How much time should your batch be in the primary

[elaeace]

Am brewing this weekend. It's Brewers Best India Pale Ale. I've heard different opinions about how long to keep IPA's in primary...cloudy beer doesn't bother me as long as it tastes good, and I am not adding anything. Is two weeks in the primary long enough before Kegging? I have a hard time waiting... Because I want to drink it

 

[RM-MN]

I can understand wanting to drink your own beer but good beer does take time. I'd make a guess and say that 2 weeks in the primary would be barely sufficient but if you dry hopped in your keg for a few days it would probably come out decent.

What some of us do is buy extra fermenters so we can have more than one beer fermenting at a time. Brewing several days apart, you can build up a pipeline of beers so that as you drink one the next can have enough time to fully ferment and get good before we have to keg or bottle.

 

[BrewinJay]

if you are going straight to keg you should let it set at least 2 weeks. sorry i know its not what you want you to hear, but it will make better beer in the end.

 

[JustLooking]

If it reaches final gravity in 7 days, then 3 days to clean up. Dry hop for 4 days. Yeah, two weeks is about right for an American IPA.

(but all that assumes that you pitched enough yeast, aerated well and controlled fermentation temperature.)

 

[Unibrow]

I did the Brewerst Best IPA kit for 2 weeks in the primary and it came out very good...but I probably got lucky cause I got my temperatures perfect for quick (but not TOO quick) fermentation.

I would give it 3 weeks next time just to be doubly sure.

 

[elaeace]

Thanks Gents

 

[BamaRooster]

+1 on 3 weeks, 4 would be better IMHO

 

[unionrdr]

My ferments generally go from 12 days to 5 weeks. I average about 3 weeks to get down to a stable FG. Then 3-5 days to clean up & settle out more. My IPA took 23 days from pitch to bottling day. About 4 weeks & 3 days till the bottled ale was good to go with 2 weeks fridge time.
Kegging I think would still need a couple weeks aging.