How long in secondary fermenter beer

Secondary fermentation is a period of aging that occurs after siphoning or transferring your fermented beer to a secondary vessel after primary fermentation is complete. Contrary to its name there is actually very little to no yeast activity in a secondary fermentation, because of this it is also referred to as the conditioning phase.

For many beers with an original gravity of 1. It is almost always used for higher gravity and highly hopped beers that need time to age before reaching their peak flavor and aroma. You will also need to employ a secondary fermentation when adding dry hops or oak chips. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. Necessary Necessary. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.

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It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group. Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. How long can I leave beer in the secondary fermenter?

Ask Question. Asked 11 years, 5 months ago. Active 3 years, 7 months ago. Viewed 50k times. Improve this question. Robert Cartaino 7 7 bronze badges. Kyle Boon Kyle Boon 4 4 gold badges 11 11 silver badges 23 23 bronze badges. I'm surprised this question hasn't been asked before.

Thank you everybody for these tips I have left a cream ale inside of a carboy for about three to 4 weeks now and got scared but I think I'm ok now — user Let me know if this is a new question but I feel it is related. If i decide to leave my beer in the second fermenter for a long time, can I take the breather out and put in a solid stopper? Without additional sugar, it shouldn't take off on me I would think. I would be scared I would forget to check the airlock and it would go dry.

Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer. Probably want to make sure it's somewhere dark too, light can do some funny things to the taste of beer. I've only ever killed a batch of beer with a big temperature swing which sucked the airlock dry : — David Hayes.

Good point on the style part. I guess if you have tons of hops, you lose the fresh taste part by letting the beer sit for too long — hookedonwinter. And to even further add to the style thing, there are a few high gravity styles Imperial Stouts, Barleywines, etc.

It can take a long time--maybe 4 months and higher--to attain the optimum flavors from those brews. Jim Jim 4 4 silver badges 10 10 bronze badges.

Mike Olson Mike Olson 31 1 1 bronze badge. As long as you want. As with anything, there are considerations: Hop Flavor and Aroma This is a big one. But if your system has been working for you, that's cool. Don't worry about 11 days in secondary. Let's use this opportunity to further reinforce that beer transfer to a secondary vessel is not required or desirable.

The purpose of a secondary vessel is primarily clarification for most brewers. It is not a second fermentation unless another fermentable is added to the beer. If the beer temperature is properly low, then there is little chance of damage from an extended stay in the primary fermenter. Quote from: mabrungard on October 29, , pm. Sweet Caroline where the Sun rises over the deep blue sea and sets somewhere beyond Tennessee. If its too loud you're too young. The thing that concerns me is not the eleven days in the secondary, its that you transferred only after 5 days from the primary.

Are you sure the fermentation was even finsihed? Racking early is a great way to stall out a fermentation prematurely and cause a higher than desired final gravity.

You should leave the beer in the primary fermenter until the beer is completely finished an then give it a day or two to let the yeast clean up some of there byproducts. You will have cleaner, better tasting beer that way. In fact, you may find you beer is better if you skip secondary all together and just leave the beer in the primary fermenter for days, then bottle or keg.

Like these guys above are saying, secondary fermenters are not often needed.