How long can the beer rest in the carboy?

[Hops-and-Dreams]

So I brewed an English Ale on August 2nd. It has been sitting in my basement ever since. Basement temp is approx 72 degrees. How long can it sit before I have to bottle it?

Also, I brewed a German Pilsner on July 26th. I transferred to a secondary fermentor for clarity around the 12th of August. I waited this long because there was still action until the 10th. Same question, how long can it sit before I have to bottle it?

 

[TwiggyTwig]

3 weeks is typical, but longer is fine. Just check the gravity to be sure it hit the target before you bottle it.

 

[NickL]

You could probably let it sit for about a month and be OK. But the yeast cake can add some off flavors after a while. Also, the best way prevent staling is to keep it cold. Getting it into the bottle(Fridge) is going to keep it fresh for longer.

 

[Hello]

You could probably let it sit for about a month and be OK. But the yeast cake can add some off flavors after a while. Also, the best way prevent staling is to keep it cold. Getting it into the bottle(Fridge) is going to keep it fresh for longer.

I think this is still up for debate, sort of. John Palmer writes in his first edition of How to Brew that transferring beer to secondary is basically necessary. In his third edition, I believe he changes this thought process but not "just because".

There is this thread that helps quite a bit in seeing how things have changed.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/

3 weeks on the yeast, ok. 3 months, honestly...I've done it and it was fine. I do not detect any off flavors and nor have people who have drank that beer. I am talking about a dark stout though.

I think you can get away with a fair amount of time but even I would transfer to secondary if I am purposely bulk aging. If I am lazy and/or busy (mostly I am lazy) then I'll let it sit for a couple of months and never think twice. I would be more steadfast in my process if it were an IPA or any kind of ale where the hop character was the true star.

 

[QoB]

After primary fermentation, I cold crash the beer. After 3-4 days at 38F I rack to a clean keg and let it sit for a week. After that I carb it up.
If I'm going to bottle, I set the carboy in the fridge for a few days, then I rack into a bottling bucket with my sugar...blah blah blah you know the rest. :fro:

 

[DoctorMemory]

Heh, I just bottled an APA I brewed back in May! Almost three months to the day. The hydrometer sample tasted just fine, just waiting a couple of weeks for it to carb up and we'll see. I wasn't too excited because my "helper" picked up 4oz of Centennial instead of Cascade, and I didn't notice until it was time for the first hopping. I had to scramble to figure out what my hopping schedule should be (since I was planning to add some Simcoe as well), and I wound up with about 70 IBUs instead of the 25 I was shooting for. C'est la biere...

 

[C-Rider]

Three months at least w/o problems.

 

[Grinder12000]

I'll go with the 3 months no problem also. I've gone 2+ months and had zero off flavors. Brewing is one of the best hobbies for procrastination. Longer is almost always better in brewing.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[NickL]

Quote:

You could probably let it sit for about a month and be OK. But the yeast cake can add some off flavors after a while. Also, the best way prevent staling is to keep it cold. Getting it into the bottle(Fridge) is going to keep it fresh for longer.

I think this is still up for debate, sort of. John Palmer writes in his first edition of How to Brew that transferring beer to secondary is basically necessary. In his third edition, I believe he changes this thought process but not "just because".

John Palmer: "...Leave it in the primary, you know, a month."

Paraphrasing Dr. Charles Bamforth from this poscast. http://thebrewingnetwork.com/shows/475
Staleness is exponentially proportional to temperature.


Can you leave it there? Sure
Should you? No way

 

[helibrewer]

So I brewed an English Ale on August 2nd. It has been sitting in my basement ever since. Basement temp is approx 72 degrees. How long can it sit before I have to bottle it?

Also, I brewed a German Pilsner on July 26th. I transferred to a secondary fermentor for clarity around the 12th of August. I waited this long because there was still action until the 10th. Same question, how long can it sit before I have to bottle it?

A debatable question. Beer begins to stale immediately, that doesn't mean that you will notice it. Other than high gravity beers and sours, there is no benefit to aging the beer, you want to seal it away from oxygen as soon as you can, especially if you have opened the fermenters.

The main culprit in flavor stability is the carbonyl group, formed by many different reactions in the beer when oxygen is present. If you plan to leave beer sitting around, do not open the fermenter.