aging in fermenter v. secondary v. bottles

[MDB]

Been readin gthe posts on these topics but still a little confused. When folks talk about improving beer qualities with aging, I see some bottle and let sit, some more in the fermenter or secondary. Is there a concise guide to what effects you achieve with each or is it just personal? And one more question -- once bottles have carbed up and you let them sit as long as you want to, is there a minimum time they should sit refrigerated before drinking? I.e. are we cold aging/conditioning too?

For example, I have a stout that sat in the primary 3 weeks and they have been in bottles 4, would more time in the bottle be good for them (as I've now read stouts like time) or should I have let it go in the primary or a secondary longer? Given that ship has sailed, should they be refrtigerated for a couple days before drinking, or weeks? Or what?

Thanks all

 

[duboman]

There really is no definitive answer to your question. There really is no right or wrong either. Many people ion this site, me included prefer to keep their beer on the yeast, in the primary for 3-4 weeks and then bottle or keg. A secondary is usually recommended for dry hopping or adding fruit or other adjuncts and that could be for a period of 7-14 days. In other instances some people like to bulk condition their beer in a secondary for several months depending on the style of beer. Yet other people prescribe to a 1,2,3 process: 1 week primary, 2 weeks secondary, 3 weeks bottle.

As you can see there are many ways to go about this and it really comes down to brewer's preference for what works best for them and their set up. Regardless of what system you decide to use there are a couple things that are important:

1. Never rack the beer off the yeast until you have verified fermentation is complete by taking gravity readings that are stable
2.Always practice good sanitation practices when racking to other vessels
3. There is no set time for bottles to carbonate, all beer will carbonate as long as you give them enough time, could be two weeks, could be two months
4. Always sample your beer at various points of conditioning to see how it's coming along and take notes so you know when a batch has hit its prime.

Generally speaking bigger beers require more time to carbonate and properly condition than smaller beers. Refrigeration is part of conditioning but that occurs after the beer has carbonated, if you fridge too early you will slow down the carbonation process.

Hope this helps! Cheers!

 

[solbes]

Great post above!

I find it really depends on the beer. For wheat beers, I go 2 weeks from primary directly into bottle. Carb them in 2 weeks and put em in the fridge for consumption. Fresh is best.

For lighter beers like Kolsches, Cream ales, etc I like to drink them up within 2 months of bottle conditioning as well. Kolsch benefits from some bulk lagering in secondary. Once they are carbed at room temp, you can put these in the fridge. Aging in the bottle will not really improve anything.

As beers get darker and/or higher OG, I like them to condition or age in the bottle at room temp for at least a few weeks past the point when they are carbed in the bottle. Porters, stouts, IPA's. They seem to peak about 5-8 weeks from when you prime and bottle. Hoppy beers start to lose their aroma (if dry hopped) past a certain time, so keep that in mind. I try to give these type of beers a week in the fridge. Don't really know if that helps or not.

Beers with big gravities (1.070+), I like to primary for 4 weeks, then bulk age in secondary for 2+ months. Then bottle giving them plenty of time to carb up. Some, like Belgians for some reason, taste better after room temp aging for a number of months and 3-4 weeks of bottle lagering in the fridge. I don't really know why. You can age in the fridge, but it takes a LONG time.

 

[wailingguitar]

It is subjective... you need to experiment to determine what you like and how to achieve those results.

For me, I prefer beer that is "bulk aged", kegged, etc. over bottles. "Beer likes beer and beer doesn't like to travel"

 

[MDB]

This is very helpful. Thank you all. It is not hard to read some threads and think there is a right way and a wrong way when maybe it's just a "my way" thing. At the same time, experience will inform a few methods that are tried and true, saving me some time learning the hard way. Thanks.

 

[Draken]

Since people only briefly touched on it: give your beer at least 48hours in the fridge prior to drinking. I tend to give mine at least a week. It helps the CO2 get absorbed in the beer and really packs the small yeast cake down. Allows for a cleaner pour. Also if any of your beers show signs of cold haze an extra week or two beyond will settle that out for the most part.