ok, reading a kit sheet on an imperial stout.. it states
Secondary fermentation. Allow the beer to condition
in the secondary fermenter for 2-3 months before proceeding with the next step. Timing now is somewhat flexible.
ok, 2-3 months in a secondary conditioning.. what does this long term conditioning do? will this differ much from bottle conditioning?
Beer contains just a small amount of vitamins - that's why it's necessary to drink lot of it
All heavy beers (those with high starting gravity) need extended conditioning to allow flavors to blend and to allow harshness to mellow. Meads I bulk age for a year at least. Imperial Stouts, Barleywines, Belgian Strong, I leave on the primary for a month and then in the secondary for 4 to 5 months before botteling. I still try to give them a year in the bottle after that before expecting optimum mellowing and flavor blending.
This being said, I placed in two different competitions this year with barleywines that I brewed back in October. I know that they're not optimum yet but due to bulk aging, they are drinkable now and good enough for judges to place. In another year or two, look-out!
I'll add that bulk conditioning allows the residual yeast to work together to clean up the mess they made when stressed in the hostile high gravity enviornment.
Bulk aging is faster than bottle aging.
Scott Townson
May judges be smitten with our brews and long for our nectars throughout eternity!!
