I just made my first all grain try Irish stout. I was wondering how long people usually age or keep an secondary. I keg so I won’t have a bottling time.
Thanks
unless its an imperial stout, then 6 weeks should do. no need to age it .
I’m not sure why you’d want to age an Irish stout. Two weeks in primary, then keg and carb. Irish stout is a style that’s great fresh in my experience.
If you’re going for historical/traditional stout, a longer aging or the addition of a percentage of well aged (and slightly sour) beer is very appropriate. That, after all, is where Guinness still gets it’s characteristic tang.
Even the dumbed down Guinness Draught (as opposed to ‘original’ Guinness) gets a dose of the tart, vatted stuff.
If you’re going after American knockoffs of ‘stout’ (or are in a rush) the other comments in the thead are absolutely correct; you can enjoy it as soon as it’s done fermenting and conditioned to your liking.
The “to your own liking” part is the real key here (as it is with any beer, really).
There’s no real right or wrong, and no rules carved in stone.
I’ve only got one stout under my belt so far. Brewed it in November. Thought it was a failure back in December. Now it’s getting to be pretty good.
Thanks brothers
