Does Patience Pay Off?

I routinely leave my low to moderate gravity ales in primary for 2 to 3 weeks then keg them and let them sit/carbonate for another 2 weeks and it is still usually about another 2 weeks before my beers hit their prime. I believe that with many styles patience more than pays off.

 

Most beer does not need a secondary. Leave your beer on the yeast for 3 weeks then bottle.

 

Even though primary fermentation finishes, remaining yeast in suspension still clean up fermentation by products like diacetyl, acetaldehyde, etc.. So, in short, yes patience pays off. Also, when a beer cold conditions in the fermenter, cold conditioning tank, or keg or bottle for an extended period of time there are fermentation by-products, tannins, phenols, proteins that fall out of suspension and give the beer a "refined" taste as opposed to if the beer was not conditioned this way.

This all is very strain dependent though and what kind of beer you are aiming for. A Hefeweizen you want to have all of these fermentation characteristics, so you really wouldn't want to let secondary or cold condition too long, just enough to drop out some of the yeast and trub matter and then package. An Altbier you would probably want the yeast to clean up most of the fermentation by-products and cold condition for a few days to drop out before packaging. I think is very style dependent.

 

If you want to test this out, next Hefe you do ... do split batch and turn 1/2 the batch over quick, while the other 1/2 of the batch let sit an additional week in fermenter and an additional week in cold condition. Compare the two, what you'll end up with will be more like Hefeweizen vs Kristalweizen.

 

Below is something I just posted in another thread:

"A few weeks ago I would have posted that waiting 4+ weeks is OK but a recent post by @honkey has given me pause: “I can just about guarantee you will be happier with your beer if you pitch healthy yeast and get the beer off the yeast cake soon after letting the yeast clean up off flavors.”

And: “I have witnessed pH rise as much as .1 in a day from autolysis. Early on, you may not taste autolysis in its typical flavor descriptors (meaty, rubber, savory, tar, etc.) but what will happen is that pH will rise to be closer to the pH of your saliva. When that happens, flavors become less discernible and they can become more muddled.”

http://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/took-beer-off-yeast-accidentally.256372/#post-3275586

FWIW, it is my practice to give the yeast a few days to perform its ‘clean up’ activity and then promptly bottle."

Cheers!

 

You are usually better off leaving your beer alone and let the yeast do all the talking. They'll let you know when fermentation is complete when the airlock stops bubbling, the krausen falls, and the beer begins to clear. Before that, you really should not rack. You need all the yeast in there to do your job. There's no use in pulling the rug out from under the beer!

 

I used to be very impatient with mine, but I also used to do secondary on all my batches. That was until I realized that unless you're bulk aging it something such as oak or fruit, there really is no need. All the aging can be done in the bottle. Now I can have a lower gravity beer ready to drink in about 3 weeks.

...but to answer your question. Yes. Patience does pay off. I let 2 cases of a barleywine sit for over 1-1/2 years, and it's drinking awesome now. It was NOT drinking awesome when it was fresh. Over time the harshness has mellowed a lot, and now I'm left with something I can really enjoy.

 

Several issues pertaining to patience.

- Benefits of using a 2ndary
@premierpro gets it right.
In most cases ... t'ain't worth the time and effort.

- Time spent conditioning in the bottle
This is one of those YMMV things.
Most of my beers reach peak-brew between 8 and 12 weeks. Some as early as six.

- Style (and gravity)
One size won't fit all.
CW - lower OGs peak sooner than higher OGs