Long Primary or Why is Homebrew different?

[kidsmakeyoucrazy]

I've been doing a lot of research lately into the process of making beer and one thing I've found is that "comercial" brewers don't do a long primary in general. Now I can see this in a normal beer, but I listened to a podcast where this guy toured Rochefort and he says they bottle after a week! He was talking about some pretty high ABV beers too. What is different about homebrew that we cannot do the same thing? Granted, we may not pitch enough to finish that quick, but is that the key? I'm just wondering if the extended primary or long secondary helping to cover up a flaw in the average homebrew process.

 

[chefmike]

First, I would recommend reading this thread.

Second, I would say breweries learn particular recipes very well... the same way you will if you brew a house recipe over and over.... you will know exactly when it will peak.

And third... I love your name. kids are a great reason to homebrew!

 

[Synovia]

Higher pitching rates, less exposure to oxygen, etc. They have much cleaner processes than we do.

 

[kidsmakeyoucrazy]

Higher pitching rates, less exposure to oxygen, etc. They have much cleaner processes than we do.

I was thinking that too until I saw and heard and read about how many of the Trappist beers are made....granted it's clean...as in spotless, but they don't even attempt to limit Oxygen exposure when transferring hot wort. I'm sure that the yeast is dialed into the beer they make, but hell, they've been doing this for 400 years. That's what I'm wondering...is it as simple as pitching the right amount of yeast?

 

[kidsmakeyoucrazy]

First, I would recommend reading this thread.

Second, I would say breweries learn particular recipes very well... the same way you will if you brew a house recipe over and over.... you will know exactly when it will peak.

And third... I love your name. kids are a great reason to homebrew!

I've found a use for the kids. Kid #1 places the caps on the bottles. Kid #2 pulls empties from the box and lines them up for me to fill. In the process I've probably taught them more about organic chemistry than they will ever learn in a classroom ;P They love to watch the yeast "fart" while they're devouring a big ole bucket of wort, and they actually understand that the yeast is breaking down the sugars and releasing co2 as a byproduct. Go figure. I'm a geek at heart so I have to explain what's going on once the kids ask a question like "why are bubbles coming out of your beer bucket".

 

[chefmike]

I was thinking that too until I saw and heard and read about how many of the Trappist beers are made....That's what I'm wondering...is it as simple as pitching the right amount of yeast?

It is as simple as knowing your recipe.... the way your combination of ingredients works together.

barley, hops, water, yeast, (and sugar, and spices in some cases) and time

 

[chefmike]

I'm a geek at heart so I have to explain .

same reason the young cooks at work make fun of my long winded answers to questions. the joke is "because the proteins YADA YADA YADA"

The kids will appreciate it someday.

keep brewing!

 

[kidsmakeyoucrazy]

I've read that thread and he hits on some of my questions, but I still have to wonder how Rochefort in particular can bottle in a week and have it ready in 3..and they bottle condition. In the podcast he specifically said the 10 was ready in 3 weeks! No filtering, no force carbing, just old fashioned beer making. I should have spent more time learning about beer making when I was in Brugge last January than I spent "sampling" the local fare

 

[weirdboy]

Last year, I made a tripel in 3 weeks grain to glass, and it was fantastic. I still have friends in my homebrew club that refer to that beer with reverence. In fact, I felt like it started going downhill after a couple of months in bottles compared to when it was fresh.

 

[remilard]

This is a good question.

Brewpubs turn beer fast, 3 weeks is typical, and a lot of brewpub beer is good. Pliny the Elder is high gravity and is a 3 week beer. In the pub it is not filtered and really produced with technology fairly similar to what is available to the home brewer.

If you have good fermentation practices, your beer will be ready that fast too. If your beer isn't ready that fast, it is due to less than ideal practices.

Sanitation has nothing to do with getting beer drinkable faster. It has to due with keeping it drinkable longer.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Because they know their yeast!

Homebrewers can easily turn beers around in similar time, and often do.

A good bit of our time is spent waiting for yeast to flocculate.

Rochefort, AIU, uses a flocculant strain and a large proportion of sugar in their beers (reports of up to 30%). Beer with that much pure sucrose does not take long to ferment.

 

[Retroviridae]

I read an article somewhere around here - maybe from the brewing science or DIY sections - that said some of the really big industrial breweries ferment in pressurized primary fermenters. For some magical yeast biology reason, this lets them ferment at higher temps (therefore faster) without getting off flavors as we would. This is probably mainly the case for yellow industrial lagers though.