Secondary time

Hey y'all, first batcher here. Got 5 gallons oatmeal stout on day 13 in secondary fermenter after 7 days in primary. It's still fermenting and my question is how long is it ok to leave a batch in the secondary? 3 weeks? 4 weeks? What is too long? I'm planning on at least another week since its still bubbling...

You really don't need to secondary (unless you want,add fruit,nibs,wood etc.) You need to leave it till you get 2-3 consecutive gravity readings that are the same.

beaksnbeer said:

You really don't need to secondary (unless you want,add fruit,nibs,wood etc.) You need to leave it till you get 2-3 consecutive gravity readings that are the same.

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What he said.

Bubbles mean nothing. You should take a gravity reading, as temperature changes, barometric changes, bumping the fermenter, etc can cause bubbles to be released.

As for your question - too long? Hmmm. A year? No, wait, I've read about successful brews spending a year in secondary. Eighteen months, maybe?

I bulk aged a beer for four months in secondary last year, and it did great. A couple of weeks either way isn't going to hurt anything.

For the record - secondary is not necessary unless you are dry hopping, adding fruit, etc. If you do secondary, you really should leave the beer at least until gravity is stable. Most of the vets here do 2-4 weeks in primary before they do anything else.

Bonnerhaus said:

Hey y'all, first batcher here. Got 5 gallons oatmeal stout on day 13 in secondary fermenter after 7 days in primary. It's still fermenting and my question is how long is it ok to leave a batch in the secondary? 3 weeks? 4 weeks? What is too long? I'm planning on at least another week since its still bubbling...

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The answer is - we need to measure the final gravity (FG) with a hydrometer after 7-10 days after pitching yeast. And then measure it again 2 or three days after that. If the reading is the same (and close to expected FG), then it is OK to bottle. The bubbles can be false indication, since they can appear depending on the barometric pressure and ambient temperature.

Measurement with the hydrometer is really important.

Out of the blue on about day 8 in the secondary a ring of foam developed on top of the wort and it started bubbling fairly consistently and I was told it was probably still fermenting. I took OG reading and a reading after a week in primary but I have not checked gravity since racking it to the secondary.