Benefit of longer primary.

[BrewingTravisty]

I'm just curious, of what the benefit of a longer primary is? Most of my brews finish fermenting in 3-4 days, and then another 3-4 days to clean up after themselves and I've had extremely drinkable beer, grain to glass in 2 weeks. Those beers have ranged from 4.5%-7% ABV, so is the longer times mainly for higher gravity beers?

Take for example my Porter that was pitched Monday, a gravity of 1.090 and hit final gravity of 1.019 today. If I give it 2-3 weeks in primary vs just a week what would the difference be in the beer?

 

[Homercidal]

This is a relatively debatable subject. I would answer for myself. Others may have a different take on it.

I prefer to let the beer finish (when gravity is stable and approx. close to the expected FG.) and then rack to secondary, keg, or whatever. I will usually allow the beer to settle some before bottling.

How fast the beer finishes depends on many things. I try to ferment cooler for almost all beers, so that can extend the fermentation a bit, but an average IPA might be done in 7 or so days, maybe more, maybe less. I usually go to the next step when I get a chance. It's not always the same day I decide it's done fermenting.

My line of reasoning is that while a beer might remain on the yeast cake for more than a week or 6 without noticeable detriment, why bother taking a chance? If you need a beer to sit on the cake longer, there is a problem with your process that needs looking at.

Also, I don't believe there is much, if any, positive to leaving it on the cake. Anything that is being done by "the yeast" is being done by the active yeast in suspension, not the inactive yeast sitting dormant on the bottom.

So, get it fermented at the right temperature, with the right amount of yeast, and then move it off the yeast, whether that's in a keg, secondary, or whatever. If you bottle, then it might be time to cold crash. (This will help settle the beer faster and better, AND it will drop the temp, which will also help prevent any likely off-flavors from the yeast cake!)

And in general a stronger beer will do better being aged than a lighter beer. But I'd still do that aging after racking off the yeast cake shortly after fermentation is over. The reason being that dead yeast cells are the most likely cause of off flavors, and you are better off having much fewer numbers of cells in the beer as it ages. I'd also limit the bulk aging to 1-2 months to prevent the carbonation from stalling. The beer can age just fine in the bottle after that, in a carbonated state. (This really depends on how clear you want the beer. You can always allow it to clear and THEN add a touch of yeast in the bottle just for carbing...)

To answer you question, I doubt 1-2 weeks in primary is going to affect a beer that strong very much in the end. I doubt most people would notice any difference at all.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

This is a relatively debatable subject. I would answer for myself. Others may have a different take on it.

I prefer to let the beer finish (when gravity is stable and approx. close to the expected FG.) and then rack to secondary, keg, or whatever. I will usually allow the beer to settle some before bottling.

How fast the beer finishes depends on many things. I try to ferment cooler for almost all beers, so that can extend the fermentation a bit, but an average IPA might be done in 7 or so days, maybe more, maybe less. I usually go to the next step when I get a chance. It's not always the same day I decide it's done fermenting.

My line of reasoning is that while a beer might remain on the yeast cake for more than a week or 6 without noticeable detriment, why bother taking a chance? If you need a beer to sit on the cake longer, there is a problem with your process that needs looking at.

Also, I don't believe there is much, if any, positive to leaving it on the cake. Anything that is being done by "the yeast" is being done by the active yeast in suspension, not the inactive yeast sitting dormant on the bottom.

So, get it fermented at the right temperature, with the right amount of yeast, and then move it off the yeast, whether that's in a keg, secondary, or whatever. If you bottle, then it might be time to cold crash. (This will help settle the beer faster and better, AND it will drop the temp, which will also help prevent any likely off-flavors from the yeast cake!)

