Does more time in the fermenter mean less time conditioning?

[KingJim]

The title says it all I guess but, does more time in the primary or secondary fermenter mean less time bottle conditioning?
I appreciate the beer will need to to carbonate. Just wondering.

TFI Friday!

 

[cageybee]

the advice given out here is three weeks in the bottle to carb up....irrespective of how long in the primary/secondary

 

[DerekJ]

As a general rule I would say yes. There can be slight differences between bulk aging and bottle aging. However, it is still aging. As long as the yeast has finished fermentation and been given enough time to clean up then it can age in bulk or in bottle from that point forward.

 

[masterfool101]

In short, yes and no.

As Cageybee noted, you'll STILL need enough time to carb up your beer in the bottle. That's usually 2 weeks, and can be longer for bigger beers.

That being said, yes, if you bulk age your beer for a long time, you won't need to bottle condition it as long to get that "just right" flavor. Meaning that once the beer is carb'd, it'll be ready to drink.

To put that in perspective, if I bulk age a beer in the fermenter for 8 weeks, I'll usually be ready to drink it 3 weeks after bottling. But if I only ferment 3-4 weeks, I'll try to give it 2 months in the bottle before opening it.

Do note that some beers will age better in the bottle. Also, if you bulk age, be sure to find a way to avoid light, and oxidation. (make sure you cover clear fermenters like better bottles and glass carboys well, and make sure your stopper is in VERY well, generally with an S shaped bubble lock, and not a 3 piece airlock).

 

[KingJim]

Not 3 piece? Bummer, I didn't know that. It's been in there a couple of weeks and I intend to leave it a couple more. It it's in a single door cupboard under the stairs. I've put a couple of pieces of cardboard around it to shield from any light that gets in under the door.
I have to ask, why not a 3 piece?

 

[gcdowd]

IMO, the beer is conditioning no matter where it is. Therefore, I don't believe it matters how long you keep the beer in a particular vessel. I always gauge the beer in terms of grain to glass. Brew day less drinking day. I can drink my 1.042 blonde ale in 3 weeks. I know my 1.070 porter will take much longer. Once my beer ferment, clears, and has a stable gravity I usually keg it. Then I let it condition for as long as I feel necessary. Sorry if this trailed in another direction, I cannot seed the original post on my phone, and also I'm a little tipsy

 

[masterfool101]

Not 3 piece? Bummer, I didn't know that. It's been in there a couple of weeks and I intend to leave it a couple more. It it's in a single door cupboard under the stairs. I've put a couple of pieces of cardboard around it to shield from any light that gets in under the door.
I have to ask, why not a 3 piece?

For secondary aging, you want an S shaped bubbler because it won't suck solution back into the fermenter when the temperature or air pressure changes. 3 piece locks are designed to allow lots of air escape .... But the minute the brew stops gassing out, any pressure or temperature changes can result in the sanitizer/vodka/whatever back into the beer. S bubblers will keep out most "stuff" by filtering it through the water/sanitizer, and prevent suck back

 

[Gab1788]

You can still get suck back from an "s" lock. If the pressure in the fermenter or secondary drops due to temp change or what ever, it's going to want to regain that pressure. It will do it in the easiest way it can and the weakest link is going to be the "s" lock. Not saying don't use one, just saying it won't stop suck back. Just sayin...