How long can one keep beer in secondary?

[Veevo]

How long can one keep beer in secondary? I havent gotten around to bottling. Its been close to one month.

 

[duboman]

A month is no problem, I've had beer in secondary for 3-4 and know others that have gone longer.

 

[nobo_87]

That depends on what style of beer your shooting for. Lagers need to be in the secondary alot longer than ales. Just reference a similar style recipe and see what they call for. Reference a few different ones and go from there.

 

[Channel66]

Depends on the beer and what exactly you are looking for out of it. I have brewed batches that require a secondary of 3-4 months, am currently aging a batch of whiskey stout thats been in secondary for 5 months and will likely be there for much longer. Either way, 1 month isnt something to worry about.

 

[rjwhite41]

1 month is nothing. I've done a year for lagers and 6 months for ales before.

 

[DrummerBoySeth]

1 month is nothing. I've done a year for lagers and 6 months for ales before.

Now THAT is patience! I would never be able to ignore a carboy for a whole year. I start feeling itchy if my brews sit for more than a month. (not because I am worried about the beer, but because I am worried about resisting the urge to drink the beer!)

 

[DarthMalt]

I have an Oud Bruin I put in Secondary about a month ago and don't plan on bottling for at least another year...

It really depends on the style.

 

[scoundrel]

Now THAT is patience! I would never be able to ignore a carboy for a whole year. I start feeling itchy if my brews sit for more than a month. (not because I am worried about the beer, but because I am worried about resisting the urge to drink the beer!)

That's true but if you build a nice pipeline, it won't matter so much.

 

[k-ale]

I had an Imperial Stout in secondary at 68 degrees for 9 months. It was the best beer I have ever made and one of the best I've ever tasted. I entered it into a competition on St. Patricks day and won best of show. So like they said, depends on the beer.
I have a question for the forum: I have a Maibock that froze in my lager box. After it thawed and some ice was removed, it went from 5 gallons to 4. When I kegged it, according to my refractometer, the final gravity was at 1.004-hard to believe, right? Here's my quandry: it is a very clean tasting stong lager but not a lot of malt flavor and very little hop presence. I want to enter into a competition (or maybe not). Should I try to enter it as an Eisboch? The color seems to fall into the right area. I think there is not enough maltiness to make it as a Maiboch. Sorry to be so long winded but I would appreciate your opinions.

 

[cheezydemon3]

we can discuss ad nauseum, where is the OP?


Big beer, 1 year is fine

small, 5 months or so is OK.

 

[Tinman13]

I have a RIS in for 4 months right now