And in general a stronger beer will do better being aged than a lighter beer. But I'd still do that aging after racking off the yeast cake shortly after fermentation is over. The reason being that dead yeast cells are the most likely cause of off flavors, and you are better off having much fewer numbers of cells in the beer as it ages. I'd also limit the bulk aging to 1-2 months to prevent the carbonation from stalling. The beer can age just fine in the bottle after that, in a carbonated state. (This really depends on how clear you want the beer. You can always allow it to clear and THEN add a touch of yeast in the bottle just for carbing...)

To answer you question, I doubt 1-2 weeks in primary is going to affect a beer that strong very much in the end. I doubt most people would notice any difference at all.

Thanks the well explained and detailed answer! That's exactly what I was thinking, since I've had some very good beers made in +/- 2 weeks (fermented and bottle conditioned).

I figure I'll give this another day or two to make sure it's finished fermenting and then add my oaked rum and cherry puree, secondary for a week and then bottle condition to age until close to Christmas. At least most of it xP I'm sure around thanksgiving I'll open a couple bottles

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I don't know if there is any science to back it up, but my best beers (1-gallon batches) have been the ones that have sat the longest before bottling (I don't use a secondary).

Recent examples are a smoked wheat that sat for a month or 6 weeks, as well as a grapefruit honey ale and piment rogue saison that sat for well over three months, nearly four. These are easily my best beer so far, and are coincidentally the ones that sat on the trub for the longest time.

What I don't know is if they are be best because they sat the longest, or in spite of it, so take my experience for what it's worth.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I don't know if there is any science to back it up, but my best beers (1-gallon batches) have been the ones that have sat the longest before bottling (I don't use a secondary).

Recent examples are a smoked wheat that sat for a month or 6 weeks, as well as a grapefruit honey ale and piment rogue saison that sat for well over three months, nearly four. These are easily my best beer so far, and are coincidentally the ones that sat on the trub for the longest time.

What I don't know is if they are be best because they sat the longest, or in spite of it, so take my experience for what it's worth.

Well I know that with smoked beers, aging can mellow out the flavors and they meld together better. I have heard differing arguments on whether yeast are harmful to beer after awhile, most of them range from no harm, to harmful. I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that it was beneficial though, so I would think your beers were probably better just through bulk aging rather than anything to do with the yeast.

Who knows though lol I'm still fairly new to this, and not exactly a scientist xP

 

[TasunkaWitko]

I would think your beers were probably better just through bulk aging rather than anything to do with the yeast.

I would definitely agree!

 

[ScrewyBrewer]

Starting out with a healthy pitch of yeast I ferment my Ales in the mid to upper 60's Fahrenheit. I found that temperature eliminates the need to use a blow-off tube when fermenting 5 gallons of beer in a 6.5 gallon fermentor. Maintaining the lower temperature to within one degree for the first 5 days also seems to help produce a cleaner tasting beer with fewer esters.

Six days in I let the temperature rise 3 degrees, about half a degree each day, before cold crashing the fermentors and then kegging the beer. I think that, with the exception of my Witbier, an Ale still can benefit from another three weeks or more after packaging to reach full flavor and clarity before serving. Although I have been known to break my own rule on several occasions.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Starting out with a healthy pitch of yeast I ferment my Ales in the mid to upper 60's Fahrenheit. I found that temperature, eliminates the need to use a blow-off tube when fermenting 5 gallons of beer in a 6.5 gallon fermentor. Maintaining the lower temperature to within one degree for the first 5 days seems to help produce a cleaner tasting beer with fewer esters.

Six days in I let the temperature rise 3 degrees, about half a degree each day, before cold crashing the fermentors and kegging the beer. I think that, with the exception of my Witbier, an Ale still needs at least three weeks to reach it full flavor and clarity before serving. Although I have been known to break my own rule on several occasions.

You control your temps much better than me lol my temps can fluctuate 2-3°f and then after fermentation slows down I just let it raise in temperature naturally. Usually about 1 degree a day, topping out at about 68° by the time it finishes. My beers are generally ready to bottle within a week. Some beers are even ready to drink within 2 weeks total.

