10 replies to this topic

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I have an old ale that will be about a month in primary (bucket) this weekend (3 weeks at fermentation temps, 1 week at cellar temps <50F). I'm thinking I should either put in secondary and age it or I should bottle it. I'll be naturally carbing this beer. What would you guys do?ETA: if I bottle straight out of primary I probably won't be able to do it until week 5, hopefully that's not a problem.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I have an old ale that will be about a month in primary (bucket) this weekend (3 weeks at fermentation temps, 1 week at cellar temps <50F). I'm thinking I should either put in secondary and age it or I should bottle it. I'll be naturally carbing this beer. What would you guys do?ETA: if I bottle straight out of primary I probably won't be able to do it until week 5, hopefully that's not a problem.

I should also note that my main fears of secondary conditioning of beer I'll naturally carb is that I think there won't be enough yeast to do the job or something. Maybe I'm worrying too much there...

[Augie1991]

I would go with the secondary. The last 5 or 6 batches I brewed I really gained an appreciation for how using the secondary vastly improved the taste of my beers. I'm all for the secondary now.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

I would go with the secondary. The last 5 or 6 batches I brewed I really gained an appreciation for how using the secondary vastly improved the taste of my beers. I'm all for the secondary now.

The question is - for how long then? Will there still be enough yeast to get the job done?

[DaBearSox]

The question is - for how long then? Will there still be enough yeast to get the job done?

The answer is yes...unless your fermentation showed you that your yeast is not doing so well..I rack into a 2ndary all my brews w/ gelatin...and my stuff always carbs up.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

The answer is yes...unless your fermentation showed you that your yeast is not doing so well..I rack into a 2ndary all my brews w/ gelatin...and my stuff always carbs up.

just racked to 2ndary

[jayb151]

Also, If you are worried about the yeast, you can just add some in at botteling.

[Augie1991]

The question is - for how long then? Will there still be enough yeast to get the job done?

Really you can secondary for as long as you like. It really depends on whether you need that secondary vessel or not. At bottling I would add a few shakes of US05. That way you know you'll have adequate carbonation!!

[gnef]

If it is a really big beer with a lot of residual sugars, I would add the yeast a week or two before you plan on bottling, just to let it ferment out as much as it can before you add a metered amount of sugar for the priming. This will help to prevent any possible bottle bombs.

[DaBearSox]

i know i have read that there really isnt anything to worry about unless you are letting it sit for more than 4 months. I've made big beers, small beers, medium beers that sat for weeks or months and nothing has refused to carb for me. The only time I have had a bit of an issue is when I was using a yeast that was really slow and crapped out before fermentation should have been done. The first batch I made with it carbed fine...the 2nd was pretty low, so the third i added maybe an 8th of a pack of 05 at bottling and they are sitting pretty now. Thats why I say if your primary was strong you'll be fine...I purposefully pull the yeast out of my beer, even though you can't see it our friends are still with us, you'll see them again at the bottom of the bottle....and the plus about letting more of it fall out is that a lot less sediment ends up in each bottle. When I started using gelatin i noticed it took an extra week or 2 to carb but the benefits were worth the extra wait.Its a good point that this is a big beer, the yeast might be a little more exhausted and maybe some mutated but i still feel they are still willing to eat that tiny bit of sugar that you add back in. It the grand scheme of things its really a tiny bit of fermentables that you are putting back in.

[ThroatwobblerMangrove]

i know i have read that there really isnt anything to worry about unless you are letting it sit for more than 4 months. I've made big beers, small beers, medium beers that sat for weeks or months and nothing has refused to carb for me. The only time I have had a bit of an issue is when I was using a yeast that was really slow and crapped out before fermentation should have been done. The first batch I made with it carbed fine...the 2nd was pretty low, so the third i added maybe an 8th of a pack of 05 at bottling and they are sitting pretty now. Thats why I say if your primary was strong you'll be fine...I purposefully pull the yeast out of my beer, even though you can't see it our friends are still with us, you'll see them again at the bottom of the bottle....and the plus about letting more of it fall out is that a lot less sediment ends up in each bottle. When I started using gelatin i noticed it took an extra week or 2 to carb but the benefits were worth the extra wait.Its a good point that this is a big beer, the yeast might be a little more exhausted and maybe some mutated but i still feel they are still willing to eat that tiny bit of sugar that you add back in. It the grand scheme of things its really a tiny bit of fermentables that you are putting back in.

Roger that. I've heard this from a few sources so I shouldn't be worried but I actually have only bottled 4 batches to date and I've bottled them all at 3 weeks of primary. In this case I wanted to wait a little longer b/c it's a big beer.