Need to work on timing

[New2Brewing3]

I may have timed things out wrong with my brewing. I have an IPA in my primary fermenter that has been almost a week and is getting close to finished. The problem is, the only carboy I have for secondary fermenting is full with a brown ale and has only been there about a week.
My question is, what would be the best thing to do at this point? Should I leave the IPA in the primary longer and wait out the brown ale? Can I put the brown ale in the keg and let it sit another week or so? Should I move the brown ale to the keg and just start drinking it? I know I have heard that if you leave a beer in the primary for too long, it can start produce off flavors and I don't want to have that!
In the future, I plan on getting more primary and secondary fermenters, and then of course I will plan things a little better. But for now, I am not sure what the best move is. Any sugestions?

 

[mlg5039]

You will not experience any off flavors from leaving the ipa in the primary. Many people let their beers sit In there for 4-6 weeks or more all the time. Don't worry. I'd buy more primary buckets if I were you.

 

[mmonacel]

Don't secondary the IPA. Just dry-hop in the primary. Even if you left the beer on the yeast cake for months it's very unlikely you'll have any real off-flavors. Drop your hops in the primary and you're good to go. In the meantime, go get yourself another primary bucket...

 

[kbuzz]

You will get differing opinions on whether or not to leave beers in your primary after fermentation has completed. Personally, I leave all of my beers in the primary until I rack to the keg...unless adding something like fruit or a spiced tea as it may be (currently for my pumpkin ale). I even dry hop in my primary. Given your options above, I would recommend just leaving your IPA in the primary until the secondary vessel is ready...but if given no options, I would recommend just leaving the IPA in primary until kegging time - including your dry-hop!!

 

[Hobnob]

Leave the IPA in the primary. Off-flavors from yeast autolysis are not as big of a concern nowadays. A lot of people, including myself, leave their brews in a glass primary for 4-6 weeks; usually makes for a better beer too.

 

[Shoegaze99]

I'll echo what others have said. It's only been a week. No reason you can't leave it in primary. Two, three weeks in the primary ... not only not a big deal, it's arguably better for your beer.

(I don't secondary at all unless I'm doing post-ferment additions or dry-hopping, and three weeks in primary is generally a minimum for me.)

 

[phenry]

You can leave your beer in primary for a pretty darn long time, how much gain you get from that time though is a topic that usually has two sides to it, much like secondary vs. no secondary. I usually let mine sit in the primary 3-6 weeks, but that's just because that's how bottling fits into my schedule.

 

[SouthernCross]

When y'all dry-hop, what hops do you use? More of what you brewed with? A favorite that's good for dry-hopping? Do tell...

 

[New2Brewing3]

I guess I never thought about it, I do have another primary bucket. I just don't have another glass carboy. Based on what many have said here, it is no big deal to leave it in the primary bucket for a good while longer.
On the idea of dry hopping in the primary, would it be better to transfer to another plastic bucket and dry hop? Or just leave it in the same bucket it is in and dry hop there? Or would it be best to wait on the glass carboy and dry hop when it gets in there?
Thanks for the quick responses!

 

[kbuzz]

When y'all dry-hop, what hops do you use? More of what you brewed with? A favorite that's good for dry-hopping? Do tell...

A bit off topic, but...

I usually try to stick with something that compliments what I'm going for with the bittering/flavor hops...I generally pick something with the same flavor/aroma profile...but I also make sure to choose a hop that's well-known for it's aroma profiles...

I guess I never thought about it, I do have another primary bucket. I just don't have another glass carboy. Based on what many have said here, it is no big deal to leave it in the primary bucket for a good while longer.
On the idea of dry hopping in the primary, would it be better to transfer to another plastic bucket and dry hop? Or just leave it in the same bucket it is in and dry hop there? Or would it be best to wait on the glass carboy and dry hop when it gets in there?
Thanks for the quick responses!

I dry-hop in my primary vessel 100% of the time - whether a bucket or glass carboy.

 

[New2Brewing3]

When you dry hop in the primary, do you still transfer to a secondary before bottling/kegging? If not do you end up with sediment in the beer?

 

[Shoegaze99]

When y'all dry-hop, what hops do you use? More of what you brewed with? A favorite that's good for dry-hopping? Do tell...

Cascade, Centennial, Citra, and Sorachi Ace are all hops I've used to dry-hop, and to great effect. While I haven't used them for dry-hopping, I suspect Warrior and Simcoe would also be great.

 

[lumpher]

it's a personal thing when to do what, but i ferment in the primary, transfer to the secondary and dry-hop, then keg. others dry-hop in the primary, then keg/bottle, etc. straight from there

 

[Shoegaze99]

When you dry hop in the primary, do you still transfer to a secondary before bottling/kegging? If not do you end up with sediment in the beer?

You can, but all you'd be doing is adding another step and increasing your chances of infection. If it's important to you that your beer is very clear go ahead and rack to secondary, but I wouldn't say it's vital. Even racking to secondary, your beer will have sediment. Homebrew virtually always does, even if only a little.

 

[New2Brewing3]

Thanks to every one for the answers. I am really enjoying brewing and I am sure that this won't be my last question. I really appreciate the help!

 

[kbuzz]

When you dry hop in the primary, do you still transfer to a secondary before bottling/kegging? If not do you end up with sediment in the beer?

Nope, I don't use a secondary vessel if my only post-fermentation step is dry-hopping. I just put the hops in a muslin bag and throw them in. The sediment stays in the bag that way.

 

[Cimerian]

I'm just a newbie but I'm trying to get mine set up so that I have enough primaries that I can brew a new batch every week.

 

[SouthernCross]

I'm just a newbie but I'm trying to get mine set up so that I have enough primaries that I can brew a new batch every week.

That's a lot of storage and drinking there! I love the brew aspect as well and never have enough room to store all we make...