ferment time

[SMbrew36]

First of all I secondary. Partially because I'm new, partially because I can watch the beer clear and then bottle. So far my kits have turned out great. NOW, that said I've jumped to partial and mini mash brewing because I really enjoy the craft/hobbie.
I have an APA partial extract fermenting away with US-05 . If I left it in the primary for 2 weeks and then let clear in a new carboy for 5-7 days before bottling, would that mess up my brew? Meaning is that too long in the entire scheme of things.
Right now it's been fermenting for only 6 days but the krausen layer is insane. That's why I'm wondering. I really want this beer to be the best it can. I wish I kegged  but I still bottle so that won't change. I've also got myself a lot more patient, as in letting the bottles prime, due to the huge difference and quality in everything. BUT,  I'm still new and I still have those newbie questions a day second guesses. Thanks fellas

[chalmers]

That timeline is totally fine for bottle priming/conditioning. There will still be plenty of yeast in suspension after 3 weeks. It is possible that the priming would take a little bit longer than a beer with a shorter ferment time, but we are talking an extra day or two, so pretty imperceptible overall. If you were chilling the carboy (crash cooling), that would remove a fair bit from suspension, but keeping things at fermenting temperature will be fine.

It is possible the krausen has kind of frozen itself above the beer, instead of falling back in, but leaving it 2 weeks is still fine.

Cheers!

[LeafMan66_67]

Also, I found that when I bottled, 5-6 weeks after bottling was when both carbonation and flavour hit that sweet spot. Patience is definitely the key!

[MitchK]

yeah, sometimes the protein gunk and main body of the krausen kind of stick together in a way that leaves a thin krausen like layer on top of the beer that just wont drop even after fermentation is done. I had that problem with a weizen I fermented entirely in a carboy (5 gallon batch in a 6 gallon glass carboy) and I wound up having to siphon the beer out from under it to keg it.

[SMbrew36]

Sounds great and gives a fella a little confidence going forward, cheers!!

[RossBee]

Slow down buddy, have a beer, relax, Rome wasn't built in a day.

[SMbrew36]

True enough.

[jason.loxton]

Couple of things:

1. You can skip the secondary and just ferment in the carboy itself (with a blow off). That's what most of us do, and that way you can still watch fermentation, plus avoid the risks of contamination/oxidation from transferring.

2. No issue with priming after the timeline you give. In fact you could lager it and almost certainly still get a good carb. There will be plenty of yeast left in all but the harshest fermented big beers to carbonate. It just might take a little longer.

3. I'd be careful, if you decide to keep a primary/secondary set up, about transferring as late as the two weeks you give. Unless you purge with CO2 (which, if were kegging you can do), you need enough activity upon transfer to to secondary to expel the O2 in the carboy. After two weeks, yeast activity should be very low, probably too low to suffice.

[SMbrew36]

Thanks Jason great advice for a new brewer. I'm always just trying g to make quality beer with no spoiled batches, cheers.