How long is to long in the primary?

[letsallgoforasoda]

I've tried browsing through old post and have found a lot of mixed answers.
I have a brown ale that I brewed 14 days ago the s.g. is stable over the last three days at 1.014.
I ordered all the stuff needed to start kegging and it is estimated to be delivered 6-2 and with shipping delays and everything else going on I can't really count on it showing up on time.
I don't really want to bottle it if I don't have too. So how how is to long to keep a beer in the primary fermenter?

 

[Jag75]

I leave my beer in the fermenter for 3 weeks. I've left it in a tad over 3 weeks before . I think you'll be fine , I'd wait for your kegging stuff since its gonna be right around the corner.

 

[tmorin]

You will be fine. I just kegged a stout that I had in primary for 2-3 months and it is delicious!

 

[Alex4mula]

3 week average for my 43 brews.

 

[RPh_Guy]

I've tried browsing through old post and have found a lot of mixed answers.

The answer to basically any question in home brewing is "it depends."

My personal record is 17 months in primary, for a lambic, which turned out nice, but I liked it better when it was younger. It can be appropriate to age in primary.

However, IF you encourage a healthy fermentation AND you want to avoid oxidation, beer should be packaged when it finishes (or better yet, spunded)... So only about 2-4 days in primary for most ales.

Of course you can RDWHAHB instead, whatever makes you happy.

Cheers

 

[RM-MN]

How long is a string? How long is too long in the primary fermenter? I usually go from 10 days to 30 days but have gone over 60 with good results. In fact, the 60 day beer was better tasting than the 10 day beer. YMMV

 

[JahazielB]

i read after 3 weeks could be off-flavors

 

[RM-MN]

Mine never get off flavors from extra time. I think that the fear is that the yeast will autolyze after 3 weeks but that is incredibly rare in the homebrew realm. It can happen in huge fermenters that the big brewers use.

 

[Qhrumphf]

My longest was 4 years in primary (also a lambic-style that was held for "gueuze" blending). But, when dealing with mixed fermentations there are other considerations.

If you're brewing properly, there should be no benefit to leaving the typical beer on yeast longer than it takes to condition, which in most cases is a day or two after fermentation finishes. With lagers it can sometimes take a little bit longer than that for diacetyl and a-acetolactate (diacetyl precursor) to clear up.

If your beer isn't ready to go by then, then your process needs to improve.

Beyond that, it's a question of how much damage is being done if you do leave it in the primary. While it's true that autolysis is a bigger risk at large commercial scale (namely because the hydrostatic pressure on the yeast cake is immense in a 120bbl conical vs a 5 gallon homebrew fermenter), that doesn't mean it can't happen. I've come across it judging homebrew competitons many times (at least in the pre-COVID era).

Additionally, if you want to harvest that yeast, the longer you let it sit the worse harvest you're gonna have (and the greater selective pressure towards low flocculation in subsequent generations). But as most homebrewers are going the overbuilt starter route (or otherwise just not repitching) then that may not be a factor for you.

 

[Tripod - The Real Tripod]

I generally leave everything in primary for 4 weeks - longest was 3 months (I only have 12 batches under my belt so I'm relatively new).

 

[danimal92sport]

The timeline the OP is talking about seems like no big deal. And I currently only have 1 primary, so my beers get kicked TFO so the next batch can go in after 2 weeks. Bottle if they’re ready or secondary if not. I’m drinking a bottled beer I brewed less than 3 weeks ago and it’s reasonably carb’d and will be great in 2-3 days.

 

[JordanfromOK]

I've been worrying/wondering the same thing.

I started an extract + steeping grains batch on May the 4th. So, in primary for 30 days, as of today.
Moved to the kitchen this last Friday in hopes to bottle before Sunday. Instead I let it ride since it hadn't cleared up as much as I'd of liked and it still had bubbles coming from the yeast cake (Off gassing at this point, I suppose).
It's a 5 gallon cream ale (1st beer brewed). Haven't taken a SG reading since the 4th, but it's gotta be done by this point. Kept ~68-70°F for 30 days. Eh. Is it really still likely to bottle carb after that long? Because it's still hazy and is still pushing bubbles?

 

[Tripod - The Real Tripod]

The only way to know for sure that it’s finished fermenting is to take a hydrometer reading now and measure again in 48 hours. If the readings are the same, you’re finished and can bottle.

If the gravity is still dropping then wait another two day and measure again. When you have two readings 48 hours apart that are the same, go for it.

 

[RPh_Guy]

The only way to know for sure that it’s finished fermenting is to take a hydrometer reading now and measure again in 48 hours. If the readings are the same, you’re finished and can bottle.

