Hello
I brewed a ris, actually a clone of Kate the great, about 3 weeks ago. U brewed this beer several years ago and then I did a 4 month secondary, with another 4 month bottle aging.
My big question for this batch would I really need the 4 month secondary? I know I need the bottle age time to Mello the beer out?
I’m sure this beer improves with age, however, a 4 month secondary sounds like an oxidation night mare. I’d finish the beer to completion, then either package - or if you must - rack to a vessel that has been purged with co2 before any extended aging.
If you bottle, taste it as you age it. You need to be the determining factor on when the beer tastes like it is ready, not an arbitrary time line. It probably will taste great fresh and change as it ages, either for the good or the worse.
Yep ^^^^
I vote no need for a secondary whatsoever on this. When fermentation has completed. Bottle your beer, allow it proper time and temps to carbonate, then age it in the bottles (if that is the route you are going) preferably in a cool(er) location.
Sample one (or two) right away to see what the flavors are like. Then again 1 mos later. You might be presently surprised at how drinkable it can be sooner than later. Do be sure to keep at least a 12 pack to age out though for comparison purposes.
Aging in the bottle is fine for this type of beer–unless you like the taste of more oxidation. In that case I’d just leave it hanging out in primary until you’re happy with it.
I do a RIS annually with my oldest son. When fermentation is complete, we rack to co2-filled corny kegs and add muslin bag of bourbon soaked oak cubes for about 8 months. On bottling day we add Lallemande CBC-1 & priming sugar to each keg, then bottle. Turns out great for us.
This is also how I store my RIS… I brew 10 gallons at one time and then store it in Cornies - jump it to 2-3 gallon cornies for adding charred oak, or coffee, or whatever. Will add appropriate priming sugar/yeast and bottle with a beer gun, or force carbonate and bottle that way.