Russian Imperial stout - fermentation plan

[YeastFeast]

Brewed my first Russian Imperial Stout. It's sitting in a conical fermenter in a temp controlled environment (68ºF) and I'm 18 days in since pitching the yeast.
I'll be out of town from fermentation day 24 through 40. Would you:

1.) Just let it sit in the fermenter as-is until I return.
2.) Let it sit in the fermenter but dump the trub before I leave.
3.) Transfer to a keg before I leave.
4.) Other

Any other details as to what you'd do with it down the road would be helpful as well.
Appreciate the help!

 

[conlun]

All of the above would work, personally I would move it to a keg if its done, might as well bulk condition/lager in a keg while you’re away.

 

[mac_1103]

I use Fermonsters so #2 is not an option for me. OTOH, I'm not sure there's much difference between #2 and #3 anyway. I usually transfer an RIS to a keg or other purged secondary vessel at three weeks, but that's because I like to age mine for a while, on wood or something else.

 

[shoengine]

I would transfer it to a keg, put it on gas and clean out the fermenter if it has hit final gravity.

 

[kevin58]

I leave my high gravity beers like this in the primary for at least a month so keeping it there until you return is no problem. You say you have it in a temp controlled environment at 68° - is that the ambient temperature of the room? Because fermentation creates internal heat that can be 8 to 10 degrees higher than ambient.

 

[YeastFeast]

You say you have it in a temp controlled environment at 68° - is that the ambient temperature of the room? Because fermentation creates internal heat that can be 8 to 10 degrees higher than ambient.

Nope, conical sits in a temp controlled fermentation fridge run by a BrewPi unit. I currently have it set to "beer temp" of 68ºF, which is the upper end of the yeast range.

 

[Rish]

A big beer like that I'd leave in the fv until I got back. My beers like that get better leaving them alone for a while. Good luck!

 

[tracer bullet]

I'd keg it, force carb it, and let it sit for a while. Then clean the fermenter for the next brew even if it is a while until it's needed.

 

[MaxStout]

You can leave in the FV until after you return. There is no downside to leaving a big beer like that in primary for 40 days.

 

[Erik the Anglophile]

I have bottled fairly big stouts after 2.5 ish weeks, infact I have never had a big beer take more than ~4 days to finish the initial fermentation and dropping krausen.

So I'll go against the stream here and say
that by 18 days in primary and if you pitched a good amount of yeast it should be ready.
You could always prime the keg and let it naturally carb before you travel away, I assume you are gonna let the beer sit and mature in the keg for quite some time anyways.

 

[jerrylotto]

You didn't say if you were monitoring the gravity. Even if it was done, you could have leave it in the fermentation vessel for more than a month without a problem certainly more than 18 days. But a stable gravity is the only reliable indication that it's done.