Hi I am doing an ipa and was wondering if 14 days in the primary is to long before racking to a secondary for dry hopping. I see others saying 7 days in the primary then 14 days in the secondary.
Topic secondary primary fermentation homebrew
Category Mac
In addition to the reference threads posted in previous answers, I wanted to comment that the Final Gravity (FG) should be taken in to consideration. Specifically for a dry hopped IPA, you will want the fermentation to be complete and not ongoing in the secondary. That way when you rack in to the secondary, the yeast is almost not present so that the hops can come in to contact with a maximum amount of the beer.
Additional notes: If at 14 days you take a gravity reading, are you at or below the target number? If you are at or below the target number, you should rack the beer off of the yeast either to a secondary or right to a bottling bucket or cornelius keg. If you haven't yet reached the target number, replace the airlock and let it go a little longer. Also, how far apart are the bubbles in the airlock at 14 days? 1 bubble every 1-5min is a good sign of when to rack the beer out.
No, you will be fine. This question has been answered before here and here. On a personal note, I just bottled a batch last night that sat in the primary fermenter for six weeks, and it tasted very good.
Incidentally, racking to a secondary vessel introduces a very small risk of oxidation or infection, and is unnecessary work unless (a) you plan to long-term batch condition your beer for six months or longer, or (b) if you are racking onto fruit or similar adjuncts. Also, (c) moderator Denny Conn recently cited some research that seems to indicate that some people prefer the flavor of dry hopping after racking the beer off of the yeast cake, but I can't find that link right now.
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