If the gravity is still dropping then wait another two day and measure again. When you have two readings 48 hours apart that are the same, go for it.

A FFT can be used to verify FG instead of serial gravity readings.

 

[JordanfromOK]

The only way to know for sure that it’s finished fermenting is to take a hydrometer reading now and measure again in 48 hours. If the readings are the same, you’re finished and can bottle.

If the gravity is still dropping then wait another two day and measure again. When you have two readings 48 hours apart that are the same, go for it.

Oh yeah. I knew that much, haha, and don't plan on risking a bottle bomb.

A FFT can be used to verify FG instead of serial gravity readings.

What's an FFT?

 

[pdcm]

What's an FFT?

Forced Fermentation Test? (probably?)

 

[RPh_Guy]

What's an FFT?

Pull out a sample of beer into a sanitized jar or flask after fermentation starts. Let it ferment warm, and loosely covered with foil so that it has oxygen. This sample will ferment quickly and allow you to determine the final gravity. This way the main batch only needs to be tested once, or you can use it to determine a spunding target gravity.

 

[JordanfromOK]

Pull out a sample of beer into a sanitized jar or flask after fermentation starts. Let it ferment warm, and loosely covered with foil so that it has oxygen. This sample will ferment quickly and allow you to determine the final gravity. This way the main batch only needs to be tested once, or you can use it to determine a spunding target gravity.

Fast Ferment Test. Ok. That's smart. First time I've read of doing that.
Spunding another word for done? I'd looked around for a thread of purely acronyms, definitions, slang, etc. when I first found the forum.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Spunding is the sealing off of active fermentation and allowing pressure (and carbonation) to develop naturally. It either uses a spunding valve to set the pressure cap so that the vessel won't build up too much pressure, and fermented under pressure, or it's used at the tail end of fermentation so that just enough pressure builds up as it finishes. The latter is very common (basically ubiquitous) at the pro level, done in unitanks by closing off the fermentation towards the end. Many homebrewers do it in kegs (and those with the fancy toys may have homebrew scale unitanks). You can also "bottle spund" by bottling before fermentation has finished.

Though, I can't emphasize enough, if you do that without knowing what you're doing (a forced ferment test and understanding of how much pressure you'll build up per the remaining attenuable fermentables), bottling before fermentation is done is extremely dangerous (and doing it in a fermenter arguably more so). You could get flat bottles, or you could get bottle bombs. Basically it is NOT a beginner technique, with with the right skills is a perfectly viable one. I prefer to spund in fermenter and then bottle via counterpressure personally.

 

[JordanfromOK]

Spunding is the sealing off of active fermentation and allowing pressure (and carbonation) to develop naturally. It either uses a spunding valve to set the pressure cap so that the vessel won't build up too much pressure, and fermented under pressure, or it's used at the tail end of fermentation so that just enough pressure builds up as it finishes. The latter is very common (basically ubiquitous) at the pro level, done in unitanks by closing off the fermentation towards the end. Many homebrewers do it in kegs (and those with the fancy toys may have homebrew scale unitanks). You can also "bottle spund" by bottling before fermentation has finished.

Though, I can't emphasize enough, if you do that without knowing what you're doing (a forced ferment test and understanding of how much pressure you'll build up per the remaining attenuable fermentables), bottling before fermentation is done is extremely dangerous (and doing it in a fermenter arguably more so). You could get flat bottles, or you could get bottle bombs. Basically it is NOT a beginner technique, with with the right skills is a perfectly viable one. I prefer to spund in fermenter and then bottle via counterpressure personally.

Thanks for the information. Didn't know that's what that was called. Had heard of carbing that way, but have been warned anytime seeing that done.

 

[JordanfromOK]

Bottled my 5 gal. cream ale extract kit yesterday. Ended up with 49 1/2 12oz beer bottles to watch over. Sat in primary for 34 days.

 

[homebeerbrewer]

I'm lazy and usually leave my beer in the fermenter for about 3-4 weeks. Sometimes longer. The longest I've ever left it was my barleywine, 6 months. That beer won 2 competitions: my club's Das Boot, and a BJCP sanctioned competition where it won first in the category, and second place in the best of show.

The autolysis that everyone worries about isn't that big of a problem. Maybe it is for lighter, more delicate beers, but most beers should be ok. And, I don't think autolysis takes place until much later. So, I'd suggest waiting for the kegging equipment before you do anything with your beer.

 

[JordanfromOK]

Ah. I do stuff the hard, or in this case, the cheap @$$ way.
See if I can follow a simple recipe. Make it natural carb. How's homebrew taste... My 1st beer here.
We'll see how it comes out. OG was a hair under, but still got some 4.73-4.8% ABV beer. Homemade