at room temperature after a 4 week primary with an English yeast.

 

[StoutMeister]

Which is what i figured, if not i can always use finnings for the 4 days in secondary if its not clear enough

 

[Homercidal]

I have done extended primaries with no issues. And I've done secondaries with no issues.

The thing I like about an extended primary is that I can skip the process of racking to a secondary container and can bottle/keg when it's convenient for me.

The yeast that sits on the bottom isn't really "doing" anything. It's on the bottom not interacting with the wort. The yeast that's actually "cleaning up" is the stuff that's still floating around in the beer. The same stuff that's going to help the beer in secondary.

I don't think extending the primary time has an obvious negative effect (depending on conditions, but that is true of any stage of fermentation). But it IS easier since you are skipping the racking to secondary step.

I keg, and generally rack my beer into a keg at about 3 weeks, sometimes it's more. Now that I have more batches under my belt, and feel more comfortable with my equipment and methods, it's easier to find time to get some of this stuff done, like bottling and kegging. I just don't tend to let it sit on the yeast like I used to. Just about convenience.