Maturing beer in bin after fermenting

[Big Pete]

Just one point to discuss, In the latest book of brew your own beer, John recomends to mature the beer in a barrel/racked fermenting bin to the point where you would drink it, then bottle it?
I have bottled once fermented and it seems ok.

Any thoughts??????

cheers
peter

[koomber]

Beer making has gone through a big mental shift (at least in the American based practice which I tend to follow) where it was previously thought that you needed to get the beer off the yeast and into a secondry to prevent off flavours from autolysis.

The prevailing thought now seems to be unless you are doing dry hopping there is no point unless you are aging the beer for yonks. Personally speaking I launch the beer in a bucket and then after 2-4 weeks (depending on how thirsty I get) I put in a jerry can. I've even done a lager in a (unused) 25L Jerry can that I let sit on the yeast for months (although that was at 1°C.)

Long story short:

Keeping it in the bucket is fine unless you plan anything fancy or keeping it for ages.

[owlwithoutfeathers]

if you are transfering to bottles and priming after fermentation, its still going to be on lees, however slight, in the bottles until you drink it. Bottle Conditioned Beer. Some people even swill the last bit and add to the pint/glass to "enhance" the flavour . ..

[Cellar_Rat]

I start it in wide neck fermenter, then once done, transfer it to somewhere cool <10c and then bottle it with in 2-3 weeks. Onlt only use 1 gram to prime with and this gives a real ale rather finish than a fizzy finish after secondary.

[malcmackenzie]

You dont say if you are looking for fizzy or not after bottling / kegging.

I keg my ale in a 'King Keg' (top tap) and ferment to the end then keg adding 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per pint to the ale in the keg and seal up.

I find this will condition and enable every pint to have a creamy head sometimes to the very end of the barrell with no fizz. sometimes I may have to gas toward the end.

Malcolm

[Big Pete]

I like the idea of leaving the beer in the fermenting bin for a couple of weeks, then putting a small amount of priming sugar in the bottle, I prefer a real ale rather than a fizzy beer.

many thanks

[tablepad]

how long is the aging process?

[Cellar_Rat]

once bottled? I leave it about 4 - 6 weeks

[koomber]

once bottled? I leave it about 4 - 6 weeks

I go for the 1-2-3 approach.

1 week for primary.
2 weeks for secondary.
3 weeks for bottling conditioning.

6 weeks from start to finish, unless it's a strong ale.