Are there any problems with a 1 month primary?

[Trokair]

I'm a pretty patient guy. Especially when it comes to something that tastes good. Doubly when that taste is beer. I've got my first brewing equipment kit on the way and I've been lurking the forums and doing my research which led me to this question. Has anyone ever had a problem leaving their beer in the primary for 30 days? I will wait as long as I have to in order to get the maximum beer goodness out of every batch and it seems that one month is the longest (planned) primary that I can find on the forums. My first kit is going to be the AHS Belgian Dubbel and if I can safely eek out that 1% of extra awesomeness by leaving it on top of the yeast for 6 weeks I will totally do it. Any thoughts/input is appreciated.

 

[Revvy]

I'm a pretty patient guy. Especially when it comes to something that tastes good. Doubly when that taste is beer. I've got my first brewing equipment kit on the way and I've been lurking the forums and doing my research which led me to this question. Has anyone ever had a problem leaving their beer in the primary for 30 days? I will wait as long as I have to in order to get the maximum beer goodness out of every batch and it seems that one month is the longest (planned) primary that I can find on the forums. My first kit is going to be the AHS Belgian Dubbel and if I can safely eek out that 1% of extra awesomeness by leaving it on top of the yeast for 6 weeks I will totally do it. Any thoughts/input is appreciated.

People have done 6 months or more in primary with no issue. 1 Month is nothing. It's the minimum most of us who opt for long primaries do.

 

[unionrdr]

My Burton ale at OG 1.065 took 5 weeks before it was ready to bottle. So yeah,it's fine.

 

[Trokair]

People have done 6 months or more in primary with no issue. 1 Month is nothing. It's the minimum most of us who opt for long primaries do.

Glad to hear it. I may move this to a 2 month primary.

I read on one of the threads that if you go over 2 months you may risk the yeast dieing and have to repitch in order to carbonate. I'd like to keep it nice and simple for my first batch so I think 2 months will work nicely. Thanks for the info.

 

[Trokair]

My Burton ale at OG 1.065 took 5 weeks before it was ready to bottle. So yeah,it's fine.

I guess I need to go back and do some more reading from Palmer. I still don't have a really solid grip on the OG/FG other than that it determins the ABV of the beer.

 

[unionrdr]

OG is the Original Gravity of the wort before the yeast is pitched. FG is the Final Gravity when the beer is finished fermenting.

 

[MotorcycleMatt]

Final gravity is when your gravity readings have stabilized over 2-3 days

 

[beergolf]

I usuallly leave my Belgians in the fermenter for about 6 weeks. I have never had any problem getting them to carb up without adding more yeast.

 

[brtisbuck]

I guess I need to go back and do some more reading from Palmer. I still don't have a really solid grip on the OG/FG other than that it determins the ABV of the beer.

Gravity is the specific density of a liquid compared to that of water at a specific temperature. OG is the gravity of your wort prior to pitching yeast. Conversly, FG is the gravity of your beer once fermentation is complete. Gravity reduces as fermentation occurs. To my understanding the yeast turn the fermentable sugars of the wort into alcohol, thus reducing the gravity since alcohol has a lower specific gravity than your wort.

 

[Trokair]

I will keep my first batch in primary for 60 days instead of 30 and see how that turns out. Thanks for the info everyone.