7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

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Buckie Brewer
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7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

Post by Buckie Brewer » Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:25 pm

My coopers stout (which was cracking) is coming to an end and spring is in the air, its time to lighten up and get a pale ale on. My problem is my work life, I work 6 on 6 off on offshore and it almost time for me to leave and I have had no time for brewing.

So my question is if I make up my APA with hop tea and dry hopping a few days before leaving can I then leave it all in the FV for the full 6 weeks and keg on my return?

Yay or Nay?

hommebru

Re: 7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

Post by hommebru » Fri Mar 30, 2012 3:47 pm

you should be fine if it's under airlock, not sure about leaving it to dry hop for that extended period however. i've heard that if you do dry-hop for too long you get 'grassy' flavours in the beer, which you may like, but it's often an undesired addition when dry-hopping.

but as for leaving it on the trub for that long you should be alright, hard to say for certain. but as cooper's kits ferment so quickly,you could benefit from utilising secondary fermentation. rack it out of primary after a 4 days when most of fermentation is completed, and put it into a secondary vessel for the remainder, under airlock of course. this should minimise chances of the brew suffering from autolysis from being on the yeast cake for too long.

i reckon it's do-able.

adomant

Re: 7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

Post by adomant » Fri Mar 30, 2012 5:18 pm

no.

conditioning on the other hand, absolutely. - 6 weeks is perfect

Secue

Re: 7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

Post by Secue » Sat Mar 31, 2012 1:07 am

can you not take your FV with you and find a nice warm spot on the rig to brew it? I would have thought roughnecks would have the place littered with booze brewing aparatus anyway :P

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Pinto
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Re: 7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

Post by Pinto » Sat Mar 31, 2012 9:47 am

Arrange a brew-sitter (like you'd get someone in to feed the cat :lol: ) or put SWMBO on the case ;)
Primary 1: Nonthing
Primary 2 : Nothing
Primary 3 : None
Secondary 1 : Empty
Secondary 1 : None
DJ(1) : Nowt
DJ(2) : N'otin....
In the Keg : Nada
Conditioning : Nowt
In the bottle : Cinnamonator TC, Apple Boost Cider, Apple & Strawberry Cider
Planning : AG #5 - Galaxy Pale (re-brew) / #6 - Alco-Brau (Special Brew Clone) / #7 Something belgian...
Projects : Mini-brew (12l brew length kit) nearly ready :D

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Buckie Brewer
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Re: 7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

Post by Buckie Brewer » Tue Apr 03, 2012 12:37 am

SWMBO won't touch it with a barge pole, apparently if it went wrong it would be her fault :lol: and the ship is in Dubai so I think I would be a bit of a hassle getting it through customs. [-X
I think I will ferment it for 4 to 5 days then rack it to a second FV before leaving then dry hop it when I get back then keg it.
Thanks for all the advice

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Buckie Brewer
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Re: 7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

Post by Buckie Brewer » Mon Apr 09, 2012 9:24 pm

Quick update brewed last Tuesday,

1 can Coopers APA,
1kg Coopers BKE 1,
30g Perle hops, 20 min boil ,
30g Perle hops and 15g Dried elderflowers 20 min flame out.
OG 1.042 - 1.018 at kegging
Looking for a summer session ale in the style of Cairngorm Brewery Trade Winds.
I then had a concerted effort over the Easter weekend to empty my keg and kegged all the beer, didn't want to bottle any as not sure if fermenting finished or not.

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Buckie Brewer
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Re: 7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

Post by Buckie Brewer » Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:06 pm

Image
got home early so only has had two weeks in the keg and has a bit of haze but it is very good fg of 1.016, 4%, light and floral, the elderflower is promiment in the aroma.
just need some sun to enjoy it in.

boingy

Re: 7 weeks in fermenter YAY or NAY?

Post by boingy » Thu Apr 26, 2012 11:41 pm

Buckie Brewer wrote:just need some sun to enjoy it in.
Sun will arrive on 13th May, guaranteed.
How do I know? Well, our annual BBQ for the neighbours is scheduled for 12th May. It WILL rain...

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