Primary/Secondary for a spiced ale?

[motobrewer]

I brewed a Christmas ale that used a few spices over the weekend, and I'm wondering about aging.

I wanted to crack this open Christmas day, so that leaves me with about 8 weeks. Fermentation has already took off (used a starter), so hopefully primary phase will be done within the week. I was planning on leaving it in the primary for 2 weeks, the racking to a secondary for, not so much clearing, but more bulk aging to let the spices mellow. I was thinking leave it in the secondary for about 4 weeks then bottle.

Do you have any recommendations? I've read a bit on primary vs secondary, but I think my situation is a little different as I want to use the secondary not so much as a bright tank but more for aging. Is bulk aging or bottle aging better? OG was 1.066, if that helps.

leaving it in the primary for 5 weeks isn't the best option for me, as I only have one and wanted to clear that out to put a porter in....the pipeline must flow!

 

[Revvy]

If you are bottling, then if you need to factor in Carbing and conditioning, which means if your beer is above 1.060, you should give yourself a month for that alone, so you got that 4th week cushion, just in case at three it is not where you want it yet. I would also make sure that your bottle conditioning area IS above 70 degrees.

If you are bottling then I would leave it in primary for 4 weeks and bottle.

If you are kegging, you still really should give a couple weeks conditioning time after you force carb it, as well....

Hope this helps.

 

[motobrewer]

hm, didn't factor in extra time for high-gravity conditioning....

is bottle-conditioning better than bulk? in terms of spice mellowing? my basement is about 66F...should i move them to a warmer space? My house is about 74....but not much room unless i put them in the baby's closet (wife would not appreciate)

thanks revvy!

 

[Revvy]

hm, didn't factor in extra time for high-gravity conditioning....

is bottle-conditioning better than bulk? in terms of spice mellowing? my basement is about 66F...should i move them to a warmer space? My house is about 74....but not much room unless i put them in the baby's closet (wife would not appreciate)

thanks revvy!

Bottle conditioning happens in the bottle, bulk conditioning happens in bulk They are two different animals, really. Bottle conditioning get's some of it's "conditioning" after carbonation happens, with the co2 helping the process along.

 

[3 Dog Brew]

If it were my batch (which it is not), I would follow Revvy's advise and bulk age as long as you can (I think the 65 degree basement is fine), then bottle with that 2 to 2.5 weeks for carbonating in the bottle. However, I would save most of your (my) batch for next Christmas.

As an example, my Christmas Ale is a spiced version of an Old Ale with an OG of 1.090 (est FG of 1.021, ~9% ABV) and I brew in December for next year. This year I also intend on leaving in the carboy (bulk aging) with some oak cubes until March before bottling. Bulk aging is great for adding oak, dry hopping or additional clarifying, otherwise bottle aging is just fine.

I drank the last bottle of some 3 year old Strong Belgian Golden a few weeks ago, it just kept getting better until I ran out. Of course, I gave away a lot of it when I thought it was terrible. D'oh!

 

[motobrewer]

I would like to clear this - but it seems primary is the way to go.

I'll leave it there for 4 weeks, then bottle for 4 weeks. Thanks for your advice!

Looks like i'll have to buy another primary to keep the pipeline flowing....

 

[Revvy]

I would like to clear this - but it seems primary is the way to go.

I'll leave it there for 4 weeks, then bottle for 4 weeks. Thanks for your advice!

Looks like i'll have to buy another primary to keep the pipeline flowing....

I have 9, they're cheap.

 

[motobrewer]

haha, and with Northern Brewer's milwaukee store opening discount, even cheaper!

man that's gonna be really nice to have. my buddy's the lucky one, only about 10 min from his house. it's about 30 from my house, 15 from work.