Adventures of a Beginning Homebrewer: Life Moves Fast!

Life Moves Fast!

 

Things have been pretty crazy lately. The summer seems to be whizzing by. Between trips to the cabin, out of town trips for my band, and BBQs with family and friends, trying to find a tiny bit of time to just breathe can be a daunting task for me. Something somewhere was going to end up suffering because of me spreading myself too thin… I am almost ashamed to admit it, but it is the homebrewing that has suffered.  

 

Towards the middle of June I brewed up a wheat beer. I had plans of making a raspberry rhubarb wheat, I guess I still do, but with the hectic pace that this summer has kept it has sat in the primary fermenter since June.  

 

I have thought about whether it is still good. It has been sealed this whole time, so contamination shouldn’t be a problem. But, can a homebrew be left sitting in the primary fermenter on the yeast and other sludge for this long? I don’t know… but I figured the internet does!

 

I perused the homebrew forums to find an answer. What I discovered is that EVERYONE has an answer…. Correction; EVERYONE has a different answer. Some say that leaving the brew on the sludge for too long will give it off flavors. Some say that leaving it in contact with the plastic bucket too long will give it off flavors. Some say that you can leave it in the primary for a couple months with absolutely no issues or off flavors. Hmmmm…. 

 

So here is what I have learned from my research: Absolutely nothing! However; with such conflicting answers I am not going to just dump 5 gallons of beer down the drain. I like beer way too much to just pitch it. It is at least worth a shot, right?  

 

Tonight the beer is going into the secondary fermenter to clear up a bit. Then I will bottle it in a couple weeks. Then after a bit of time for bottle conditioning I WILL know the answer. Hopefully the end result is an ice cold delicious fruity wheat beer! 

 

Has anybody else let their home brew timeline get away from them? I would love to read your results in the comment section below…. And stay tuned for my results.