How long can a beer stay in carboy?

[Spiderkingdemon]

Hi, hoping I'm posting to the appropriate forum. I have a question that I can't seem to find an answer to, and perhaps that's because there is no real rule for this?

I have a five gallon batch of Tripel style ale and I'm wondering if there is a problem with leaving the beer in the carboy after the beer has reached its finish gravity? Is there a rule of thumb? Is there a problem leaving it in the carboy for a week/10 days after finish gravity has been achieved?

I used to do a two stage fermentation but I've been reading this has fallen out of favor, so this beer has been in the primary from the beginning.

Thanks!

 

[Cider123]

A week or two past fermentation is nothing. Some argue that off flavors would develop after many weeks on the trub/yeast cake or from any headspace, but others have let a beer sit in primary for much longer claiming no ill effects. Regardless, the amount of time you're looking at won't hurt it one bit.

 

[TallDan]

Hi, hoping I'm posting to the appropriate forum. I have a question that I can't seem to find an answer to, and perhaps that's because there is no real rule for this?

I have a five gallon batch of Tripel style ale and I'm wondering if there is a problem with leaving the beer in the carboy after the beer has reached its finish gravity? Is there a rule of thumb? Is there a problem leaving it in the carboy for a week/10 days after finish gravity has been achieved?

I used to do a two stage fermentation but I've been reading this has fallen out of favor, so this beer has been in the primary from the beginning.

Thanks!

7-10 days is no problem at all. A few weeks is fine. I have been leaving all of my beers in the primary fermenter for four weeks total. Yeast autolysis is really the only thing you have to worry about, but that won't be an issue for at least a couple months.

 

[Spiderkingdemon]

So I found another thread that stated a beer can stay in the carboy "forever". But I've seen others talk about off flavors occurring if it stays on the trub for too long. Anyway, sorry for asking a newbie question that's already been answered but I'd love some elaboration on this subject if anyone is inclined.

 

[Spiderkingdemon]

Thanks for the prompt replies.

 

[billl]

I haven't seen any credible source even suggest that 7/10 days is an issue. When you start talking about months, there is some debate about how many months would be too much.

In practical terms, I'm in the "forever" camp. I don't literally mean forever of course though. Its just that you are so unlikely to damage the beer by delaying trasfers/bottling on any reasonable homebrewing batch size and time scale. It just isn't worth worrying about.

 

[whattheschmidt]

Opposite question....why leave the beer in there once it's absolutely done fermenting? Does it taste a bit better with a couple weeks of aging?

I brewed yesterday and early November perhaps the 8th or 9th I wanted to keg and carb it...too soon? Wait another week or two? In a bit of a rush with this pale ale since my Irish red went too fast and I didn't get to bottle any of it!

 

[BudzAndSudz]

Certain things like diacetyl and Acetaldehyde (to a lesser extent) will get re-consumed and absorbed by the yeast during the aging process. If there's no yeast in there you basically just have to hope that they diminish in potency below the taste threshold on their own, but even a little bit of yeast (even if it's dormant) will help to remove those off-flavors and accelerate the aging process.

 

[inflictor-of-grimness]

A month for me. If I want to age it longer than that I transfer it. Haven't wanted to experiment with potential off flavors.
OTOH, if it has brett, it stays in primary for me.

 

[tlhammond]

I have aged a Midwest Supplies Tripel kit in secondary carboy for 9 months. Compared to same recipe that I bottled after 8 weeks in secondary and aged in bottle for 7 months. No major difference in flavor, however I noticed a hint more alcohol and bitter orange (added at secondary) from the 9 month carboy batch. I am a fan if carboy aging if you have the carboys to pull it off.

 

[tooldudetool]

The issue with yeast autolysis seems to mostly be on the commercial scale where they use cylindral conical fermenters. The tall cone shape causes the yeast to fall to the bottom of the cone (which is the point), but the hydrostatic pressure from the hundreds of gallons of beer on top can basically crush and kill the yeast, causing eventual off flavors over time. With the broad bottomed carboys or buckets used in homebrewing, this doesn't seem to be an issue. With that said, I don't usually leave my beers in the primary longer than a month. Also, plastic buckets are said to be oxygen permeable, meaning it will eventually start to oxidize your beer, but I'm not sure how long that would actually take.

 

[rumballs]

I did a Belgian triple last year. I left it in the primary for 2 months and then secondary for another 10 months before bottling.

I often leave my brews in the primary at a minimum of 2 weeks. A couple weeks on the yeast cake won't ruin anything. If you don't want to secondary, let it go another week or two to help clear things up.

 

[BudzAndSudz]

The issue with yeast autolysis seems to mostly be on the commercial scale where they use cylindral conical fermenters. The tall cone shape causes the yeast to fall to the bottom of the cone (which is the point), but the hydrostatic pressure from the hundreds of gallons of beer on top can basically crush and kill the yeast, causing eventual off flavors over time. With the broad bottomed carboys or buckets used in homebrewing, this doesn't seem to be an issue. With that said, I don't usually leave my beers in the primary longer than a month. Also, plastic buckets are said to be oxygen permeable, meaning it will eventually start to oxidize your beer, but I'm not sure how long that would actually take.

Nooo.... first off, since yeast is a fully fluid filled organism with no air pockets or breathing apparati, hydrostatic pressure is irrelevant and neutralized due to Newton's third law. The fluid inside the cell membrane pushes outward with a force equal to the fluid from above pushing down and the submersion pressure is considered null. It's much the same reason you can dive 100 feet underwater and none of your organs feel any pressure change except your sinuses and inner ear (the ones with the air in them).

Second, Autolysis is due to dying cells excreting digestive enzymes that are usually used for metabolism. As the cell dies, the lysomes no longer are able to execute control mechanisms for the enzymes and the cell membrane is dissolved, releasing cytoplasm into the beer.

 

[JuanMoore]

Nooo.... first off, since yeast is a fully fluid filled organism with no air pockets or breathing apparati, hydrostatic pressure is irrelevant and neutralized due to Newton's third law. The fluid inside the cell membrane pushes outward with a force equal to the fluid from above pushing down and the submersion pressure is considered null. It's much the same reason you can dive 100 feet underwater and none of your organs feel any pressure change except your sinuses and inner ear (the ones with the air in them).

The explanation above may have been poorly worded, and you're right that the yeast doesn't get squeezed or crushed by the pressure since everything is in equilibrium, but hydrostatic pressure does indeed create stress and strain on and in the yeast cells. They're also not fully fluid filled, since they excrete CO2 in the form of a gas. This has a variety of effects, and premature cell death which can then lead to autolysis is one of them. Another is reduction of the rate of reproduction, which reduces the formation of most esters and several fusel alcohols.

I often ferment under pressure using a spunding valve to intentionally change the flavor profile of a beer, or to be able to ferment warmer/faster without the normally associated off flavors.

 

[RIC0]

Come Feb. I'll have a tripel that will have it's 1 year birthday.

I've bulk aged some tripels in bottles for 3 months and tasted them and also bulk aged the same recipe for 3 months. Not a huge difference in taste but I liked the flavor of the bulk aged more. Bulk aging gets my vote.