Beer in the carboy for 8 weeks...

[judsonmillar]

So here's the deal: my brother and I brewed a batch of home brew about 8 weeks ago... then I had the oppertunity to go overseas and I took it. Now I'm back and my home brew has been in the carboy for 8 weeks.

IS IT STILL GOOD TO BOTTLE?

PLEASE HELP :)

[DecoJuicer]

Was it in primary or secondary?

[dparsons]

If its still the primary it has probably developed some off flavors. If it is real bad your nose will tell you. I would still rack it off, being careful to get zero trub, and bottle it. Always bottle unless you are absolutely positive that it is ruined.

[DubbelDach]

Originally posted by dparsons
If its still the primary it has probably developed some off flavors. If it is real bad your nose will tell you. I would still rack it off, being careful to get zero trub, and bottle it. Always bottle unless you are absolutely positive that it is ruined.

Would he need to add any yeast before bottling?

[Mad Scientist]

Nah, he'd be okay.

I'll note that the is probaly fine, since (assuming it is an ale) all he has really doen is a very extended primary.

In other notes of not properly following procedure (though judsonmillar has a excuse...but then again, where was his brother???? Hello? Assistant brewer?), I went over to a new brewers house last weekend to help him bottle his first batch of beer.
The day before my arrival, he asked me about some floaties on the top of his beer, which by the description sounded like 1. the small foamy bubbles that never really seem to dissipate (and look like a bacterial infection), or 2. a bacterial infection.
I told him not to wrry about it, and I would evaluate his beer when I got there. So I arrive the next day and look at his beer, and sure enough I right away see the 2-3mm size white floaties of a bacterial infection.
Right after I see that his three piece airlock had no water in it. <------That's right, no water in the airlock.
After I informed him of the bacterial infection, I asked him why there was not any water in the airlock, and he told me that the instructions (Midwest kit) in his kit did not note that he needed to put water in the airlock, so apparently, he went through the primary AND the second with no water in the airlock(s). I reviewed the instructions, and he was right (shame on you Midwest--Austin homebrew instructions say to put water in the airlock).
He looked totally devestated that he messed up, and asked if it was ruined. In classic homebrew fashoin, I told him to relax (he didn't have a homebrew to relax with...yet), and not to throw in the towel until we knew that the beer was trashed...which in this case was racking into the bottling bucket.
So after sani'ing the bottles and botling bucket, etc (and another thing Midwest--drill the hole for the bottling valve lower on the bucket! He lost a full beer due to the valve placement), racked the beer in, and to his considerable suprise (and admittedly mine too), the beer was fine, with taste of the fuggles used at the end of the boil. So we bottled. I did go ahead and advise hin to store the bottles in a safe place incase there was something else floating in there that might casue a detonation.....
But if you want an example of how things CAN sometimes work oujt, that is it.....