I'm fairly new to brewing and I have been doing 2 step fermentation. I have been doing 2-3 weeks in the secondary fermentation which is a glass carboy. I wanted to start getting into letting my beer sit in the glass carboy for extended periods like a few months. Is there any limits to what is too long in there? Also I heard that if you let it sit in there for say 4 months. You may have problems with the the yeast becoming inactive. Someone told me you can add a cheap type of yeast just to jump start it a few days before you bottle. Thanks in advance for the help.
2 step fermentation
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Ideally, you only want to keep it in the secondary for a short period of time before bottling or kegging. Of course that comes with exceptions to every rule. My rule of thumb is the higher the alcohol content, the longer you can let it rest. So a pale ale may stay a couple of weeks in the secondary but never more than a month but I have made barley wines that stayed in the secondary for nine months with no problem. Heck, I've had meads in the secondary for almost two years sometimes.
Bigger beers take more time for the flavors to meld. Smaller beers usually ferment quick and then are in their prime much sooner. YOu don't want to leave a beer in so long that it goes stale.
All that said, if you are worried about the beer getting infected, it probably won't even if you let it sit for a few months. As long as you are good about sanitation you are fine. But again, depending on the beer the flavor quality may suffer.
If a beer takes two weeks to ferment, I would bottle after two weeks in the secondary. Three weeks...three weeks and so on. But that is me. I'm sure others have different ways of doing things. Bottom line, if what you are doing gets you the results you are happy with, then keep it up!
Bigger beers take more time for the flavors to meld. Smaller beers usually ferment quick and then are in their prime much sooner. YOu don't want to leave a beer in so long that it goes stale.
All that said, if you are worried about the beer getting infected, it probably won't even if you let it sit for a few months. As long as you are good about sanitation you are fine. But again, depending on the beer the flavor quality may suffer.
If a beer takes two weeks to ferment, I would bottle after two weeks in the secondary. Three weeks...three weeks and so on. But that is me. I'm sure others have different ways of doing things. Bottom line, if what you are doing gets you the results you are happy with, then keep it up!
Low long do you let it sit in primary before moving to secondary?
A few months in secondary should be fine, just keep it in a cool, dark place. For long term aging, this is the preferred method I believe.
Some Nottingham or US-05 or something neutral on hand for bottling would probably be best after that long term and is perfectly acceptable.
EDIT: Good point on the type of beer, if it is designed to do so, like a RIS or barleywine that's great, IPA or standard gravity beers likely do not need it and won't really benefit from it.
A few months in secondary should be fine, just keep it in a cool, dark place. For long term aging, this is the preferred method I believe.
Some Nottingham or US-05 or something neutral on hand for bottling would probably be best after that long term and is perfectly acceptable.
EDIT: Good point on the type of beer, if it is designed to do so, like a RIS or barleywine that's great, IPA or standard gravity beers likely do not need it and won't really benefit from it.
When I didn't have a conical I left it in the primary until the krausen fell back into the beer. You want a little fermentation going on when it hits the secondary to blow off any oxygen in the head space of the secondary. If fermentation has totally stopped you could risk oxidation of the brew.
At some point over the years I hit the lazy button and got a 6.5 gallon glass carboy and just did it all in one vessel. I just paid close attention to when it finished fermenting and then bottled. You might want to get a wine thief to get out hydrometer samples from the carboy.
Then I got even lazier and got a conical and started 10 gallon batches. That makes it real easy to dump the sediment at the bottom of the fermenter.
At some point over the years I hit the lazy button and got a 6.5 gallon glass carboy and just did it all in one vessel. I just paid close attention to when it finished fermenting and then bottled. You might want to get a wine thief to get out hydrometer samples from the carboy.
Then I got even lazier and got a conical and started 10 gallon batches. That makes it real easy to dump the sediment at the bottom of the fermenter.
I guess the only advice I can give is to think about why you want to age a couple of months in secondary. Some beers can benefit from that- say, an oaked imperial stout or barley wine, but most beers don't age all that well. If you have a purpose to aging, for the strong tannin flavors to meld for example, that's fine- but it most cases aging a beer means it will be past its peak before you get it even bottled.
GASoline71
Well-Known Member
What Yoop said...
Most beers are done in the primary after 7 to 10 days. If you need/want to secondary after that to dry hop, clear, etc... that's your preference. But aging a low alcohol (5%) standard ale is pretty much a waste of time.
So unless your doing "BIG" beers... you can probably keg or bottle your beers after 14 days either single or double stage fermentation.
Gary
Most beers are done in the primary after 7 to 10 days. If you need/want to secondary after that to dry hop, clear, etc... that's your preference. But aging a low alcohol (5%) standard ale is pretty much a waste of time.
So unless your doing "BIG" beers... you can probably keg or bottle your beers after 14 days either single or double stage fermentation.
Gary
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