Primary for Long Term Storage

[Skarekrough]

So, every year I throw a Halloween party and every year I find myself scrambling to get beer ready for it.

With Spring around the corner I've found myself with the perfect ingredients for a few batches that I would want for that party.

If I brewed them now could I just leave them in the primary until September without any major issues? I figure by then everything that needs to have happened with the beer will have happened and I could just keg and go!

Thanks!

 

[JLem]

I wouldn't leave it in the primary for that long. 4-6 weeks would be fine, but for months of aging you'll want to rack to a secondary vessel to get the beer off the dead and dying yeast. Also, you need to make sure you have the right type of beer if you plan on aging it that long - usually something darker, maltier, and higher in alcohol.

EDIT: not necessarily maltier for long-aged beers - just not with lots of hop flavor or aroma as they will fade with time. You can add aroma and flavor hops, but don't expect them to still be there in 6 months. Hop bitterness will also fade so you'll want something that starts with enough IBUs to get it through the long aging process.

 

[Pandaren]

Ya, you leave it in a primary that long, and you'll end up with a bunch of dead yeast cell parts in it (autolysis). Not taste good at all. :cross:

 

[Skarekrough]

Okay....so if I'm going to do this I would likely want them to sit in secondary for a few months, not primary.

Is this correct?

 

[Pandaren]

Exactly!

 

[ThePearsonFam]

Are you not able to bottle or keg? I'm assuming that's a non-starter?

 

[Flywheel]

Either store it in secondary, or just bottle/keg and let it age that way for months. Then you aren't scrambling to get it bottled and carbed on 10/28.

 

[Wakadaka]

I'm assuming you want to leave it that long because you don't have enough kegs. You could bottle some if you aren't opposed to that.

If I were you what I would do is wait a little longer to brew beer for then, but start an apfelwein. Apparently those get a lot better with age, even in primary