What happened?

[joshesmusica]

yeah stouts can take quite a while to meld into the right flavor profile. though some say that if you have done the fermentation and conditioning just right, that the time doesn't have to be so long.
maybe leave it in the primary for 4 weeks, then condition in the bottles/keg for another 3 weeks. then try it. if it tastes like you want it, enjoy the rest. if it still tastes "green," then wait another week. how well do you think your ferment temps were held in check?

 

[NYShooterGuy]

Fermentation temperatures have been held steady for the last 7 beers at 66F. I brewed it on Tuesday and have it sitting in the primary waiting to be transferred to the carboy after 7 days of primary, then 7 more days in the carboy and then bottling. I haven't heard anything about letting the beer conditioning in the secondary as opposed to the bottle making a noticeable difference. I've been under the impression that letting the beer sit on the yeast cake after the FG has been achieved isn't the best practice, but for some reason the secondary is fine to let the beer sit for a long time. (I'm guessing it's because it's off both the yeast cake AND the trub?)

As I am falling short on bottles and having 48-52 bottles tied up for 12 months while this huge beer conditions and carbonates, having a carboy do most of the conditioning will have to do.

 

[IslandLizard]

66°F is a bit high for ale fermentation, the inside fermentor temp can even be a few degrees higher, so next time start at 62° for the first week, then gradually raising it to finish out. Way fewer higher alcohol production that way, and less time needed to "mellow it out."

The 7 day primary / 7 day secondary has been totally debunked over the past few years. And definitely for HG ales. Leave it be in the primary until it's done, and it may take a month. Yeast autolysis does not happen that fast on our small scale of volumes, as it may in commercial breweries.

Then rack it off the yeast into a secondary if you want, or if you can't bottle it yet. Fill the secondary (glass preferred) all the way to 1-2" from the bung. Bung it, airlock it and put in a cool dark place for aging. Top up the airlock from time to time. Oxygen is your biggest enemy during aging as it oxidizes your beer.

Now after a few months of aging you may have to add champagne yeast (or even a starter of it) with your priming sugar when bottling to get it carbonated. 12% alcohol is a very hostile environment for yeast.