Hefe in secondary for a month, is that too long?

[Chaddyb]

Im just wondering if a month in the secondary is too long, I had it in the primary for two weeks, and i ended up leaving it in the secondary for a month, because my daughter was born, things got crazy, and I just couldnt get to it. It ended up with a funny taste when I bottled, even though it tasted good when I transfered it from the primary. Im not sure if there is an infection or the beer is just green.

 

[eljefe]

Congrats on your baby. 4 weeks is not ideal but not too long. Have you tried it more than once and it tasted odd all times? I have tried the same beer from the same keg and it has tasted differently.

What is the taste, sour, sweet?

 

[Chaddyb]

I tried it when I bottled, then after a week in the bottle. I wil try it again in another week here and see if there is any changes. Im also gonna brew the same kit using bottled water rather than my tap water and see if there is any differences in taste.

 

[as1084]

4 weeks is longer than usual for a hefe, but shouldn't have affected the taste if it was stored properly. Do you secondary in a bucket or carboy? Was your secondary stored in a dark room or dark area? If you use a carboy, it might of gotten skunked from too much exposure to light. Another possibility is the ambient temp where your secondary was stored. Higher temps can change the taste and lead to yeast esters. FYI, secondaries are a waste of time for hefes. Secondaries are just meant to clear up a beer, but hefes are supposed to be cloudy. Next time just primary for 3 or 4 weeks then bottle/keg.

 

[sunblock]

my only concern is what it was sitting in, an older bucket could lead to issues. I have heard of people aging wines in carboys for a year or more though ... the only infected bottles I have ever made gushed when opened, you may want to check out a thread on common infections just to ease your mind. I would give it another couple weeks, bottle aging always seems to take longer for me, but I suspect it will be fine.

 

[Chaddyb]

It was sitting in a glass carboy for the secondary, in my basement at 63-65 degrees. No natural light, although there is florescent lights, but they weren't on much.

Also, I wasn't going to do a secondary, but I decided to for the hell of it, I figured it couldn't hurt.