how long is too long?

[Gristulin]

another nooby question. lookin 4 a ball park on how long i can leave an ale in a carboy before i need to add yeast when i bottle? i usually leave my grog in first for about 7-10 days, then a week or two in secondary. but i have a weizenbock that i would like to leave in the secondary for a bit longer. how long can i go?
Zac
OUT

 

[scinerd3000]

hef yeast will stay in suspension for a long time...you should be good for an extended period. i would say aftera month you should still be fine. I would venture to say longer but i havent tried.

 

[david_42]

5-6 Months

 

[Bob]

Hell, a year or more.

Depends on how impatient you are. Yes, that statement is serious.

The longer you leave the beer in the bulk-aging vessel - 'secondary' isn't really an accurate descriptor - the more yeast will settle out. Nevertheless, unless the strain is quite flocculent there will still be cells in suspension even after six months, a year. Depending on the strain, it may not be a lot of cells, but they're in there, never fear.

Now, the fewer cells in the aged beer, the longer bottle-conditioning will take to accomplish. If there's three cells in the 12-oz bottle, it'll take much longer for them to multiply a bit and carbonate the bottle. That's what I meant about patience - the longer the beer is in the aging tank, the more patient you'll have to be about bottle-conditioning.

If you do decide to re-seed the batch before bottling, there's no need to use the same yeast as performed the main ferment; you can use a very neutral strain, like S-05 or Nottingham.

Cheers!

Bob