Moving Primary to Secondary timeline

[mackinskor]

I am to understand that a 10 day wait from Primary to Secondary is customary, but I will be out of town on my tenth day and won't be back to change it over until the 12th day. Will this be an issue?

 

[davesrose]

No. In fact a lot of brewers primary for 3 weeks or more.

 

[ChshreCat]

The longer you go, the better your beer will be. So, being out of town and not being tempted to move it early is actually fortunate.

 

[Revvy]

There's no "customary" in brewing, there's only "preferences" and you'll find that that runs the gamut. We get asked this 50 times a day, rather than re-invent the wheel, I pretty much sum everything up, all the arguments here, with all the links, to allow you to make up your own mind, as to what you want to try first. Because the only true way, rather than our opinions, is to try it over multiple batches, and figure out what method you prefer.

Ultimately it is all about your process as a brewer. All methods work, and all methods have the potential to make great beer.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/multiple-questions-about-secondary-fermentation-140978/#post1601829

The only thing that really matters is letting the beer reach it's final gravity, the rest is up to what you believe. .

Many of us believe our beer is better after a month in primary...I have judging scores on my beers that back me up in my reasons, plus the citations of Palmer, which are in the other links.Others have different experiences.

There's an old saying in brewing, "ask 10 brewers a question, and you will get 12 different answers."

You'll have to do your reading, and try it different ways, and come to your own process conclusions on your own.

Have fun exploring and coming to your own conclusions.

But there won't be any harm in leaving your beer alone til you get back, as long as it's not like 9 months or so.

 

[mackinskor]

Awesome! I know they say it's hard to screw up a batch of beer, and I should realize this instead of asking questions, but reassurance is always nice Maybe I will let it go longer than the 12 days, I'll see how I'm feeling next week

 

[mackinskor]

One other question, actually, and I know someone will say "Do whatever I think I should do" which is fine, but if I dry hop whole Fuggel Leaf Hops, how long should i let them stay in the secondary minimum time period? Is a week ok?

 

[Revvy]

One other question, actually, and I know someone will say "Do whatever I think I should do" which is fine, but if I dry hop whole Fuggel Leaf Hops, how long should i let them stay in the secondary minimum time period? Is a week ok?

I wouldn't go more than two...the danger with dry hopping too long is that they will leave a "grassy" taste. So a week, 10 days, no more than 14 will be fine.

 

[iamfoamy]

I brewed my first beer last week (hefeweizen), and I plan to keep it in the primary for 3 weeks as suggested. Should I wait until day 20 to check the FG, or should I check it at day 10?

 

[bigjoe]

iamfoamy with a hefe you don't need a long primary feremntation. I'll assume your talking Bavarian Hefewiezen, and not American Wheat beer. At 10 days you could bottle or force carb it and drink it most likely.

I made a hefe over the summer I was drinking 8 days after I put it in the fermenter. I forced carbed it of course. I've heard as little as 5 days.