Russian Imperial Stout - How long in primary

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Cloud Surfer

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I’ve done quite a few RIS brews now, and typically I can get them from around 1.120 down to 1.022 in 7-8 days. I pitch heaps of yeast, ferment cool and get a good fermentation.

I am curious how long everyone leaves their RIS sitting in primary. I always plan on 4 weeks, but usually get to the 3 week mark and think, well it’s been 2 weeks since it finished fermenting, so surely that’s enough cleanup time. I then do a low oxygen pressure transfer to keg and condition at 10C for 3 to 6 months.
 
I tell myself I'm going to leave it for 4 weeks , but...........not always. I too let it condition on CO2 at 50-60 for 3-4 months then a 2-3 week stay in the lager chamber. brewed one first week of Jan. instead of a Miabock for spring. Used Lutra and the sample at kegging was ready to drink with some carbonation. I think the 3-6 months conditioning means you could keg at FG if you needed the fermenter,I let it go longer to clear a bit because I don't transfer to serving keg. I sometimes put 5 oz of Costco maple syrup in the keg,then let it sit at 70 or so for 3 weeks,then do the 3-6 months conditioning.
 
Most of my ales follow the same schedule. Most are finished and kegged at day 7. I don't brew many RIS stouts, but when I do they are more involved. They get vanilla, coffee bean, oak, or something that adds time. My normal house yeast is 007. It usually is still finished by 10 days. My Stouts, Belgians, and Saison get bottle conditioned. I try not to let them just sit in primary. I've never had a normal beer without extras, need more than 7-10 days. I'll add that after the 1st 3 days I warm my ferment temp up to keep it rocking. I'll make sure it hits FG, give it a day, and package it. Also the benefit is your yeast isn't so lethargic if you bottle condition. Carbonation is also more reliable IMO. I've had high gravity batches that I let sit idle and the yeast didn't perform reliably.
 
Thanks for your replies. I thought it was common knowledge that if you take your big beers off primary the day it hits FG, you’re leaving minimal time for the yeast to clean up after itself.

So in one sense, you could say it’s done as soon as it hits FG, but certainly for a big RIS, there’s still a lot happening in the days after it hits FG where it is getting “more done”. But how many days is the point I am curious about.
 
For my dark beers regardless of gravity , the conditioning time(in keg) is directly related to mash pH. When I can get the pH to 5.5-5.6 I get a smoother more rounded taste in 3-5 months,if it goes down to 5.3 or lower it takes almost 8 months to mellow.
 
I package my big beers and let them condition in the bottle. I brew my stouts in the late winter for consuming the next fall. I just found 4 of Denny’s BVIP from 2015. Sitting in the cellar under a plastic bucket. Believe it or not, they were still drinkable after all that time. The PH comment is interesting. I’ve never looked at that aspect.
 
I package my big beers and let them condition in the bottle. I brew my stouts in the late winter for consuming the next fall. I just found 4 of Denny’s BVIP from 2015. Sitting in the cellar under a plastic bucket. Believe it or not, they were still drinkable after all that time. The PH comment is interesting. I’ve never looked at that aspect.
You must have a bit of beer laying around if you are finding random old bottles around the place. :)

Old yeast at bottling is definitely a consideration. I could never get my RIS to carbonate after months of conditioning. Now I add CBC-1 yeast at bottling.
 
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