How long can you keep brew in primary

andyodell

I am doing an ale for an event, so for the quality I would like to start this as soon as possible.  I am ordering some printed caps though which will take some weeks...  If I start now, is there any problems or benefits perhaps of keeping the beer in the primary before bottling?

If it helps to know I will be doing a St Peters Golden Ale.  The instructions on the box seem a little quick, states days before bottling.  

So is there a longer period that others have used? In the past generally I think I have waited weeks before bottling.

I dont want to mess this one up... not had a bad beer yet though saying that

HBO_Staff

Leaving a brew in the primary for a bit longer than the instructions will help it settle and clear, the problem is the sediment and dead yeast which will collect in the bottom of the vessel, and could potentially impart off flavours into the brew. One thing to help with this, is to use a second fermenting vessel, so the bulk of the sediment is left behind if you transfer it after it has about finished the primary fermentation. The downside of leaving it in the second vessel for a while is that it is longer where it is not sealed up and so could potentially become contaminated, and more yeast which was suspended in the brew will settle out, which then will increase the secondary fermentation time in the bottles as there is less yeast for the priming sugar to work with. There is probably a middle ground here where you could leave it a few weeks in the fermenter as long as it is sealed up as airtight as possible (in fact Brewferm say to leave their beers for a couple of weeks before bottling).

Let us know how the event goes wont you....