Maximum Allowable Primary Time?

[manplant]

Does anyone have a feel for the max safe allowable primary ferm time that will eliminate the need for secondary, but not incorporate issues with spoiling trub?

Ive read some posts suggesting a 3-4 week primary is OK and will eliminate the need for secondary. Ive gone both ways on this. I made a Gouden Carolus Tripel clone that was 2 weeks on primary and nearly 4 on secondary. I repeated the recipe, racked and force carbonated after 2 weeks primary as well. The 2 week beer is good, but green with more paritcles and haze. The aged beer is nothing short of amazing.

[slothrob]

I haven't hit a maximum time for the beer to stay in primary. So it's greater than 4 weeks, but I don't know how much greater.

[manplant]

Do you notice any off flavors? Is this as good as using a secondary? Have you done any high gravity this way?

[cozrulz]

I like to primary for a week then go to the secondary. I do the secondary because it helps clean up the beer. You probably can leave a beer in the primary for a little more than a month, but it won't clear it up.

[slothrob]

You won't get any off-flavors that I've detected. If anything, you'll increase your chances of removing off-flavors left by incomplete fermentation, like diacetyl and acetaldehyde. I do try and get most of the hop material out before primary so that the beer isn't sitting on all that vegatal matter for 3 weeks.

I don't expend a lot of effort chasing down clear beer, but I'd think the beer would clear as well sitting in primary as secondary, but you won't have that extra transfer to separate the beer from the trub. For this reason, it's probably best to get as much of the break material out prior to fermentation as possible.

[manplant]

Thank you for the help. Ive been straining the wort upon pouring into the primary for the last few batches now. This is removing 90% of the hop material. Ive been making mostly beligain style ales.

What type of beers do you typically make?

[slothrob]

I usually make British style ales, like Bitters and Pale Ales, or Americanized versions of them. I also make a few German style, usually variations on Alts and K

[manplant]

Sounds good. Ive got a honey Kolsch in the secondary now. Should be ready this week.

Speaking of British ales, can you point me in the direction of a clone recipe for Sam Smith's Old Brewery Pale Ale? or something as good?

I appreciate your help

[slothrob]

Sorry, I don't really know any clone recipes, I pretty much just experiment with interesting recipes I read about in the forums and jumble together myself.

I can give you my basic approach to an English pale, though:

10# Maris Otter Malt (or whatever it takes to get you to 1.050 or so OG).
0.5# British Crystal Malt (60

[manplant]

Good stuff. Ill use this as a baseline and go from there.