 

[jwalk4]

Brews 1.059 and under get a 8 day primary and then straight to the keg.

So if I make a beer Saturday, I'll check FG the following Friday night (6 days later) and Sunday morning. If no change in FG is discovered, then I keg and carbonate.

Beer gets transferred to keg, put on gas, and chills. Monday, I'll get up boost my PSI to 40 for 24 hours. On Tuesday I drop it back down to serving pressure and consume.

Recipe for 10 day ales.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Brews 1.059 and under get a 8 day primary and then straight to the keg.

So if I make a beer Saturday, I'll check FG the following Friday night (6 days later) and Sunday morning. If no change in FG is discovered, then I keg and carbonate.

Beer gets transferred to keg, put on gas, and chills. Monday, I'll get up boost my PSI to 40 for 24 hours. On Tuesday I drop it back down to serving pressure and consume.

Recipe for 10 day ales.

I've had 2, 2 week ales so far. Probably others that would have been had I had the time to bottle them. First one I brewed was a 7%abv wheat IPA, finished fermenting in 3 days, 3 days to dry hop, and 5 days to bottle condition and it was the best tasting beer I've made yet. It actually lost a bit as time went on. The second is a 4.5%abv red rye ale that I started last Sunday, bottled yesterday and should be drinkable this weekend. It would probably be close to ready by now but I hadn't had time to bottle before now. It tasted great before bottling though so I have high hopes for it lol.

 

[Homercidal]

Personally, I think there are other, more important factors for producing the best beers, than length of time in the primary. A good recipe, fresh ingredients, proper amount of healthy yeast, temperature of fermentation, water chemistry...

I simply don't think that a week or two more at fermentation temps will cause a very noticeable difference.

I've brewed a stout that sat on the yeast for 6 weeks and scored 45.5 points in a large competition. I've had others that scored well, and/or tasted fine with 4-6 week primaries.

And I've brewed some that sat for a while that weren't that good at all. Too many other factors come in to play to make my experiences anything more than anecdotal stories.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Personally, I think there are other, more important factors for producing the best beers, than length of time in the primary. A good recipe, fresh ingredients, proper amount of healthy yeast, temperature of fermentation, water chemistry...

I simply don't think that a week or two more at fermentation temps will cause a very noticeable difference.

I've brewed a stout that sat on the yeast for 6 weeks and scored 45.5 points in a large competition. I've had others that scored well, and/or tasted fine with 4-6 week primaries.

And I've brewed some that sat for a while that weren't that good at all. Too many other factors come in to play to make my experiences anything more than anecdotal stories.

I completely agree that in my opinion there are much more important factors. But being fairly new, and this being one of the higher gravity brews I've done, I wanted to get some more experienced views on it lol

 

[RM-MN]

Given the proper conditions of temperature and pitch rate, most medium OG beers will be done in a week. They will have a lot of yeast suspended yet though. If you like yeasty beer, that's fine. I like my yeast to settle out, preferably in the fermenter instead of the bottle so I leave the beer alone for 3 to 4 weeks. Instead of 1/4 inch of yeast in the bottom of the bottle like you would get from the one week fermenting, I get less than 1/8 inch of yeast. I let one beer sit in the fermenter for 9 weeks and there was so little yeast left to settle out that it was hard to see it in even the clear bottles. That was one of my most tasty beers too.

 

[AQUILAS]

I've got my christmas old ale sitting in the fermenter and plan to leave it in there for a total of 12 weeks. I'm around week 5 now. It was a 1.085 OG.

Originally, I planned to bottle it after a few weeks and then just store it away until Christmas, but I figured one bucket is much less space taken up than 40-50 bottles. I read online that leaving it on the yeast cake for a few months won't be detrimental to the beer, of course, given the right conditions (yeast health, yeast size, sanitation, etc), but going longer than that (i think the number I saw was averaged to 6 months) you'd want to secondary or bottle age.

