Too long in the secondary?

[Northernguy]

Hello all,

I'm a newb to the forum and fairly new to homebrewing.

I have a batch that was ready for bottling a while back, probably about two months or so ago. I got busy with too many other things over the summer and didn't get a chance to bottle.

Will it still be fine to bottle it up, or is it only good for the drain?

 

[Brewsmith]

It should be fine as long as the temperature didn't get out of hand. Taste it. If it tastes good, bottle it up. I have left high gravity beers in secondary for 6 weeks before. 2 months is not really that long. As long as everything was properly sanitized you're good to go.

 

[david_42]

Two months isn't too long. The main thing to remember about homebrewing, if it still tastes good, it's beer!

 

[Pumbaa]

I wouldnt worry at all. I have had my braggot in a secondary now since Febuary

 

[user 4295]

All you have done is what most home brewers don't do. Most of us want to taste our brew so badly that we don't give it enough time to age, mature and reach its full potential. You have done that! Prime it, bottle it and let it sit at room temperature for another 2-3 weeks (maybe longer) to carbonate. Then put some in the fridge to try them out and, if sufficiently carbonated, put the rest in a cool, dark place to continue aging until you are ready to enjoy them.

My money is on them being out of this world good! Be sure and let us know.

John

 

[Desert_Sky]

All you have done is what most home brewers don't do. Most of us want to taste our brew so badly that we don't give it enough time to age, mature and reach its full potential.

aint that the truth.

The beer might be actually pretty damn good by now

 

[kornkob]

Wasn't there someone a while back who 'lost' a carboy in his basement and was going to bottle this newly found months (maybe over a year) old treasure?

 

[EdWort]

All you have done is what most home brewers don't do. Most of us want to taste our brew so badly that we don't give it enough time to age, mature and reach its full potential.

Yeah, but that's the point of filling the pipeline. Back when I had a basement I would have 8 carboy secondaries, just sitting down there waiting for a keg to free up. It took a while to get the pipeline filled, but I found that an extra month in the basement was doing my beer good. I just wish I had a basement now or room for a 50 cubic foot freezer!

 

[andre the giant]

My money is on the beer being fantastic due to the extra aging in the secondary. I also imagine it will be pretty clear.

You may have to give it some time to prime, since the yeast has been inactive for so long. But you've been patient for this long. What's another three weeks.

Congrats!

 

[Muntzster]

Two months isn't too long. The main thing to remember about homebrewing, if it still tastes good, it's beer!

What a genius quote .

 

[the_bird]

Wasn't there someone a while back who 'lost' a carboy in his basement and was going to bottle this newly found months (maybe over a year) old treasure?

I remember that. It was at least a year, I think. As I recall, his sample tasted really good.

As long at it's been sealed up all nice and good, I don't see how two months would be a problem. The one question I have - are the yeast still just dormant and not dead at this point? Is there a point at which you need to re-pitch for priming?