Lawrence Brewers Guild

I'm relatively new to brewing I'm still a little confused about timing of the stages. Right now I'm working primarily from Northern Brewer Extract kits.

Lets say I'm working on a batch that says it's ready in 6 weeks, by my calculations it should spend 1 week in the primary, 2 weeks in the secondary, and 3 in the bottles.

For 2 months readiness, I assume it means 1 week in the primary, 4-5 weeks in the secondary, and 3 weeks in the bottles.

Does this sound logical? Am I interpreting correctly, or am I nuts?! (Yes, I know that it should remain in the primary as long as it takes for the SG to stabilize---7 days is just an estimate).

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On a related not, someone told me that whatever the instructions say in the extract kit, add another week to each stage to make the beer extra tasty. Does this sound legit?

Thanks for your input.

Your assumptions are correct as is the bit of advice from whomever it was that told you that somethingy.


I'm still an extract brewer (jumping things up with grain, spices, fruit, etc.) and always go with AT LEAST a week in the primary and two in the secondary before bottling, if not a few days more or a week more in both.

For my stronger brews, I've gone 1-2 weeks primary and 2-4 weeks in a secondary & then a tertiary for clarity and to ensure the fermentation is complete.


I'm now a firm believer in going with a primary, secondary and a tertiary all the time for clarity/sediment reasons.

For most brews I usually primary for 10 days. Allowing the beer to stay in contact with the yeast for a time after fermentation has completed can aid in minimizing off flavors. I then transfer straight to keg, and after a few days of carbonating, I blow out any yeast and trub, then age or serve. Your secondary for most batches will primarily be to allow time for the yeast to settle out. Chilling the beer and/or using clearing agents will speed up this process. Even without chilling, 5-6 weeks seems excessive in secondary. More likely you will be 7-10 days in primary, 1 week in secondary, and 4 weeks in bottle (tasting until ready).