Is three weeks on the yeast cake in the primary too long for a high gravity beer (1.080-1,090)? Thanks.
Not too long at all.
In fact, you probably need that much time (or more) depending on how much yeast you pitched initially.
In my house, after around 4 weeks it would go into secondary for at least another 4-6 months.
I brewed 10 gallons and pitched two separate 1200 ml starters. Good thing I put a blow off on right away. talk about an active fermentation.
My $0.03
Three weeks on the yeast is about it for me. After that I keg and indeed if a big beer give it a few more weeks.
Thank your lucky stars you’re not brewing near a quantum singularity… talk about high gravity!
I get nervous after three weeks and with that kind of gravity it should be ready for the keg/bottle and conditioning regardless. Sounds like the yeast were up to the task.
I don’t get too nervous after three weeks but I agree that if the right amount of yeast was pitched that it should be done. Unless maybe it was a 1.100+ lager…I might have to try one of those sometime…maybe a bock…anyway, back on topic you’ll be fine.
Are you sure it’s done fermenting? I don’t start counting weeks until it’s done fermenting. If the gravity has been at terminal for 3 weeks, then maybe that’s too long. If it’s still fermenting, 3 weeks isn’t long enough.
I recommend leaving the beer on the yeast as long as they are fermenting sugars. Once they stop, let them rest for 2-3 days and get them off so they don’t start dying and spilling their guts in your beer. Monitor your airlock and when it slows down to a trickle, take a gravity reading. Then wait a day or two and take a second reading. When you get two readings the same, the beer can be racked off the yeast at that point.
This one is worth experimenting with, say to rack half or more of it and let the portion on the yeast cake have more time. I agree with Bluesman on this in terms of process and recipe calculations, however when I leave a gallon or so sitting for an additional month there’s a flavor intensity that’s baking in (perhaps from hop particulate that I can’t filter). I’ve had no bad results so far when doing this with ales, and there’s an obvious difference.
+1 My preference is to leave the broth-flavors to soup and out of my beer.