US-05 yeast length in primary

[millsbrew]

Hey guys,

So on Feb 1st, I happen to drive by a farm stand and on a whim bought 5 gallons of cold pasteurized cider to fill an empty carboy. Recipe was 4.5 gallons cider, 2 pounds brown sugar, 1.5 teaspoons nutrient, 1 teaspoon pectic enzyme, and 5g US-05 yeast. I plan to hit it with cinnamon sticks in secondary.

I did not plan this out well at all. I have a brew in my primary (made on Feb 2nd) and another brew in secondary already. Without rushing things, the earliest I could have my other 5G carboy free would be March 15th.

So my question, is 6 weeks in primary too long for my recipe? I've read most ale yeasts should be racked after 4 weeks. I would just buy a third 5g carboy, but the wife would probably kill me since I'll probably have 3 beers going at a time if I had 4 carboys.

Thanks all.

 

[stonecutter2]

6 weeks in primary should be fine. If you were putting a cinnamon stick in for that long, I might tell you to put it in a bag on a string or something. Since no cinnamon stick, you'll be okay.

 

[millsbrew]

I plan to do a 3-4 month secondary with cinnamon going in 2 weeks before kegging. Thanks for the help.

edit: what about racking to my brew kettle, cleaning the carboy, and racking back? Is that a better option? I realize the risks (contamination and oxidation) increase doing it twice, but thought I'd float that idea too.

Thanks.

 

[Pickled_Pepper]

Just let it ride until the free carboy opens up. I wouldn't rack it out and then back to the same carboy for the reasons you stated. (contamination/oxidation) A couple of extra weeks shouldn't be an issue.

3 brews at a time is a nice pipeline. I'd go the 4th carboy route and just ask for forgiveness

 

[millsbrew]

ha. The "problem" with that is that I have a 3G batch of a Cyser going too. So i have 4 carboy's going currently. But I guess a quick bait-and-switch could be in order. just hide the plastic one in the basement. Thanks all.