First Time Brewer, Long Time Thinking About Brewing...

[PMajic]

Hello from Indiana... Just brewed my first batch on Friday... English Brown Ale- Extract w/ Steeping Grains... Oh how I never understood the amount of patience it takes... I just want to hold it, pet it and DRINK it all... "6 weeks and change left"...

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Why 6 weeks? Wait a week or so and start checking gravity. Then bottle when it's consistent.

You can possibly be enjoying in less than 4 weeks!

 

[Sammy86]

Welcome! The beer will be done when the beer is done! There is no exact time table in brewing so like k1ng said above me check the gravity around 10-14 days and go from there!

 

[Trail]

I'm under the impression that current <s>groupthink</s> brew science sez longer primaries are better. I sure hope so, considering the pilsner I forgot about.

 

[Melana]

Welcome! 6 weeks does seem like an awfully long time.

 

[Homercidal]

I recommend buying another fermentor and starting a second batch about 3 weeks in. This will take your mind off of the batch fermenting and give you something to do. And then when your brown ale is ready you only have to wait a few weeks for the second batch to be ready.

 

[Hello]

I'm under the impression that current groupthink brew science sez longer primaries are better. I sure hope so, considering the pilsner I forgot about.

I don't know about the group think folks nor do I know the science behind it, but if the beer is done in 2 weeks, waiting 4 more won't really do much else other than allow additional time to clear. 6 weeks for a brown is pretty long, but there should not be any ill-effects from letting it sit there.

Now, bulk aging in primary for longer than that, I would not. I've done it and at 2 months I was fine, at 3, it was not. Put it in secondary, let it sit for a month, still not good so 2 months later I tried it once more, dumped it out.

I want to say the 6 weeks referenced comes from 2 weeks in primary, 2 in secondary, and 2 to bottle carb. Those are the exact timeframes written on my kit instructions when I first started.

 

[kombat]

I'm under the impression that current groupthink brew science sez longer primaries are better.

As with so many things in brewing, "it depends."

Some beers (darker, higher ABV, lots of complex flavours) benefit from aging. Others (bright, fresh flavours like fruit or dry hops, light coloured, low-to-medium ABV) are better drank fresh, as their flavours fade over time.

But there's no general rule that says "longer primaries are better." Once a beer is done, it's done. There's no point in letting it just sit there when you could be enjoying it. Most normal beers will reach final gravity in a week to 10 days. A few more days, the yeast have done pretty much all they're going to do (in terms of cleaning up), and you can bottle/keg.

 

[Rhumbline]

Hello from Indiana... Just brewed my first batch on Friday... English Brown Ale- Extract w/ Steeping Grains... Oh how I never understood the amount of patience it takes... I just want to hold it, pet it and DRINK it all... "6 weeks and change left"...

You'll find a lot of conflicting thoughts on this. My experience with extract kits is they suggest one week primary, two weeks secondary, three weeks bottle conditioning, unless it's some kind of stout etc.

I still find this to be a workable schedule even now that I've moved on to all-grain.

I definitely second the suggestion to get extra fermenters so you can keep your mind off the brew!