How long can you leave your brew in FV? Accidental experimen

[JammyBStard]

For a few reasons, but mainly moving house at short notice and breaking my kegging kit in the process. I made a coopers stout in feb and have been too busy/lazy to sort everything out abd get it kegged. until tonight.
I was expecting to have to pour it down the drain, but i took the lid off and it smelt ok, so I took a sip and it tasted ok, so I've just kegged and carbonated it abd its a fine beer. I'm not saying it's the best stout I've ever had but I can't detect anything wrong with it at all.
I know stout is not exactly the beer you would choose to do this experiment with but It's been sat at room temperature for five months (through the heat wave) and it's fine.

[Matt12398]

That's impressive. I wonder if the strong roasty flavour of the stout is masking some of those off flavours.

I guess if it tastes right, drink it.

[orlando]

Autolysis, pah! nonsense. Doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Now, and I hardly dare ask this, was it covered with a lid & airlock?

[JammyBStard]

was it covered with a lid & airlock?

It was.

[orlando]

was it covered with a lid & airlock?

It was.

Never doubted it

[Capped]

This is very good news! Over time I've been leaving my stuff in the FV for progressively longer periods - partly due to idlitis and partly due to my observation that the longer it stays there, the better the ale. I've maxed out at three weeks,figuring that there must be an upper time limit before it all goes wrong, but it's good to know that I can get away with considerably more than that...

[Nofolkandchance]

Thats good to know. My max is 3 weeks and I'm really nervous about it (always covered by the way )

Suppose the problems start when starting syphoning into secondarys, and thirdly's, yep thats right thirdly's, ive read it on here!

[JammyBStard]

I never secondry anymore I have never seen the benefit or really the need. I've often left it in the Primary for 4 or 5 weeks without a problem. I had suspected three weeks is just internet law. I think because people like John Palmer write that these things can happen, he dosent mean that the will happen but If your a big brewer and you want to minimise the risk of loosing a large and very expensive batch you might take steps to avoid it.
I just had a quick look in "How to brew" and JP's foot note to autosyis is: As a final note on this subject, I should mention that by brewing with healthy yeast in a well-prepared wort, many experienced brewers, myself included, have been able to leave a beer in the primary fermenter for several months without any evidence of autolysis. Autolysis is not inevitable, but it is lurking.

[Belter]

I think the main concern here would be oxidisation from being in a plastic bucket. If it tastes good then great!

[DerbyshireNick]

I wouldn't stress about 3 weeks that's my normal routine. Never an issue. 14 days primary starting 17c and working up to 20. Then 7 days cold to prep for the bottling / priming bucket.

[Normski]

I think the main concern here would be oxidisation from being in a plastic bucket. If it tastes good then great!

Hi Belter
What are King and Budget kegs made of.
Norm

[Belter]

No idea. Some form of plastic? Plastic has tiny holes in it which allow oxygen to pass through over time. If you have a copy of the Yeast book it gives rates of oxygen passing through each type of fermenting vessel.

[Aleman]

Made a stout on new years day . . . Kegged it second week of july . . . Ok so it was in the plastic conical and I had dropped the yeast and crash cooled to 2C . . . Not really best practice should be interesting if I enter it into the CBA national comp though

[Normski]

Plastic has tiny holes in it which allow oxygen to pass through over time. If you have a copy of the Yeast book it gives rates of oxygen passing through each type of fermenting vessel.

Really. Im surprised.
I've got the Yeast book, And havn't seen that.
Do you know what page thats on. I've got to read up on it,
I thought plastic was ok.

[JammyBStard]

I heard it on a TBN Brew Strong I think.
PET certainly is slightly permeable to gas.
I'm not sure what FV's are made of. I use the hard plastic small opening type from Wilcos.