Fermention timelines

[CBMbrewer]

I have been brewing for almost two years now and have come across, as many of us have, many different ways to conduct a brew from grain to pint.
Here are the main options I have seen. (this is for ales with dry-hopping, temps per style)

A: 7 days in primary. Siphon into secondary and dry hop. Condition for 14 days. Bottle/Keg (prime) ready to drink in 10 days to 2 weeks.

B: Leave in primary until fermentation slows (3-7 days). Siphon into secondary and dry hop. Condition until target gravity is reached and/or the beer is 14 days old [or let the beer age on the hops for 14 days]. Bottle/Keg (prime) ready to drink in 10 days to 2 weeks.

C: Leave in primary. After fermentation slows (3-7 days) dry hop directly into the primary. Condition in primary until target gravity is reached and/or the beer is 14 days old. Bottle/keg (prime) ready to drink in 10 days to 2 weeks.

I have always used option A, but this takes 5 weeks to go from grain to pint. I also have to deal with siphoning the beer into a secondary carboy and risk some oxidation.
So, will all of these methods work fine? Are different methods going to produce a difference in the beer? Will leaving the beer in primary for the duration of all of the fermentation give the beer a more yeasty taste? Is there a best option or should I just pick one to have the beer ready to drink at a given time?
Thanks for all feedback.

 

[amandabab]

I usually brew with method A.
I'm not tied to 7 and 14 though, could be anything from 3-5 weeks for most stuff. Another 4-8 weeks in the bottle for most stuff.
The fast stuff is 7 weeks pitching to drinking.

 

[RainyDay]

It's all personal preference. I typically use option A, but let my bottles carb for 3 weeks (the 1, 2, 3 method), unless its a big beer. It's all preference really. This is the first method I used when I started brewing and its given me great results, so I keep doing it. I also like the secondary to get the beer off of the yeast cake, as I dont want too strong of a yeast flavor. The biggest thing I would advise is to not rush the beer; it will be ready when its ready

 

[MisterTipsy]

The answer depends what kind of beer you are brewing and what your goals are.

Is you goal to drink your beer as quickly as possible or is it to produce the best brew possible and drink it when it's prime not just ready?

Some beers finish quickly like 5% Pale Ales. Other beers take a lot longer to finish right like high ABV beers.

 

[shizzy77]

hmm. I simply leave in the primary for three weeks.

 

[JonK331]

I really don't like to assign time frames to things. The beer is finished fermenting when the gravity is stable for at least three days, not after two weeks, or 7 days + 2 weeks, etc. etc. Brew by what your instruments tell you, not by the calendar. It's also good to let the beer sit for a week or two to let the yeast consume it's byproducts that were created early in fermentation. Is it possible to go from kettle to glass in 7 days? Sure. Will patience and a good understanding of fermentation make better beer? Yes.

The whole secondary vs. primary only debate is a separate issue and has gone on and on and on here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/.

 

[strat_thru_marshall]

I'll go 1 week primary, day or two cold crash, keg, force carb, ready to drink in a few hours.

Or

1 week primary, dry hop for 3 days, day or two cold crash, keg, force carb ready to drink in a few hours.

Unless it's a high-gravity beer, this works out for me. But then again, I have a good relationship with my yeast and I know how they behave and what to expect of them. I also filter sometimes, if it's going to competition or being served outside of my house to friends or whatever, so I've had beers go grain to glass in 8 days and come out commercial beer clear (not normal, but it can be done).

Now, this wont work for you unless you've got your process DIALED in, and you understand the nuances of your yeast. Dumping a vial of white labs into a carboy of 1.070 wort...this timeline aint gonna work. Proper pitching rates, proper o2 levels, proper conversion in the mash, proper yeast management.....etc etc.......and you can get it down to under 10 days.

 

[kh54s10]

I leave mine in primary for 2 weeks minimum, usually 3 and up to 5 weeks. I bottle and try one at 2 weeks. Then because I have a healthy pipeline it may take many months to drink them all. I have a winter ale that I brewed in late November to drink in February but it was not ready. It is still getting better.

No strict timetable or procedure for me.

