How Long?

[Rich216]

I have a batch still in my glass fer-mentor and was wondering how long can can i keep it in for? I was told 2 weeks but i was just wondering if there will be any benefits if i keep it in longer then 2 weeks?

[Bobbie Dooley]

There are two answers besides "It depends."

1- Pro brewers turn their beer around remarkably quickly, so it can obviously be ready in two weeks. Fresh beer is better beer unless the recipe will take well to age. It can be completely unnecessary to primary for over 2 weeks.

2- The vast majority of new home brewers don't a) pitch enough healthy yeast, b) properly oxygenate their wort, and c) have reliable fermentation temp control. Because of these things, the ferment will throw off some funky byproducts. The yeast will clean them up over time and they will also naturally decompose. There aren't many new home brewers who will have perfect beer after 2 weeks (or ever ), so by all means let it sit for a good 3 weeks.

Also, it depends.

[Ozwald]

It depends

After you hit your terminal gravity - as in you're not losing anymore gravity points, even if you give it several days - the yeast will clean up after themselves, taking care of some of the off flavors & by products of fermentation. Batch aging can benefit from that.

On the flip side, it really depends on how well you cleaned & sanitized the fermenter. If you're using good cleaning/sanitizing products, using them properly & effectively you can let it sit for quite a while with no ill effect. Another thing is going to be your pitch rate. If you pitched too low, it will affect the fermentation, but by this stage that's too late to do anything about. If you pitched too heavy, you can have some other problems with extended batch aging.

So, it really depends. Let the fermentation finish up, make 100% sure it's finished up & then give it a handful more days to let the yeast do it's thing. You'll eventually hit a point of diminishing returns, even if 'conditions are perfect', so go ahead & get it out of there at that point. The other bonus is the sooner you get it out of there, the sooner you'll be drinking it, having arguments with your dog, telling random strangers that you love them & texting Spidey at 3am. All of which are good things in my book.

[spiderwrangler]

you'll be drinking it, having arguments with your dog, telling random strangers that you love them & texting Spidey at 3am. All of which are good things in my book.

Thanks for reminding me to turn the ringer off before I go to bed.

[BDawg]

If you are just starting out, and simply following the directions on the kit, then letting the beer sit for 3 weeks in the fermenter is fine.

[Rich216]

Thanks guys I think im going to let it sit just a week longer and see how it comes out.