19 or 30 Days In Fermenters?

[json2001]

Kinda a scheduling question more than anything. I made a mini-mash AHS Red kit Nov 27.

I'll be going out of town for a week and a half before Christmas to do the family thing.

Option 1: 19 Days Before Bottling: I have just enough time to do 7 Days in the primary and 12 Days in the Secondary and bottle the day before I leave.

Option 2: 30 Days Before Bottling: I have been reading a lot about people having good success leaving in the primary longer as well as the secondary. Should I not even try to bottle before I leave? Or should I let it condition in the secondary for something like 3.5 weeks while I'm gone and just bottle when I get back?

Thanks in advance.

 

[boo boo]

Let the beer decide when it is done.

Don't worry about leaving your beer in primary for a few extra weeks. It can only be good for that length of time.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Thirty days in primary, not a problem.
3 months in secondary, not a problem.
6 months, you may need to repitch yeast if your bottle conditioning.

 

[Malticulous]

If it was under 1.050 I'd just bottle it--if your sure fermentation is complete and you want beer sooner. If it's bigger I'd wait.

 

[json2001]

If it was under 1.050 I'd just bottle it--if your sure fermentation is complete and you want beer sooner. If it's bigger I'd wait.

Its right in there (1.051) I'm pretty sure fermentation will be complete in the 19 Day deadline.

I don't mind leaving my beer in bottles longer to bottle condition. I'm wondering if I get something more/better in the beer if i condition in the primaries for longer rather than the bottles for longer? Or is conditioning the same whether its in bottles or the fermenter?

 

[Malticulous]

Personally I don't think it's going to change a final product much. I'm still learning and testing that out for myself. I know many here go way overboard with the aging of small beers. If it has no serious problems with flavor those 11 days are not going to be that big of a deal.

If it has no diacetyl, pentanedione and acetaldehyde in the beer there is not much reason to secondary longer. So if it has no buttery, honey, or green apple flavors it's good to go. If one of those compounds/flavors are there the yeast can reduce the compounds in the secondary. It will also loose esters (that may be good or bad.)

 

[flyangler18]

Bulk aging can most definitely improve the overall quality of the beer, far better than if this aging is done in the bottle. The longer the beer is in contact with the yeast, the cleaner it becomes. It is a well-documented fact at this point in the evolution of homebrewing that fermentation is a nasty affair, and that yeasties are quite good at picking up after themselves given the chance. Does your final gravity jive with your target SG according to the recipe? Does this fall in line with the attentuation of your chosen yeast strain? While Conroe doesn't think there will be a palpable difference in 19 and 30 days, I assure you there most certainly is. I would leave your beer in primary for 30 days. Don't rack to secondary.

I won't dispute that small beers typically don't benefit from aging if fermentation went off without issues (in fact, the 10der and mild recipe was quaffable in ten days), but this is conditional on a number of factors. Pitching an appropriate amount of yeast, along with proper and controlled fermentation temps, more or less insure a quick turn around.

 

[Christian]

Personally i don't think you can go wrong, the beer will taste good either way.

 

[json2001]

Thanks guys. Seems that no one is weighing in saying that it would hurt the beer to leave it in the fermenters longer and i'm a pretty patient guy, so I think I'll just let it be in the primary for longer and put it over to the secondary before leaving and bottle when I get back. What kind of homebrewer would i be if i couldn't RDWHAHB.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[dontman]

As far as I'm concerned the entire issue is external to the beer. If this is your first batch it is no problem to bottle before you leave and then you will have the majority of the bottle waiting time over when you get back.

If you have a full pipeline or good patience then your beer will probably benefit some from the extra time bulk aging and if you have really sensitive tastebuds you just might be able to tell the difference.

Me, I'm bottling before I go so only have to wait 10 more days to try it when I get back.

 

[Pelikan]

Bulk aging can most definitely improve the overall quality of the beer, far better than if this aging is done in the bottle. The longer the beer is in contact with the yeast, the cleaner it becomes. It is a well-documented fact at this point in the evolution of homebrewing that fermentation is a nasty affair, and that yeasties are quite good at picking up after themselves given the chance. Does your final gravity jive with your target SG according to the recipe? Does this fall in line with the attentuation of your chosen yeast strain? While Conroe doesn't think there will be a palpable difference in 19 and 30 days, I assure you there most certainly is. I would leave your beer in primary for 30 days. Don't rack to secondary.

I won't dispute that small beers typically don't benefit from aging if fermentation went off without issues (in fact, the 10der and mild recipe was quaffable in ten days), but this is conditional on a number of factors. Pitching an appropriate amount of yeast, along with proper and controlled fermentation temps, more or less insure a quick turn around.

+1 I've noticed a big difference with taste between 2-3 weeks (three being notably better). I now go 4-5 weeks in the primary, depending upon my schedule.

 

[Malticulous]

I have noticed that racking to secondary even just for a few days clears the beer greatly. My 10 gallon APA was three weeks in primary for the first five gallons then bottled, the second five whet to secondary after two weeks to dry hop for 10 days. The two do look different now and I don't think it was just the few days before bottling that did it. A secondary will clear out more yeast. I learned a great deal about dry hoping with that batch too.

 

[enderwig]

I think you will appreciate the results if you leave it to bulk age. It's about making good beer, quick beer can be purchased rather cheaply...