 

[brewmaster101]

Takes my beer 3 weeks to carbs in the bottle.

 

[BigBeer4All]

Nothing strict here, but I usually primary until the krausen recedes(5-10days), the secondary until I get my desired FG. Never set hop for more than 14 days though. Bottle conditioning is usually 3 weeks at ~70-75, conditioning depends on the beer and happens aeound 60 as thats the avg ambient temp in my cellar.

No need to rush things, I have plenty of store bought and pipeline to quench my thirst.

 

[CBMbrewer]

Ok, allow me to clarify.

I am talking strictly about American style pale ales around 1.05 with some dry-hopping.
I'm not trying to just pump out a beer as fast as I can, I am just curious if I can use a different method to produce good quality beer but without the hassle of racking to a secondary and the worry of oxidation.
Yes I know my beer will tell me (or rather my hydrometer will tell me) when fermentation is done. The number of days listed above are simply a concise view of general fermentation times.
My main questions are:
Should I use a secondary?
Will a full fermentation in only the primary carboy leave a yeasty taste?
When and where to dry hop and how long should I condition with the hops?
Thanks again.

BTW my beers are almost all carbonated within 10 days but of course improve with some age.

 

[Budzu]

This is another technique that will both speed up the process, eliminate the secondary, and gives only a slighty softer hop character.

Just add the hops with the yeast into the primary fermentation and let it roll. The utilization of the hops is excellent because of the stirring of the fermentation. The aroma is muted slightly, so you might add 25% more hops.

The difference in hops added here and after fermentation is very slight from my experience doing the same recipe both ways.

The yeast also love this as they get to ride the hops around, or collect around them with all the additional surface area.

Timewise I would just treat this as a normal primary ferment and rack at the preferred time.

Just throwing it out there to consider!

 

[BigBeer4All]

i might have to try that^ your logic is great on the yeast part as well!

Will a full fermentation in only the primary carboy leave a yeasty taste?
When and where to dry hop and how long should I condition with the hops?
Thanks again.

BTW my beers are almost all carbonated within 10 days but of course improve with some age.

you wont get a yeasty taste unless youre leaving it in there for months(3plus)

most people add the hops after the majority of fermentration is done to avoid letting the precious volatiles ride out with the CO2, but guy up there has a good point with just using more.

 

[pjj2ba]

......... So, will all of these methods work fine? Are different methods going to produce a difference in the beer? Will leaving the beer in primary for the duration of all of the fermentation give the beer a more yeasty taste? Is there a best option or should I just pick one to have the beer ready to drink at a given time?
Thanks for all feedback.

Different methods produce different beers. Sometimes it is very subtle, other times less so. All will work fine. It depends on how important it is to YOU. If you find that you definitely prefer a secondaried beer, and this is important to you, then you will find a way to do the transfer that works for your system and prevents any oxidation risk. It may take some experimentation, but eventually you will figure out what works for you. If you like the flavor, but don't want to bother, it's too much work, etc., that is fine too

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Should I use a secondary?
Will a full fermentation in only the primary carboy leave a yeasty taste?
When and where to dry hop and how long should I condition with the hops?

1) I believe one of the main advantages to most brewers of a secondary is clarity. I don't use one, but that's because I cold-crash my beers at the end of primary, sometimes add gelatin, and I keg the beer, which allows it to continue to clear in the keg. In addition, my transfer from fermenter to keg does not require me to move the fermenter an inch, so I don't stir up sediment. If you can clear your beer in primary and make your transfer from primary to your bottling bucket without stirring up sediment, then you don't need secondary.

2) No. However, I do discern a noticeable difference in taste between beer that's cleared and beer that still has small amounts of sediment in suspension. So, again, if leaving the beer in primary impedes any effort you make to improve clarity, it might taste different.

3) Generally I understand it's not recommended to dry-hop for more than about 2 weeks, as this is when people starting picking up "grassy" flavors from the hops. I dry hop directly in the primary since I don't use a secondary, but dry-hopping in the secondary is just fine too. Some people use a hop bag (which can help clarity), although I just dump the pellets in loose and then they drop out of suspension when I cold-crash the beer.

