AHS Budget IPA Fermentation Time

[79camaro]

Hi all. I've been brewing for a few years and have had really bad luck lately. I usually do a week in the primary and one in secondary, then at least 3 weeks in the bottle. The last few batches i've made seem really bland. I have AHS budget IPA in the secondary and have accurate gravity readings. Wondering if my 2 weeks of fermentation in general isn't enough. What are your standard fermentation times?

 

[tx-brewer]

I usually do three or four weeks. Sometimes all in primary. Sometimes a week in primary, the rest in secondary.

 

[IL1kebeer]

One to two weeks, depending on the beer, and it's off to be packaged

Honestly, the only thing that I've kept in a fermenter for two weeks was a 1.082 Imperial IPA. I have a regular American IPA that I rack after 11 days that has done alright in competition. My wheat beer is racked after 6 days. I'm looking to enter that one into a few competitions to effectively bust the "3 week rule" myth.

Don't brew like a robot by following a "2-3 week fermentation" rule blindly. Spend your time learning about yeast and fermentation and you will find that with a healthy fermentation, most ales will be done in about a week more or less. Spend your money on precise temperature control, starter equipment, and an oxygenation system and I guarantee that you will make better beer, even if you don't care for fast turn arounds.

Seriously, fermentation is more important than whirlpools, hop stands, decoctions, all grain vs extract, Blichman bling, cold steeping, and countless other techniques that have little effect when compared to what yeast do.

 

[jrgtr42]

I would think that 2 weeks is enough for most beers - even though I generally leave it there for 3 to make sure. I also don't bother with secondaries unless bulk aging with wood, fruit or souring.
Are you checking your gravities?
I also wouldn't think that underattenuation would leave a "bland" beer. If anything, it would be sweeter than you expected.
Maybe if you let us know what your procedures, recipe and numbers look like we might be able to point you in the right direction.