longer conditioning for an ale

Ron Reyes (Papa Piggy)

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im brewing a kit from a mail order supply place (dont ask me why). its for an "olde English style Ale" with a suggested 7% APV. Oddly they do not break down the ingredients but as near as I can tell it is much like a Porter. The description suggests that it benefits from a "long conditioning" phase. I do most of my Ales in Primary only for 3-4 weeks near the colder side of the recommended yeast range. Then Keg it. so far so good. So Im just wondering if there are any tips or options for a "long conditioning" phase.
 
I usually "lager" most of my beers, meaning they are cold conditioned @ 33F for a week or so. I found that if the beer was fermented properly, there really isn't a big benefit to longer aging. Mostly I drop the yeast and clear the beer in the "conditioning" phase. Even lagers don't need a long aging or lagering period if they are properly fermented, 2-3 weeks is all they need.

If your the beer seems a little "green", then a longer conditioning periods at 60 or so will help that along.
 
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I usually ferment at recommended temp until FG or I've decided it's as close as it's going to get. Typically 5 to 10 days. I move to secondary & cool it to 40 deg. Typically a week. I Fine in secondary. Move to keg, hook up CO2 & chill to 35. I don't even taste it for 2 weeks. The flavor changes for the better. The longer it sits the better it gets.
So, "Longer Condoning" could be any of the above.
 
Lol yeah I have plenty beer on hand in my keezer so I'm rarely in a rush. But I have a couple lagers going now and they truly do test my patience. I try and go for 6 weeks of "lagering" at 36 degrees. I'm thirsty just thinking of it.
 
Whatever floats your boat Ron. I don't think you need 4 weeks to turn an ale around or lager for that matter but there's no harm in it.
 
I ferment most all of my ales at 66F. Most fermentations are complete in 3 to 5 days. Once the Krausen begins to recede I let the temperature free rise to 70 for a couple of days and then crash to 40F. With the exception of dry hopped beers, most drop clear in 3 or 4 days. If I'm dry hopping I'll cold crash a day or 2 after dumping the pellets in and keg when the pellets drop out.
It's seldom that I'm not drinking a beer 2 to 3 weeks after pitching.
 
In-between my fermentation box and keezer i got great potential temperature control. But I normally have my fermentation box in lower 60's for multiple ales and my keezer is at 36 degrees. So I I really have no practical way of doing say 40 degrees. I have a seperate lager box that can run the full gamut but it only holds one carboy.
 
I'm with Hawkbox on this. I would transfer from primary to keg on day 13, after 2 or 3 days of cold crash in the fermenter. If not cold crashing in primary, just keg it around day 10. Then cool the keg to serving temperature and put about 10 lbs of CO2 on it for a week or two.

Make sure to have the proper amount of healthy yeast.
 
In-between my fermentation box and keezer i got great potential temperature control. But I normally have my fermentation box in lower 60's for multiple ales and my keezer is at 36 degrees. So I I really have no practical way of doing say 40 degrees. I have a seperate lager box that can run the full gamut but it only holds one carboy.

Not that much different here. I use a full size fridge that holds 2 fermenters and a keezer than holds 4 kegs. I keep the keezer at 37 to 38 degrees and only use it for carbonating and dispensing. I use the fermentation fridge for fermenting and crashing, so will vary the temperature as needed. If I'm brewing 2 similar beers I often do them back to back and tailor the temperature to the younger brew.
 
I'm with Hawkbox on this. I would transfer from primary to keg on day 13, after 2 or 3 days of cold crash in the fermenter. If not cold crashing in primary, just keg it around day 10. Then cool the keg to serving temperature and put about 10 lbs of CO2 on it for a week or two.

Make sure to have the proper amount of healthy yeast.
That sounds about right. Since I never use finings (too many vegans in my family...) I figured a little more time in primary helps with clarity. My beers have mostly been pretty damn clear.
 
English Old Ale was typically a strong mild ale brewed in southern England , some good examples are still available. The recipes tended to be identical to the breweries mild ale, just greater quantities (usually parti-gyled)..

When I brew Old Ale, I leave it in primary for 2 weeks, then bottle... another two weeks to carb up, then another 2 weeks before opening the first bottle.

If your brewing from a kit I recon at least six weeks from start to first glass...
 
That sounds about right. Since I never use finings (too many vegans in my family...) I figured a little more time in primary helps with clarity. My beers have mostly been pretty damn clear.
I should add that I only use one fermenter, so the sooner I get the beer out, the sooner I can brew another. :D Also, even for ales, I like to increase the primary ferm temp 1 df per day starting on day 4 up to a desired temp for diacetyl mop up.

I would agree that longer time for conditioning would be good for the beer in your OP. An IPA being the other end of the spectrum where hop freshness benefits from less conditioning time. Just my opinion. Others here are far more experienced. Cheers! :)
 

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