Hey all, I am getting a recipe concocted for an Old Rasputin clone, with around a 17.25 lb grain bill, fermented with a huge starter of WLP001 California Ale strain. I know the recommended time in the primary fermenter is 10-14 days, but can it go longer? I'll be out of town til New Years. I know from experience that the California ale strain is a beast... I just want to make sure that it will still be ok if it's been sitting on a massive yeast cake for 3-4 weeks? Thanks!
No.. but our basement stays pretty ambient temp – around 66-68 degrees. Thanks though, I'm sure the beer will be very attenuated when I get back!
I don't know what the OG is with your recipe, but I'm guessing that it's over 1.070. You probably should brew it as quickly as possible so that you'll be around for the first week after fermentation starts to babysit the beer. You could have an aggressive fermentation that may exceed the capacity of your fermentor and blow the air lock off and make a mess while you're gone. The alternative is to use a blow-off tube that should provide protection, although it also could be messy if the krausen gets into the tube. Good luck.
Thanks. I've actually got a big blow off tube that I normally use for big beers. My experience with the California strain was pretty crazy last time on an IIPA, with the krausen shooting all the way out of the tube. That was my plan though – to be around the first week so I can make sure the lid doesn't fly off, then head out of town for about 3 weeks.
From what I've been reading there's no harm to letting the beer sit on the yeast for an extended period of time. As a matter of fact a lot of people think it makes the beer taste better because the yeast have more time to clean up after themselves. I tend to think that makes sense so I've been leaving my beers in primary for minimum of two weeks no matte what the recipe says. As long as there's no light or air getting in there I think one month is no problem for you
As mentioned above, the fermentation temp would be the biggest concern. Ideally, due to the high OG, I'd be trying to raise the temp up to maybe 70 ambient a few days after fermentation begins to keep the yeast in suspension and continue eating those sugars...but if you're pitching a big starter, that might help you out... Still though...I wouldn't be surprised if you came home to the ol' 1020 reading...
Leaving a beer in primary for its entirety is usually not an issue, depending on how long that is. For most beers that I make and plan to bottle within ~6 weeks from brewing, I do NOT transfer to secondary. If I am going to add spices or want to bulk age for months, then I will transfer to secondary. Even for pale ales and IPA's that I dry hop, I do not transfer. Leaving a beer on the yeast for an extended period of time becomes an issue when the yeast start to die (autolysis) and create off flavors. Sacch does not die right away though and can sometimes take a year or more to do so. The reason that most commercial breweries transfer off the yeast soon (or dump the yeast out of the conical) is due to different equipment and volume. Yeast in large conicals (30, 60, 90bbls, etc...) are under immense weight and are compressed into a small area, causing the yeast to stress, warm up, and die much faster than would happen in a home brewing circumstance. I would only recommend racking to secondary when adding spices/fruit/oak or when you want to age something a few months before bottling. Transferring to secondary for a week or two before packaging only increases your chances of infection or oxidation. I hope this helps, cheers!
I often go 5 weeks without transfer. The only times I bother with a transfer are: if it's a big hoppy beer and I didn't filter well (want to avoid grassy hop flavors), when I'm dry hopping (5 gal big mouth specifically for dry hopping, primary is a 6.5) or if I'm going longer than 5 weeks. Never had a flavor issue.
Thanks guys. The only extended primary I've done was with a Saison, but I also wanted that to ferment way down. This is my first 'big' all-grain stout, so am just being over-cautious. I don't see why it would be any different though. Appreciate the info.
The beer will not over-attenuate due to sitting in primary for a couple of extra weeks. If anything, it's safer for determining when the beer is finished. Also, it's better for racking a beer that is less cloudy for packaging.
A couple things. Yes, be home for the first week. Keep the temp as close to 60 as you can. I'd set up a swamp cooler in the basement. After that, another three weeks is a-ok. Finally, and I don't mean to imply you don't know what you're doing since I have no idea what your experience level is, but leaving a beer in primary for longer won't really (necessarily) increase its attenuation. I had a saison that I bottled in 10 days and it was dry as hell. So with 001/05, attenuation will likely be pretty complete within seven days. Leaving it on the yeast is largely to let things like diacetyl and other bi-products get cleaned up. That is to say, if you wanted it to finish at 1.028, ending primary by either transfer to secondary or bottling/kegging alone isn't going to accomplish that.
I routinely leave my beers in for 3 weeks - and it's not unusual to need 4 weeks, especially for big beers, and 17.5 lbs grain bill should result in a big beer. Like they said, keep close tabs on the temperatures for the first week or so, then after that, you can sort of let it be. "They" talk about off-flavors leaving on yeast too long, but they're really talking about professional level brewing, with huge fermenters. For us homebrewers, 5 or 10 gallons isn't going to put the stress on the yeast cake that will cause those problems. I seem to recall one of our frequent conributors leaving a beer in primary for something like 6 months with no issues.
