Secondary time?

[dhorg24]

I'm brewing my first batch of beer it's an Irish red ale. How long should I leave it in the secondary before bottling?

 

[sweed]

Leave it in then primary for 2-3 weeks, check the gravity, then bottle. No secondary needed.

 

[twistr25]

^ +1 Mine was in primary for 2 weeks, couldn't wait any longer, gravity was stable though. No secondary and delicious!

 

[dhorg24]

If I leave out longer than 2 Weeks will it hurt anything?

 

[twistr25]

Not at all, actually, will probably be better

 

[ztexz]

The general consensus seems to be that secondary fermentation is not necessary. It's an old-school method from when home brewing first got going -- now the equipment, ingredients, knowledge, etc. is so much better that it's kind of a useless step.

As others said, leave it in the primary for 2-3 weeks. The longer the better.

 

[mikemet]

get 2lbs of corn sugar
get 5 gallons of apple juice- motts 100%
get champagne or wine yeast

add to your secondary- and call THAT a primary-

and take the secondary off the vocabulary. There is no such thing as a secondary- anymore - names been changed to an Apfelwein Primary. mix / ferment 1 month / bottle carb / be happy and thank someone around you- for anything.

 

[zeus53219]

I leave it in the primary 3-4weeks, then keg. I still do use a secondary though.....secondary for specialty beers, dry hopping, or adding fruit. Not discouraging you from using a secondary, especially if you need the primary for a new batch. To answer your question, if you want to secondary leave it in the primary for at least 7-10 days then at least another 7-10 day in the secondary, then bottle/keg as normal. I have did it this way for years, unless it was a higher gravity beer or lager.