At this point, I'm committed to the 12 weeks in the primary, but if I do bottle earlier than my planned bottling date of Thanksgiving weekend, it's moreso to ensure proper carbonation when I share it around Christmas time. I'm more scared to share a flat beer.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I've got my christmas old ale sitting in the fermenter and plan to leave it in there for a total of 12 weeks. I'm around week 5 now. It was a 1.085 OG.

Originally, I planned to bottle it after a few weeks and then just store it away until Christmas, but I figured one bucket is much less space taken up than 40-50 bottles. I read online that leaving it on the yeast cake for a few months won't be detrimental to the beer, of course, given the right conditions (yeast health, yeast size, sanitation, etc), but going longer than that (i think the number I saw was averaged to 6 months) you'd want to secondary or bottle age.

At this point, I'm committed to the 12 weeks in the primary, but if I do bottle earlier than my planned bottling date of Thanksgiving weekend, it's moreso to ensure proper carbonation when I share it around Christmas time. I'm more scared to share a flat beer.

I'm thinking I'll probably give this one another week, just cause I'm oaking it and then I'll cold crash for a few days and bottle. I might try it again with an extended time in primary to see if I taste a difference.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Given the proper conditions of temperature and pitch rate, most medium OG beers will be done in a week. They will have a lot of yeast suspended yet though. If you like yeasty beer, that's fine. I like my yeast to settle out, preferably in the fermenter instead of the bottle so I leave the beer alone for 3 to 4 weeks. Instead of 1/4 inch of yeast in the bottom of the bottle like you would get from the one week fermenting, I get less than 1/8 inch of yeast. I let one beer sit in the fermenter for 9 weeks and there was so little yeast left to settle out that it was hard to see it in even the clear bottles. That was one of my most tasty beers too.

My current brew was an OG of 1.090, which would be considered more than medium gravity I'm guessing? It's already hit FG but I'm gonna oak it this weekend and keep it in primary for another week, and then do a cold crash for a few days before bottling. I imagine that should clear most of the yeast out right?

 

[joshesmusica]

since I've had some very good beers made in +/- 2 weeks (fermented and bottle conditioned).

Wait, what??? You have been drinking a beer that is only two weeks old and that includes bottle conditioning, and it was very good?

Please do share your secrets, because you, my friend, have accomplished the near impossible.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Wait, what??? You have been drinking a beer that is only two weeks old and that includes bottle conditioning, and it was very good?

Please do share your secrets, because you, my friend, have accomplished the near impossible.

Let me see if I can find my recipe for the wheat IPA I did, that one was just under 2 weeks if I remember right, I actually accidentally over carbed it too. That was one of my best beers, though I was actually going for less bitter and more flavor/aroma so next time I make it I'll tweak that a bit. This red rye, I'll try Sunday and see how it is, if so then that recipe will definitely be a 2 week beer as well.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

Wait, what??? You have been drinking a beer that is only two weeks old and that includes bottle conditioning, and it was very good?

Please do share your secrets, because you, my friend, have accomplished the near impossible.

Ok found it

5lbs Rahr red wheat malt
4lbs Breiss 2-row
1lb Honey Malt

Mash @ 153f for 60 minutes

3oz CTZ (1@60 0.5@30 and 0.5@ Flame out)
3oz Amarillo (Dry Hop 48 hours)

Safale US-05 Yeast.

EST OG 1.051 and EST ABV 5.4

I had actually hit a reall high efficiency on this one and ended up closer to 7%

It fermented at about 65, finished in 3 days, dry hopped for 2 days, bottle carbed for 5 days before putting a couple in the fridge for 2 days. Total of 12 days grain to glass. CO2 volume used was about 3.5, would recommend more along the lines of 2.5. Had great head retention, wonderful lacing, hop bite up front with a citrusy, sweet honey finish.

If I were to tweak it, I would take out the 60 minute addition, add .5oz to the 30 minute and .5oz as a 15 minute. Probably add another lb honey, take away some 2-row. But the recipe as is was pretty solid, just not exactly what I was aiming for.

