So I just found out about a business trip I have to go one and my first two batches should be ready to move to secondary vessel around the time I leave. Is there any issue with leaving them in the primary for an extra week or two, will make close to 4 weeks total.
ok to leave in primary an extra 1-2 weeks?
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musicman1789
Member
Just leave in primary for the 4 weeks and then bottle/keg? No need for secondary seems to be a recurring theme on this forum..
Depending on the beer, that is..
Depending on the beer, that is..
Leave it. It will be fine. I leave my beers in the primary for 3-4 weeks minimum, some big beers even longer.
Oh and I don't ever do a secondary, I even (Carefully) add fruit and dry hops directly to the primary when applicable.
Oh and I don't ever do a secondary, I even (Carefully) add fruit and dry hops directly to the primary when applicable.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
What are the brews??
Personally, unless you're making something that really NEEDS to go into another vessel, for a valid step, I'd leave it in primary for the duration. I've been letting my brews, with ale yeast, go 4-6 weeks on the yeast with excellent results.
I only rack to another vessel when it actually makes sense, such as to add a flavor element that works better/best off the yeast. Or, for extended aging. Or to get off of one flavor element before adding another. To do it just because the directions that came with the recipe says to holds no wort with me.
Since I adopted the long primary method I've been getting great tasting, VERY clear brews time and again. This method is even recommended in the new Yeast book, for home brewers. Once you get to the commercial scale, you'll be fermenting faster, probably finished within 2-3 weeks from yeast pitching. There's actually a local brew pub that has their brews in primary for 10-14 days before kegging/cask conditioning them. They do NO secondaries, ever.
Personally, unless you're making something that really NEEDS to go into another vessel, for a valid step, I'd leave it in primary for the duration. I've been letting my brews, with ale yeast, go 4-6 weeks on the yeast with excellent results.
I only rack to another vessel when it actually makes sense, such as to add a flavor element that works better/best off the yeast. Or, for extended aging. Or to get off of one flavor element before adding another. To do it just because the directions that came with the recipe says to holds no wort with me.
Since I adopted the long primary method I've been getting great tasting, VERY clear brews time and again. This method is even recommended in the new Yeast book, for home brewers. Once you get to the commercial scale, you'll be fermenting faster, probably finished within 2-3 weeks from yeast pitching. There's actually a local brew pub that has their brews in primary for 10-14 days before kegging/cask conditioning them. They do NO secondaries, ever.
I kinda planned on doing a primary only for the wiezen anyway. If I wanted to clear up the other batch a bit would you recommend I transfer it to a secondary for a week or so when I get back, or would that not matter?
Mikethepoolguy
Well-Known Member
You can leave it in the primary for months, if neccessary, assuming the majority of fermentation is done and you dont need to control temps tightly. Do you have A/C ? I know a lot of people do not in N. MN. I also know it can get hotter than hades in N.MN in July. If so, keep the air on. (Mine may run almost continuously until Sept.)
I do have A/C in the main house, but the guest house (AKA the brew house) does not. Would it be better to move them to the basement of the main house? If I do move them I suppose I would need to be very cautious about aeration, or would this not be a big problem? Current temps are: outside (high today, not right now) 75, inside brew house 68
I just completed my first brew (I have a second fermenting) and I left it in the fermenter for a month. It was an English Brown. I bottled it on May 31st and left for a business trip the next day. By the time I got back on June 18th, that beer was amazing.
Cool, my plan then ,unless anyone thinks it may be bad is: leave both batches in primary during the trip, when I get back I will bottle the wiezen and rack the amber to a secondary for 5 - 7 days, then bottle. Does this seem like a viable plan?
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
You want to have the brew someplace where the temps are at least mostly stable and won't go too high. Even once fermentation is complete, you'll want to keep the temperature to a reasonable level. If you have the space, move your fermenters to the basement. I've been fermenting in my brew-buddy's basement for the past few months now. It's pretty much 65F year round (or close enough to not matter)... My yeasts have that well within their "happy" range of temperatures.
Your fermentation target temp, or temp range, should be determined by the yeast, and the brew. Not something you want to leave to the mercy of the weather. Especially since it will show you no mercy at all. This is just one of the reasons why people get/make fermentation chambers.
Things that many of us are either finding, or have found out...
With most brews, a few extra weeks does no harm.
You need to leave bottles conditioning/carbonating for 3+ weeks at 70F.
Once carbonated, chill said bottles for at least 3-4 days in the fridge before pouring. This helps to both get the CO2 back into the brew, and compact the sediment in the bottle. That will give you a cleaner pour, plus better carbonation.
Do what you must to make your yeast happy. Stressing the yeast is a BAD idea.
There are more, all over these boards...
I still think your plan to rack the amber is a waste of time, effort, energy, and brew. You increase the risk of contamination with every racking. Far better to leave it for an extra week, in primary, then rack to the bottling bucket and bottle. Place the fermenter where you siphon from the day/night before so that you disturb it less when going to rack it. Careful siphoning will result in maintaining a clear brew to bottles.
Your fermentation target temp, or temp range, should be determined by the yeast, and the brew. Not something you want to leave to the mercy of the weather. Especially since it will show you no mercy at all. This is just one of the reasons why people get/make fermentation chambers.