 

[C-Rider]

The use of a secondary had been discussed here over and over again. I see most of the "old timers" not getting involved in this as they are probably tired of the same question.

Me, I'm lazy. 3-4 weeks in the primary 3 weeks in bottles. The less work I have to do and still produce a good beer is best for me.

 

[downtown3641]

The use of a secondary had been discussed here over and over again. I see most of the "old timers" not getting involved in this as they are probably tired of the same question.

Me, I'm lazy. 3-4 weeks in the primary 3 weeks in bottles. The less work I have to do and still produce a good beer is best for me.

This. No secondary because the cost-benefit ratio doesn't seem worth the effort. I'll hit my swamp cooler with a buttload of ice bottles 48 hours before I intend to package and that seems to do a fairly good job of clearing the beer.

I prefer not to have concentrate on fermentation timeframes and will just keg after 3 or 4 weeks for most beers. Even with dry hopping, I just work backwards from when I intend to package.

 

[Braufessor]

American pales: 10-14 days in primary, open up lid on bucket, throw in dry hops for 5-7 days. Basically, about three weeks usually in primary total. Transfer directly from primary to keg, or to bottling bucket and bottle.

Pretty much my standard procedure for all beers is 3 weeks in primary and keg or bottle. My beer is VERY clear - I see very little benefit in this area for secondary. Secondary if doing a "big" beer that I want to let sit, or add things like oak, bourbon, etc.

 

[brewmaster101]

I have a pale ale in secondary that I am about to dry hop. Would cold crashing this carboy of goodness in a large ice bucket for a day BEFORE bottling, kill too much ale yeast needed for carbonation?

 

[Piratwolf]

I have a pale ale in secondary that I am about to dry hop. Would cold crashing this carboy of goodness in a large ice bucket for a day BEFORE bottling, kill too much ale yeast needed for carbonation?

I don't believe that would necessarily kill ANY yeast. I think you have to freeze 'em so the cell walls rupture. It'll probably just put 'em down for a nice nap before priming

Also, I'm even worse than most here. Two nights ago, I drank a bottled PA that I brewed in June 21 . I give it ~10 days in the carboy (incl 3-day dry hop on this batch), bottle on day 11 and drink on day 17. In 50+ batches, I've had one not carbed in 7 days.

 

[KISS Brew]

Pretty much my standard procedure for all beers is 3 weeks in primary and keg or bottle. My beer is VERY clear - I see very little benefit in this area for secondary.

I have essentially the same process, checking the gravity just to be safe.

I've never been too concerned about clear beer, but mine is also very clear just from the long primary. This has made me wonder why some people use a secondary for clearing, when a long primary has the same effect for the same amount of time.

I think beer clarity has more to do with how long the beer has been in bottles and how long it has been refrigerated before opening.

 

[brewmaster101]

Ok good to know. This is the second time I have made this pale ale and its pretty clear, my goal was to get it even clearer for general consumption.

 

[Piratwolf]

FWIW, I've been using a BioFine Clear on my last few batches for competition beers. $4 for a 2oz bottle w/ eye dropper. I do 1/2 to 3/4 of an eye dropper for 5gal a few days before bottling and the beer is CRYSTAL clear. I don't much care about clarity for home-drinkin', but this stuff is amazing!

 

[pjj2ba]

I have essentially the same process, checking the gravity just to be safe.

I've never been too concerned about clear beer, but mine is also very clear just from the long primary. This has made me wonder why some people use a secondary for clearing, when a long primary has the same effect for the same amount of time.

I think beer clarity has more to do with how long the beer has been in bottles and how long it has been refrigerated before opening.

Clarity is not really a good primary reason to use a secondary. Beer will clarify at about the same rate whether in primary versus secondary. It will be easier to avoid picking up yeast when packaging if a secondary is used, so that is a reason to use a secondary. I personally don't think that really affects clarity though. Yeast that has settled but gets stirred up, will settle out fairly quickly to give clear beer.

However, that flavor of a beer that has been aged in a secondary versus primary only will taste different. This can be subtle in some styles, and more pronounced in others. This is a very good reason to choose to use a secondary, if you prefer the flavors of beers aged that way.