 

[joshesmusica]

Ok found it

5lbs Rahr red wheat malt
4lbs Breiss 2-row
1lb Honey Malt

Mash @ 153f for 60 minutes

3oz CTZ (1@60 0.5@30 and 0.5@ Flame out)
3oz Amarillo (Dry Hop 48 hours)

Safale US-05 Yeast.

EST OG 1.051 and EST ABV 5.4

I had actually hit a reall high efficiency on this one and ended up closer to 7%

It fermented at about 65, finished in 3 days, dry hopped for 2 days, bottle carbed for 5 days before putting a couple in the fridge for 2 days. Total of 12 days grain to glass. CO2 volume used was about 3.5, would recommend more along the lines of 2.5. Had great head retention, wonderful lacing, hop bite up front with a citrusy, sweet honey finish.

If I were to tweak it, I would take out the 60 minute addition, add .5oz to the 30 minute and .5oz as a 15 minute. Probably add another lb honey, take away some 2-row. But the recipe as is was pretty solid, just not exactly what I was aiming for.

I mean I believe fermentation can be quick, but I don't believe that 5 days is necessarily enough for cleanup and it dropping clear. 5 days in the bottle is most certainly not enough unless you've got them sitting at like 90F. But it probably seems like enough carbonation because you WAY overcarbed it. I'm not saying that you're not drinking it that quickly. But I'm sorry, I just can't believe that it's truly a really good beer.

 

[GilSwillBasementBrews]

I mean I believe fermentation can be quick, but I don't believe that 5 days is necessarily enough for cleanup and it dropping clear. 5 days in the bottle is most certainly not enough unless you've got them sitting at like 90F. But it probably seems like enough carbonation because you WAY overcarbed it. I'm not saying that you're not drinking it that quickly. But I'm sorry, I just can't believe that it's truly a really good beer.

Being a wheat beer maybe not too concerned with how clear it drops. Either way I don't doubt it. I've had good beers grain to glass in 10-12 days but I also keg. But if the yeast is healthy active blah blah. If it chews threw the gravity in a couple days, what's a little priming sugar going to slow it down that much. I'm surprised it was that carbed in such a short time bottle conditioned but I believe it is possible.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I mean I believe fermentation can be quick, but I don't believe that 5 days is necessarily enough for cleanup and it dropping clear. 5 days in the bottle is most certainly not enough unless you've got them sitting at like 90F. But it probably seems like enough carbonation because you WAY overcarbed it. I'm not saying that you're not drinking it that quickly. But I'm sorry, I just can't believe that it's truly a really good beer.

I had compliments on that beer, it was a wheat beer so I wasn't bothered for it to drop clear. There were no off flavors that I or anyone at the LHBS could detect. Only thing anyone had to say about it was that it was over carbed.

 

[Hanglow]

Some beers can certainly be done that quick. If you are using US05 or similar though, and want a bright beer, then you'll need to fine it or a fair bit more time for the yeast to drop. But something like nottingham which is much quicker and flocs so much better then no problem


Consider cask beer, it should be racked to cask with two gravity points remaining so it can carbonate in the cask - so if your yeast is a fast worker you can be drinking cask bitters and milds that were brewed only a couple of weeks previous. Most are now brewery conditioned, but the likes of Landlord still goes through an active fermentation in the cask, which is one reason why it can be so variable



I can only brew/bottle at weekends, so my beers tend to sit for 2 or 3 weeks depending on the strength - I don't tend to do very many beers that need longer.

 

[joshesmusica]

Since when did people start confusing yeast haze with wheat protein haze? I mean if you enjoy the flavor of way too much yeast in suspension that's nothing I'll judge you for, but it doesn't mean it's part of the style.

