Does it matter to follow the recipe when it comes to fermentation time?

[stem42]

Hi,

novice here, just cooked my first all grain batch after a few kits.

The more I read about fermenting the more I'm starting to realize that it doesn't really matter to follow the recipe when it comes to the recommended length of the fermentation process.

The recipe of the batch I just cooked instructs to ferment for 2 weeks before transferring the batch in the secondary tank and ferment for another week before bottling.

Side question - Since I do not have to add dry hops should I even bother to move the batch to a second fermenter? Many claim it's just a waste of time and increases chances of contamination.

I read that if I wanted to I could stretch the first fermenting period by many weeks, even a few months. Some people even say it's better to wait longer, that the taste of the beer becomes better (fuller body).

What's your take on this?

 

[invictusbrew]

Temperature control and hitting your numbers gravity-wise is far more important than a set time. This can happen in days or weeks, depending on many factors, including (but certainly not limited to) fermentation temps, yeast viability, oxygen, style of beer (to generalize a lot of factors), etc. If you don't already have one, a hydrometer or refractometer is one of the best things to buy for this reason.

There are probably thousands if not tens of thousands (or more) of posts on this forum about using secondary or not, however, the general consensus is that it is usually unnecessary and you would be better served leaving the wort in primary until bottling - often times even when dryhopping, etc.

 

[skw]

You don't need to move to a secondary in your case. Fermentation time cannot be predicted, at least not on a home brewer scale. It will be done when it's done - that can be three days or three weeks. And it is always better to bottle late than to bottle early.

 

[TheHopfather]

Your beer is done "cooking" once it reaches a stable FG, over a period of several days. When you are first starting out it is advisable to leave your beer in the primary for a little longer to allow the yeast enough time to clean up any off flavors from your process. The general rule of thumb is about 3 weeks in primary and then bottle.

The whole rack to secondary thing is a bit of old homebrew knowledge. Your beer will age and clean up just fine in the primary, there is no need to get the beer off of the yeast by racking to a secondary with today's high quality yeast. You can even dry hop right in the primary. The only time I could think a secondary would be warranted would be for bulk aging big beers over a long period of time (thinks months) or for a fruit beer/wood aging.

 

[m00ps]

I've found that in general, the best practice for following recipes is to not follow them. Its slowly getting better, but I see so many outdated, misinformed, and just plain stupid instructions out there for kits and the like. I'd recommend getting a general grasp of general rules of thumb for making ales (and lagers if you move to it) and just trusting your gut from them on (or more likely trusting your hydrometer)

Also, longer fermentaiton times does not make the beer "fuller" in body. Many beers (esp higher OG ones) will benefit form extended conditioning. This helps the yeast clean up off flavors and for the other flavors to sort of meld together better. But like other have said, once a stable FG is reached, you may as well bottle them and let it condition in the bottle

 

[FirstAidBrewing]

Any longer/shorter of a fermentation time might not hurt the beer, but it may also produce a slightly different taste then the recipe originally intended. Those sound like kit instructions and they usually give that 2 week time frame to ensure that final gravity is achieved before moving on to the next step.

To answer your other question, no as homebrewers we don't need to rack to secondary unless we are dry-hopping or adding fruit or something else along those lines

 

[Firewalker11]

I pressure ferment so my primary is as said above, three days at the same FG. I then rack it off to the secondary (all closed system) through a 1u filter. My process is much different than others but experience with the Safale 05 is its done in 4 days and longer contact results in flavor changes. Good ones but not wanted in a crisp IPA.