too long of fermentation?

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SLEEPYDUB

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I have had NO time to bottle my beer. Currently its in its 4th week of fermentation...should i like make time to bottle in a hurry? Or will this actually make it better? lol
 
This will make it better.

DontPanic_1024.jpg
 
It will be fine! I leave all my batches in primary for about 4 weeks before bottling/kegging and so far have had great results. The only time I am planning on breaking from this is when a dry hopping in a secondary is necessary for the brew.
 
Many of us leave our beers in primary for 3-4 weeks, skip secondary and bottle....I leave 99% of mine in primary for a month...it actually seems to be quite beneficial to leave them on the yeast for this length of time...most of us did it by accident the first time, found out how awesome the beer seemed to taste and look, and swore off secondary and short times in primary.

:mug:
 
Many of us leave our beers in primary for 3-4 weeks, skip secondary and bottle....I leave 99% of mine in primary for a month...it actually seems to be quite beneficial to leave them on the yeast for this length of time...most of us did it by accident the first time, found out how awesome the beer seemed to taste and look, and swore off secondary and short times in primary.

:mug:

The rest of us read that Revvy did it, and followed suit.

<---- This guy.
 
On my first batches I always transferred to secondary. Until I realized it dosent matter or make a difference. Now, I leave it in the primary for a month or so then bottle or keg. From what I have read only transfer into a secondary if you plan on leaving the beer in a glass carboy for pro-longed periods.
 
Many of us leave our beers in primary for 3-4 weeks, skip secondary and bottle....I leave 99% of mine in primary for a month...it actually seems to be quite beneficial to leave them on the yeast for this length of time...most of us did it by accident the first time, found out how awesome the beer seemed to taste and look, and swore off secondary and short times in primary.

:mug:

What about dry hopping or additions when using this method? Is there any real reason to rack to secondary early when dry hopping for example or could one just wait the 3-4 weeks and dry hop at that point? I find that occasionaly after transfering to the secondary I stir up a little yeast, or fermentation is not 100% complete, and get a little more fermentation activity resulting in few more points drop. What results is I occasionaly have beer on the dry hops longer than I originally anticipated. It's not a problem for me becasue I like the hops that way but I wonder if I'd have better control by waiting for the secondary until later in the process.
 
What about dry hopping or additions when using this method? Is there any real reason to rack to secondary early when dry hopping for example or could one just wait the 3-4 weeks and dry hop at that point? I find that occasionaly after transfering to the secondary I stir up a little yeast, or fermentation is not 100% complete, and get a little more fermentation activity resulting in few more points drop. What results is I occasionaly have beer on the dry hops longer than I originally anticipated. It's not a problem for me becasue I like the hops that way but I wonder if I'd have better control by waiting for the secondary until later in the process.

No with dry hopping you STILL in my opinion wait til fermentation is complete. I usually rack at 14 days and dryhop in secondary for 2 weeks....if you had fermentation happenning again while in secondary...then you weren't patient enough to wait it out in primary.

Although I haven't done it yet, many long primary enthusiast are dry hopping right in the primary toward the end of the 3-4 weeks.
 
Sorry for the threadjack...

...BUT, in essence what I am gathering from this in regard to dry hopping and/or secondary additions is that the yeast and fermentation reactions taking place are not related to the flavoring processes that happen from additions. Does that sound correct?

I have always worried that it would be possible to make secondary additions too late and therefore not achieve the desired results due but I haven't ever run across any writing on it.
 
Sorry for the threadjack...

...BUT, in essence what I am gathering from this in regard to dry hopping and/or secondary additions is that the yeast and fermentation reactions taking place are not related to the flavoring processes that happen from additions. Does that sound correct?

I have always worried that it would be possible to make secondary additions too late and therefore not achieve the desired results due but I haven't ever run across any writing on it.

Well for dry hopping you are just adding aroma and a tiny bit of flavor to beer where the esters won't escape..so no fermentaiton is necessary for that..Same with oak....

With fruit or anything like that, if you are adding any fermentables to the secondary, the yeasties will just wake up in the presence of food, exactly like they do when you add sugar to the bottling bucket at bottling time.

And a new fermentation cycle will start up again, with it's own lag time, reproductive phase, fermentation phase and secondary phase, a new krausen will usually form and fall, yadda yadda yadda.....

(That's why people are often confused with secondary vessel (which is a clearing tank) and the secondary fermentation phase which is a part of the LIFE CYCLE of the yeast.....That secondary fermentation phase, is where the yeasties go back and eat the byproducts of fermentation which lead to off flavors, that is the phase where we say, "the yeast clean up after themselves." For best results you want that to be done in the primary and that is done shortly after terminal gravity is reached...even Palmer in How to brew talks about leaving a beer in primary for 2-3 weeks;

Leaving an ale beer in the primary fermentor for a total of 2-3 weeks (instead of just the one week most kits recommend), will provide time for the conditioning reactions and improve the beer. This extra time will also let more sediment settle out before bottling, resulting in a clearer beer and easier pouring. And, three weeks in the primary fermentor is usually not enough time for off-flavors to occur.

But if the yeast feel they need to ferment something you add in secondary, then they will wake up and get to work again, they know what they're doing.

Here's an example if what I'm getting at, only in my case it occured in primary only. I did a 1.090 OG Belgian Strong Dark ale...it had three pounds of clear candi sugar added, one pound at a time. The first pound was in the boil. Then I pitched yeast as normal, and a krausen formed and fell within a week approximately. I then waited a day or so and added another pound of candi sugar, and within a day a NEW Krausen formed and fell in another approximate week. I did it again a day or so after that krausen fell, added the third pound and they cycle began again....

Each of those krauzen rising and falling was one Fermentation phase, complete with it's own lag, reproductive, primary and secondary (cleanup) fermentation phase....But all happening in the Primary Fermenter. I could have done 2 and 3 in the secondary vessel and they would have STILL had their individual PRIMARY AND SECONDARY PHASES.

got it? :D
 
Got it. Thanks Revvy!!!

BTW... This type of thing is the reason I love this forum and also the reason why I'm finding I know more than quite a few people that have been brewing WAAYYY longer than I. Thanks HBT!
 
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