 

[Yooper]

I mean I believe fermentation can be quick, but I don't believe that 5 days is necessarily enough for cleanup and it dropping clear. 5 days in the bottle is most certainly not enough unless you've got them sitting at like 90F. But it probably seems like enough carbonation because you WAY overcarbed it. I'm not saying that you're not drinking it that quickly. But I'm sorry, I just can't believe that it's truly a really good beer.

5 days can be enough time. It depends on the beer and recipe.

A few years back, we did a beer swap called "10der and mild".

The idea was for everybody to make a mild and on day 10, ship the beer to someone else. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=77758&highlight=10der+mild

By day 10, the beer was brewed, fermented, carbed, and shipped. I was drinking mine on day 7 and 8 to ensure that it was good enough to send.

Most lower OG ales that have the proper amount of yeast pitched at the proper temperature will finish fermenting in just a couple of days. The yeast "cleans up" within 24 hours after FG is reached, and many yeast strains will flocculate at that point. So it's not unrealistic that many people find 5-7 days rather routine.

It's funny. When I started brewing, pretty much "everyone" said to keep the beer for 5 days at most in primary, and then rack to secondary. Happily, the tide has turned and we've gotten away from that "advice". But some more vocal homebrewers have started preaching to keep the beer in the primary for weeks and weeks and weeks, which is equally ridiculous.

A well made beer is ready in a reasonable amount of time. No harm may come from a lengthy time in the primary, but unless someone either loves the yeast character imparted or doesn't have time to deal with the beer, there is no real benefit either.

I think that when we make generalizations like "leave your beer for a month in the primary!" that new brewers don't understand that the blanket statement is more of a "can't hurt, might help" advice instead of a mandate.

 

[joshesmusica]

5 days can be enough time. It depends on the beer and recipe.



A few years back, we did a beer swap called "10der and mild".



The idea was for everybody to make a mild and on day 10, ship the beer to someone else. https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=77758&highlight=10der+mild



By day 10, the beer was brewed, fermented, carbed, and shipped. I was drinking mine on day 7 and 8 to ensure that it was good enough to send.



Most lower OG ales that have the proper amount of yeast pitched at the proper temperature will finish fermenting in just a couple of days. The yeast "cleans up" within 24 hours after FG is reached, and many yeast strains will flocculate at that point. So it's not unrealistic that many people find 5-7 days rather routine.



It's funny. When I started brewing, pretty much "everyone" said to keep the beer for 5 days at most in primary, and then rack to secondary. Happily, the tide has turned and we've gotten away from that "advice". But some more vocal homebrewers have started preaching to keep the beer in the primary for weeks and weeks and weeks, which is equally ridiculous.



A well made beer is ready in a reasonable amount of time. No harm may come from a lengthy time in the primary, but unless someone either loves the yeast character imparted or doesn't have time to deal with the beer, there is no real benefit either.



I think that when we make generalizations like "leave your beer for a month in the primary!" that new brewers don't understand that the blanket statement is more of a "can't hurt, might help" advice instead of a mandate.

I agree, and have always pointed to your advice about timelines (when people are advocating for at least three weeks). But according to his description, he ended up with an OG of like 1.062-1.063. If he picked one packet of properly rehydrated yeast, then according to the calculators, he has under-pitched by a little over 1b cells. If he pitched dry, it's even more under-pitched.

The same logic goes for hurrying up the process as leaving it on the yeast for weeks and weeks: just because one can, doesn't mean one should.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I wouldn't say that this is the norm to have it ready in 12 days for most beers. I do know that this one was better at 12 days, than it was at 30 days. The yeast dropped out just fine with a couple days in the fridge. There was no yeasty character to the beer at all, or if there was the hops covered it up so well that you couldn't taste it.

As for should you do it just cause you can? Yes depending on the beer. Like I said, this was one of those beers that was much better young than it was after aging a little longer. Of course I wouldn't do this with every beer but next time I brew this beer, I'll definitely be drinking it within two weeks.

I think it's a silly concept from old that you have to keep every beer in primary for weeks at a time, and bottle condition minimum of 2 weeks to get a good beer.

