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[Tmike]

I brewed green beer, i brewed good beer and i brewed great beer. Not much differences in times or technique but it did make a difference. Now for my newbie question. Longer in fermenter better clearer etc.. but would sitting in the bottle conditioning for same amount time be same? I ask cause first batch of year and want start another batch and figuring i can bottle prime it for the extra time with basically same result as sitting in lbk extra week?

[mashani]

If by green beer, you mean tasting a sour apple kind of flavor, that is acetaldehyde, and the most effective way to get rid of it if it is there is to leave it in the primary fermenter longer. The yeast will reabsorb it as a nutrient when they run out of other stuff to eat. If you are pitching little puny packs of yeast that come with the kits, it takes at least 2-3 weeks for it to clean up all the way, especially if you are like me and are a super taster of it. Kits that come with 11.5g packs will be better quicker. (see below).

So the short generic answer is leave it in the fermenter at least 2 weeks unless you know it's not needed because of experience with the beer you are making, the yeast you are using, the pitch rates, and temperatures. It takes a lot longer to clean up in the bottle, since there isn't as much yeast available trying to absorb it.

As a longer answer:

Also making sure you are fermenting in the yeasts "goldilocks" zone will help it be gone sooner. That means not trying to ferment at lower temperatures to avoid "yeast flavor". If someone don't want a yeasts flavor, the right answer is to use a yeast that doesn't make whatever flavor that is trying to be avoided and use it at a temperature it actually likes. The little "generic" packs of yeast that Mr. Beer and Brew Demon provide throw off a good bit of acetaldehyde at low temperatures and the pitch rates provided. They are much better in the mid-upper 60s then at lower temps.

Now if you pitch a fresh 11.5g pack of a different kind of yeast into 2-3 gallons of a low to moderate gravity beer, and ferment in the correct temperature range, then it can be gone in a lot less time.

I make a lot of beer these days where I can just leave it in the primary for 7-10 days (often done fermenting in 3-4 days, rest is clean up time) and at 2-3 weeks in the bottle it's perfectly nice to drink, but I am pitching yeast at that kind of pitch rate. Brewers Friend pitch rate calculator would call it "Pro Brewer 0.75" or "Pro Brewer 1.0" pitch rate. Even what they would call 0.75 is a lot more then Mr. Malty pitch rate would say to use. There is a lot of detailed information into the why of it described below their calculator.

Ultimately given enough time your results can be similar either way. It's more a matter of making "better beer faster" vs. just "better beer".

[Tmike]

Thank you for the very clear and educated response. Very rewarding when you serve on of your buddies a homebrew and he says it is good.

[RickBeer]

I follow 3-4. 3 weeks fermenting (but I really go 18 or 19 days, then cold crash), 4 weeks in the bottle (or more). 3 days in the frig is my minimum to allow for maximum CO2 absorption back into the beer.

For new brewers, 3-4 is what I recommend because it's simple and basically foolproof.