Things that many of us are either finding, or have found out...
With most brews, a few extra weeks does no harm.
You need to leave bottles conditioning/carbonating for 3+ weeks at 70F.
Once carbonated, chill said bottles for at least 3-4 days in the fridge before pouring. This helps to both get the CO2 back into the brew, and compact the sediment in the bottle. That will give you a cleaner pour, plus better carbonation.
Do what you must to make your yeast happy. Stressing the yeast is a BAD idea.
There are more, all over these boards...
I still think your plan to rack the amber is a waste of time, effort, energy, and brew. You increase the risk of contamination with every racking. Far better to leave it for an extra week, in primary, then rack to the bottling bucket and bottle. Place the fermenter where you siphon from the day/night before so that you disturb it less when going to rack it. Careful siphoning will result in maintaining a clear brew to bottles.
Golddiggie,
Thanks a lot, your posts were very helpful. I will not rack to a secondary for either. Plus this saves me money as I have not yet bought the buckets / carboys for secondary. So when, if ever do you recommend using a secondary?
Thanks a lot, your posts were very helpful. I will not rack to a secondary for either. Plus this saves me money as I have not yet bought the buckets / carboys for secondary. So when, if ever do you recommend using a secondary?
http://www.howtobrew.com/section1/chapter8.html
This would be a good read.
If you read it you'll get an understanding of the risk vs. reward of a secondary. According to him it has it's benefits.
The one time I used one was to add flavor (vanilla) and to let the yeast do more conditioning to a beer I thought would have off flavors from hi temps. The beer turned out great.
If I was to use a secondary again it would be for some intense dry hopping or adding some other flavor post primary fermentation.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
I use it only when there's a definitive need. I don't for dry hopping or many of the reasons a lot of people list. I will when aging on oak or changing flavor elements where I want to stop the contribution of the previous one. Otherwise, I leave the brew in primary until it goes to bottle/keg. A good amount of the perceived flavor reasons people/new brewers seem to think mean you need to rack are false. Such as a yeasty flavor.
I recommend reading the new Yeast book. I goes into some of the science for why you are better off with long primaries these days.
TheDom
Well-Known Member
j
That book is a great read, unfortunately the section on secondaries is out of date. I just listened to a BrewStrong podcast here, in which the author John Palmer says that the secondary info is old-school and really not necessary except for certain circumstances, like was mentioned earlier in the thread. One of the main reasons secondaries used to be used was to avoid off flavors from autolysis (yeast death), which is virtually a non-issue in the homebrew world, especially when pitching the proper amount of good healthy yeast.
That book is a great read, unfortunately the section on secondaries is out of date. I just listened to a BrewStrong podcast here, in which the author John Palmer says that the secondary info is old-school and really not necessary except for certain circumstances, like was mentioned earlier in the thread. One of the main reasons secondaries used to be used was to avoid off flavors from autolysis (yeast death), which is virtually a non-issue in the homebrew world, especially when pitching the proper amount of good healthy yeast.
I'd move them down into your basement and not give a second thought to aeration. I literally poured one of my last batches through a mesh bag in the bottling bucket (which I also never use) so I could strain out the trub that was clogging up my siphon. It's my best beer to date.
FWIW, I leave everything I do in primary for at least a month.
Yeah even when I was reading it over again I thought it seemed a bit out of date. So many out there are fermenting for 3,4 even 5 weeks in primary with now problems. I read something don't remember where I hate not to give a reference, but, it said autolysis in the home brew situation wouldn't be a problem until like 4 MONTHS.
Also thanks for the link I'll have to make time to listen to that.
TheDom
Well-Known Member
vegas20s said:
Yeah, at the homebrew level as long as you don't get your primary too warm, autolysis is just a boogeyman. I would believe 4 months, but I don't have a good reference either.
Welcome, hope the podcast helps. I've been working my way through the archive from the beginning, and it has been a great source of solid beer knowledge. Ditto for basic brewing radio.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Revvy has had a batch in primary for 6 months (might have been longer) and had zero issue...
They new Yeast book adds why we don't see the boogyman, while breweries can... It has to do with scale, shape of fermenter, and how much yeast is pitched. Simply put, we don't have so much wort on top of the yeast, and so much yeast, to set up the conditions where autolysis becomes a concern...
They new Yeast book adds why we don't see the boogyman, while breweries can... It has to do with scale, shape of fermenter, and how much yeast is pitched. Simply put, we don't have so much wort on top of the yeast, and so much yeast, to set up the conditions where autolysis becomes a concern...
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Pivzavod
Well-Known Member
I have a batch in primary for nearly a month. I am going to rack it today or tomorrow and keg it. I started to naturally condition kegs with some sugar and letting them sit for several weeks at room temperature.
Golddiggie
Well-Known Member
Pivzavod, What's the reason behind using sugar to carbonate the kegs? Do you just not have the room in your kegorator/keezer? I plan on using gas to carbonate all the kegs of home brew. Even if they don't go into the keg fridge at the start. The way I see it, I don't want to deal with the extra trub/sediment inside the keg from using sugar/yeast to carbonate. Keep in mind, you'll need to use less sugar to carbonate the keg, than the same volume of brew in bottles.
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