Of course it may be different if you're brewing a specific style to be judged and you wanna do everything by the book to be true to that style. Me personally, I'm more about making good beers that I enjoy, rather than caring if it's to style.

But this is the beauty of homebrewing, I do things my way to make beer that I think tastes good, and you do things your way, based on what tastes good to you.

 

[gspot]

I've seen a lot of these "how long"-type threads that seem to evolve into "how soon can I drink it " with several people saying they've done grain to glass in xx number of days with the fewest number being preferable.

With the exception of wheat beers, I think that patience is rewarded by better tasting beer. Is it drink-ABLE in 5-7 days or whenever krausening is finished? Well, yes. At that point it'll approximate the final flavor but will continue to evolve (improve) until it reaches peak flavor at some future point and then start to decline gradually. The timeline for this depends on the style, ingredients, storage environment, and gravity.

While trying to figure this out for myself in the beginning, I started tasting beer periodically right after krausening finished. In my experience and according to my taste preferences (not necessarily yours), I prefer to leave all ales in the primary for three weeks minimum. I've yet to taste a beer that really seemed to have reached full flavor development before that point, however drinkable it may otherwise be. The bigger the beer, the longer it stays in the primary or gets racked to a secondary for extended aging. I'm currently guzzling EdWort's Bee Cave Haus Pale (thanks EdWort for a fantastic recipe), which is touted as a quick turn-around brew, but even EdWort recommends in the recipe thread to be patient with it and give it a month. He's right, too. Although it IS great after a couple weeks total, it's even better left in the fermenter for three weeks and a couple weeks in the keg.

As always, others may have different experiences/opinions. But to get back to the OP's original question about the benefits of extended primary, I'd answer: better beer. I'll continue to advocate patience in the fermenter (up to a point) unless you just want to get to drinking as quickly as possible. I still do that occasionally when my reserves fall too low. Cheers, y'all!

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I've seen a lot of these "how long"-type threads that seem to evolve into "how soon can I drink it " with several people saying they've done grain to glass in xx number of days with the fewest number being preferable.

With the exception of wheat beers, I think that patience is rewarded by better tasting beer. Is it drink-ABLE in 5-7 days or whenever krausening is finished? Well, yes. At that point it'll approximate the final flavor but will continue to evolve (improve) until it reaches peak flavor at some future point and then start to decline gradually. The timeline for this depends on the style, ingredients, storage environment, and gravity.

While trying to figure this out for myself in the beginning, I started tasting beer periodically right after krausening finished. In my experience and according to my taste preferences (not necessarily yours), I prefer to leave all ales in the primary for three weeks minimum. I've yet to taste a beer that really seemed to have reached full flavor development before that point, however drinkable it may otherwise be. The bigger the beer, the longer it stays in the primary or gets racked to a secondary for extended aging. I'm currently guzzling EdWort's Bee Cave Haus Pale (thanks EdWort for a fantastic recipe), which is touted as a quick turn-around brew, but even EdWort recommends in the recipe thread to be patient with it and give it a month. He's right, too. Although it IS great after a couple weeks total, it's even better left in the fermenter for three weeks and a couple weeks in the keg.

As always, others may have different experiences/opinions. But to get back to the OP's original question about the benefits of extended primary, I'd answer: better beer. I'll continue to advocate patience in the fermenter (up to a point) unless you just want to get to drinking as quickly as possible. I still do that occasionally when my reserves fall too low. Cheers, y'all!

I'm not really impatient to get beers in the glass as quickly as possible, the beer I've got going now I probably won't drink until close to Christmas. The wheat IPA that I brewed though was much better tasting when just a couple weeks old than it was after a month. So like you said, it really depends on the style. Most styles do seem to do better with a little more age, and some like wheat beers and IPAs (or a hybrid like mine) seem to be better when drank quickly before the age much.

