How long should I age my Stout?

So I brewed a stout on 3/23 and it fermented for two weeks and then I racked it onto oak chips in a secondary on 4/5.
The stout is a 6% and I wanted to know if I can let this beer age for a long period of time (months)?
I would like to bottle it closer to August or September so I can drink it this fall. But would that be too long? Or would letting it age for awhile be a good thing?
Thanks

Generally a good thing, especially on oak. It will take a little while for the flavors to meld and mellow out.

The longer aging is better for adding things that do not fade as much. For example, don't do a lot of aging if it is a hop-forward beer, as the hops will fade away.

Okay thats good to know.

Another question regarding bottling.... I imagine that bottling this beer in 4 months that the yeast will have settled and dropped out of suspension. So when it comes time to bottle should I throw in another packet of yeast as well?

I don't want it to be yeasty but I also don't want his beer to be flat.

Generally there is more than enough yeast still in suspension even after a few months of sitting to carb up the beer when bottling. For a bit of extra insurance when you rack it to your bottling bucket suck up some of the yeast from the bottom of your secondary.

I brew a mean stout that I brew once every 3 4 months. SG normally around 1.087. I do 2wks primary and I always secondary my beers and for this one I go another two weeks to condition. Then bottle. I let them sit. 2 months in bottle. But that's my routine. Works for me and its the best beer I make out of my recipe book. Good luck cheers.

Alright thats good to hear. I might bottle them a bit early if I need the carboy space, but I'm thinking of brewing more so it might be worth while to buy another carboy.

If I did bottle early, lets say July. Will they condition well in the bottle until fall(ish)?

TyGuy716 said:

Alright thats good to hear. I might bottle them a bit early if I need the carboy space, but I'm thinking of brewing more so it might be worth while to buy another carboy.

If I did bottle early, lets say July. Will they condition well in the bottle until fall(ish)?

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Ya as long as fermentation is done. bottle conditioning works great. I leave my high gravity beers in bottle in my closet for 4-6 months.

Also. Try your beer once a month. Take notes on the taste difference..When its to your liking put in a very cool place or stick them in the fridge to to maintain it.

Thanks for the tips!

generally longer time would do a stout well, but I would not want to leave it on chips for that long. they tend to extract quickly (1-2 weeks) and such a longer time may just make it woody.

I'd bottle soon and let the aging happen in the bottles. I've got a choc milk stout that is at about 5 weeks in bottles that I will likely allow another 2-3 months.

After seeing that not to age it too long on the oak chips I'm worried because it's been about a month and I won't be able to bottle until about 5/13.
Will it be too woody by then?

TyGuy716 said:

After seeing that not to age it too long on the oak chips I'm worried because it's been about a month and I won't be able to bottle until about 5/13.
Will it be too woody by then?

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Take the chips out if they are in a bag. If not, rack to another vessel if possible. If you can get them off the oak, more aging shouldn't be a big deal.