Extra week in the secondary?

[biodarwin]

I brewed a fat tire clone on 2-9-13. I racked to a secondary after 2 weeks. This Saturday will be the 1 week in the secondary. This is probably a silly question, but can I wait another week without any harm? I am another week away from having everything I need to keg as I really disliked the bottling process. Would this extra week cause me any issues? I would guess not, but from the sample I took I really really really like this beer, much more than my first batch and would rather bottle it if it would cause any issues with the quality.

 

[webby45wr]

I don't think it would hurt anything. I've added fruit during secondary in the past - 2 weeks in secondary, followed by a final week in tertiary (if that is the right term) to let any skins settle out. The beer turned out great!

 

[pjj2ba]

No problem leaving it longer in secondary. Once in secondary you are not going to pick up any more flavors from the yeast cake so it can sit there for quite some time and the flavor will be pretty stable

 

[Pontiac_Guy]

It's an extra week that you can't drink it. Definitely a con in my book.

 

[flars]

You can leave a beer in the primary quite a while without worry. Many brewers leave their brew in the primary three to four weeks as a standard practice. It used to be thought that yeast autolysis would produce off flavors. In small batch brewing autolysis is not an issue.

 

[rklinck]

It's an extra week that you can't drink it. Definitely a con in my book.

Not true. If he bottles now, he will have to wait three weeks for the beer to carbonate. If he waits a week and kegs, he can get the beer carbed in the same amount of time without trying to force carb.

 

[NordeastBrewer77]

I've left beers in secondary for over 6 months, no worry about an extra few days.

 

[biodarwin]

Thanks! I assumed it would be alright, but hate to think of all the hard work going down the drain!