I'm the kind of person who will crack open a beer after 4-5 days in a bottle, just so I can compare it to a few weeks in a bottle because I want to see for myself that one way is actually better than the other, rather than take others words for it. So far, most of my beers have been better with age while a couple have lost some in aging. So I don't think there's really a magic number for how long it takes for a beer to be good.

 

[henchman24]

I'm in the depends on the style group. I try to quickly rotate through hoppy beers and try to limit their potential oxygen exposure as much as possible. There I typically just primary until fermentation is done plus a couple to few days for some cleanup (depending on OG, yeast, temp, etc it tends to be a week to two weeks) and then I transfer to the keg and dry hop... then 5-7 days later it is in the fridge. With 3726/3724 saisons I crank up the temperature to 85-90-95+ so I tend to transfer them pretty quickly after fermentation is complete (usually to a keg where depending on the pipeline they may get tapped ASAP or sit for months). On many other styles where the yeast isn't being stressed and hop freshness isn't of the highest priority... I'll let it set for ~3+ weeks in the primary. I have tended to get better tasting beers by letting rest for a bit after fermentation, but I wouldn't say the difference is huge.

 

[p_p]

I'm currently guzzling EdWort's Bee Cave Haus Pale (thanks EdWort for a fantastic recipe),

would you be able to post a link to EdWort's recipe?

Thanks

 

[joshesmusica]

I'm in the depends on the style group.

I'm actually in this group as well. I can go grain-to-glass in 2 weeks, but that's with a keg. I haven't had a bottle condition in less than 1 1/2 weeks, and I've experimented with warmer temps and everything. Maybe the trick is to over carb it by 1 full volume of co2, but I would rather shoot for just under what I'm aiming for so that I don't have overcarbed bottles. But then again, I got a pretty good pipeline, and I now just plan it that my hop-forward styles get kegged, and anything that doesn't really need to be consumed super quickly will get bottled. Let them carb for 3 weeks at room temp (18C in my beer room), and then check on how they're tasting.

 

[p_p]

good advice

Now, go drink your primary aged beer

 

[joshesmusica]

good advice

Now, go drink your primary aged beer

The one in my glass right now isn't even 3 weeks old! for the love of all that's holy!

 

[gspot]

Just in case you didn't Google it: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=31793

Bee Cave Brewery Haus Pale Ale

Can highly recommend this one, as well as much of HBT apparently, considering it's high up there on that list of the 100 most popular recipes on HBT. In the top 10 if I'm not mistaken.

 

[BrewingTravisty]

I'm actually in this group as well. I can go grain-to-glass in 2 weeks, but that's with a keg. I haven't had a bottle condition in less than 1 1/2 weeks, and I've experimented with warmer temps and everything. Maybe the trick is to over carb it by 1 full volume of co2, but I would rather shoot for just under what I'm aiming for so that I don't have overcarbed bottles. But then again, I got a pretty good pipeline, and I now just plan it that my hop-forward styles get kegged, and anything that doesn't really need to be consumed super quickly will get bottled. Let them carb for 3 weeks at room temp (18C in my beer room), and then check on how they're tasting.

Well to be fair, I just popped open a red rye after a few days in bottle and it's delicious. Slightly under carbed but in a few days it should be perfect. That'll be right at 2 weeks grain to glass.

In my personal opinion, for most low abv beers, if your fermentation goes well and you ferment at the right temp, there really aren't any off flavors that need to be aged out, so once it's carbed you're good to drink it. If you can do a 5-7 day grain to glass with a keg, there's no reason in my mind that 2 weeks grain to glass is that crazy, as long as you have healthy yeast of course. Of course this doesn't apply to beers that have additives that need to mellow out.

Now like I said, this beer needs a few more days and might possibly be better with even longer, but being a 4.5% red ale I doubt it will change much outside of the carbonation.

Also the beer doesn't show how clear it is in the picture, because of condensation on the glass + bad picture quality but this beer is crystal clear.

View attachment 1446166280480.jpg