how long

[Captainfester]

hong long does everyone ferment for. whether in primary or secondary

the extract kits all say 2 weeks total. i have been going a bit more. thoughts?

 

[hopalotamus]

I go 4 weeks primary no secondary. Gives the yeast time to clean up and drop out.

 

[TopherM]

I do THREE weeks primary (no secondary) for anything under 1.06 OG, which is about 80% of my beers. Anything over 1.06 needs more time, depending on it's OG!

 

[Revvy]

We need to clarify something for you...Your beer doesn't ferment for x number of weeks. Beer only ferments for as long as the yeast takes, which is usually about a week. And you determine that with 2 consecutive hydro readings.

The rest of the time a beer is left alone is for conditioning .

You don't CHOOSE how long a beer ferments for.....you let the yeast do it's job...you want a beer to finish fermenting.

Many of us leave out beers a minimum of 1 month, skip secondary and bottle. Many folks have left their beer a year in primary with no issues. The longest I have ever had has been 5.5 months, and the beer was fine.

I suggest you read THIS thread, it's become the "uber discussion" on this topic thread.

To Secondary or Not? John Palmer and Jamil Zainasheff Weigh In .

 

[Captainfester]

thanks,

im not concerned with the debate of secondary or not. i appreciate the arguement for both sides.

the generally rule of thumb is a month total time? then why do midwest and austin say 2 weeks?

 

[TopherM]

I think many of the online homebrew shops have a balancing act of creating kits that will produce decent beers with a short turnaround because they are often in the business of retaining new customers, i.e., brewnoobs, that don't often understand the importance of patience and time in the brew process. So, they offer the minimum time the beer is going to take to make decent beer.

I remember when I was a noob brewer. If you told me that my favorite style took 6-8 weeks, you would have either lost me right there, or I would have rushed it and made a crappy beer, and you may have lost me right there.

I think the short time frames are all designed to retain noob brewers as customers. Then, once you have some experience under your belt, and you are hooked as a brewer and online customer, you realize that their instruction time frames are certainly MINIMUMS, and if you want to make really good beer, you need to extend these timeframes.

 

[Austinhomebrew]

You can make any beer take as long as you want. I write recipes so they will be finished in a certain time frame. This is not some plot to get you to buy ingredients faster. Customers appreciate the tame table we use and the consistancy. There is some confusion I think. You say a month then keg and it is ready to go. I say ferment and clarify in 2 weeks, keg or bottle and age 2 weeks before consuming. Same thing butt when you say it it is a month and when I say it it is a month total. Fermentation should be finished within a week to 10 days. clarification should take a week to 10 days. Kegging then aging or bottling and waiting to carbonate and aging at the same time should take 2-3 weeks.

Forrest

 

[Captainfester]

i am at a solid 3 - 4 weeks on primary / secondary totals. plus 3 weeks in the bottle. for carb / "conditioning"

and it has worked so far. i was just curious if i was over doing it or not. appears i might even be too light on times as it is. thanks!

 

[Captainfester]

You can make any beer take as long as you want. There is some confusion I think. You say a month then keg and it is ready to go. I say ferment and clarify in 2 weeks, keg or bottle and age 2 weeks before consuming. Same thing butt when you say it it is a month and when I say it it is a month total. Fermentation should be finished within a week to 10 days. clarification should take a week to 10 days. Kegging then aging or bottling and waiting to carbonate and aging at the same time should take 2-3 weeks.

Forrest

posted at the same time. fwiw i just brewed the sam summer clone and am waiting for that to be ready. looking fwd to it. thanks AHS

 

[kh54s10]

I split the difference on primary fermentation and conditioning at 3 weeks. I then bottle and wait 2 weeks and try ONE. If it is carbed and tastes good I will start drinking them. If not I wait a week then try again.