Here are some general fermentaion time suggestions by style. For a style like a Cream Ale, Honey Kolsch, or any of our Light Ales, we would recommend one week in primary, and weeks in secondary. The lighter flavor of these beers allows the beer to mature sooner because you are not waiting for the alcohol bitterness to subside, or for the beer to mellow out.
You are basically just waiting for the beer to clear to your liking. So, once it is clear enough for you, feel free to bottle. For styles such as American Amber Ale or German Altbier , we recommend 1 week in the primary and weeks in the secondary. As a beer gets darker in color it becomes more important to let the beer sit longer in the fermenter. The reason is due to the darker grains.
The more a grain gets roasted, the more chances there are for off-flavors. This little extra time will make a big difference on how the beer tastes in the end. For an amber or red ale, we would recommend one week in primary, and weeks in secondary. Dark styles of beer will benefit the most from a long fermentation time. Dark ales tend to contain some very heavily roasted grains.
The longer you leave a dark ale in the secondary, the more of this sediment will completely settle to the bottom of your fermenter and not adversely affect the flavor of your beer. Again, you want one week in primary, and then weeks in secondary. Lagers ferment differently than ales, and sometimes require special equipment.
I had one batch split between two carboys. One that sat on the yeast cake for only 4 weeks and the other that sat on it for 6 or 7 weeks.
There was a significant difference in flavor between the two and the half that was on the yeast cake for the longer period had a strong contribution of yeast flavors and was of inferior quality to the portion that had less exposure to the yeast. I've noticed this exact phenomenon on two different batches in this exact fashion. I will never repeat this mistake again. I will be using a secondary for anything longer than 3 weeks. I've read where there is a risk of adding some off flavors if you let your beer sit in the primary fermenter too long.
Typically when you see that there isn't any bubbling or activity for a day then consider racking to a secondary or going to the bottling bucket and add priming sugar. Or if you don't want to worry about bottle conditioning, consider kegging your beer and force CO2 into it. No worries about carbonation then. If you're using a fresh yeast is should be fine. If you're reusing yeast in the carboy and you're on your third cycle and you leave your beer in the primary on a huge 4 month old cow pie then you're certainly risking some off trooby flavors.
I do not understand how people have left their beer in primary for more than 7 - 9 days. My first ever attempt was a failure because I left it in primary for 10 days. It was an Amber Ale and it ended up being very soapy tasting and unpleasant. Could possibly be the style was not meant for longer, but I would not recommend leaving in primary once fermentation has ended and one should transfer to secondary if they are going to age or condition it before bottling.
The real problem with leaving beer in primary for too long isn't the yeast, it's the hops. If you're dry-hopping, leaving the hops in the fermenter for too long can cause vegetal or grassy off-flavors. If you're not dry-hopping, then I don't think there is a problem. I've left several batches in primary for a couple of months and haven't noticed any ill effects.
I have never had a beer ferment out in 3 days or even a week, mine take typically about 2 months regardless of time of year or beer type. I am not sure if anyone else has this going on, my beers are clear once kegged and appreciated by all who drink it. When I started brewing I realised it was a patience game, I have 7 30Litre fermenters and 1 60Litre fermenter.
I either brew from kits, or from tins of malt extract and boil adding 4 hop additions; 1 at beginning; 1 at 40 mins; 1 at 50 mins and 1 at 55 mins. Either way they sit in primary for a minimum of 2 months before being bottled or kegged. Dark Belgian strong primary 90 days straight to bottle let sit for six months If everything was sanitized properly long ferments at controlled temps are great!
Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Too long in Primary Fermentation?
Ask Question. Asked 11 years, 11 months ago. Active 6 months ago. Viewed k times. Improve this question. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Dean Brundage Dean Brundage 9, 3 3 gold badges 36 36 silver badges 69 69 bronze badges. The danger of off-flavors caused by leaving beer on the yeast cake for too long is something of a boogey-man. I left a brew on the yeast for six months without negative impact.
It is imperative to not aerate the wort during transfer after primary fermentation. Any oxygen in the beer at this time will cause staling reactions that will become evident in the flavor of the beer within a couple weeks. Always transfer the beer slowly and keep the outlet tube beneath the surface of the beer as you fill the secondary.
Don't let the stream guzzle or spray as you fill. The only way to combat aeration damage is to introduce young beer to the fermenter at bottling time. This process is called "krausening", and is a time-honored method of carbonating beer, but it is an advanced technique that I do not cover. How to Brew By John Palmer. Featured Links. Chapter 9. Fermenting Your First Beer. Pitching the Yeast If your rehydrated and proofed dry yeast is not showing signs of life churning, foaming after a half hour, discard it and use the backup yeast, repeating the re-hydration procedure.
Primary Fermentation Active fermentation should start within 12 hours. Secondary Fermentation Here is where you will need to make a decision. Racking Racking is the term for the process of transferring the beer without disturbing the sediments or exposing it to air.
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