Need advice on a fermentation schedule for Am. Pale Ale

[brewerTristan]

Thanks for all the help. I think I'll leave the pale ale for the 21 days, then dry hop in the keg and also leave the barley wine until I return. This has the happy result of being the best option for the beer and for me since those are two less things I need to get done during the crazy Christmas season.

[BDawg]

D:
14 days Primary
7 Days Secondary & cold crash (Dry hop)
Keg (and add a 2nd round of Dry Hops)

[Brandon]

D:
14 days Primary
7 Days Secondary & cold crash (Dry hop)
Keg (and add a 2nd round of Dry Hops)

He can't do that because he will be out of town

[TapItGood]

Ok well I'll rule out option A then. My primary fermentation must be 21 days then. I would go for 14 days, but I will be out of town. So I'll have to leave it until I return on the 30th.

I would go with a combination of A B & C

What would this combination look like?

One other option:

14-21 days in primary, then dry hop in there for a week before racking to a keg.

I'd probably do C myself, though.

I'm leaning towards C. Is there any harm in leaving the dry hops in the keg the whole time? What about the temperature? 42 F okay to dry hop at? I did this on an English bitter once and it turned out okay, though I didn't taste the dry hopping so much.

Dry hop after 7 days while fermenting in Primary. Keg when you get home (dry hop the keg too! No problem with hops in the keg in a hop sack! )

Sorry about the vague answer originally, I must of been distracted!

[brewerTristan]

Ok well I'll rule out option A then. My primary fermentation must be 21 days then. I would go for 14 days, but I will be out of town. So I'll have to leave it until I return on the 30th.

I would go with a combination of A B & C

What would this combination look like?

One other option:

14-21 days in primary, then dry hop in there for a week before racking to a keg.

I'd probably do C myself, though.

I'm leaning towards C. Is there any harm in leaving the dry hops in the keg the whole time? What about the temperature? 42 F okay to dry hop at? I did this on an English bitter once and it turned out okay, though I didn't taste the dry hopping so much.

Dry hop after 7 days while fermenting in Primary. Keg when you get home (dry hop the keg too! No problem with hops in the keg in a hop sack! )

Sorry about the vague answer originally, I must of been distracted!

Hmm, that's a nice idea too. I don't have enough hops to do both dry hopping, but maybe I'll just throw some in there before I leave and then keg when I get home. Could that be too long of a dry hopping though? Two weeks?

[TapItGood]

2 weeks is perfect!

[Fritz Eye]

D:
14 days Primary
7 Days Secondary & cold crash (Dry hop)
Keg (and add a 2nd round of Dry Hops)

plus one on this, dang this is making me thirtsy!

[brewerTristan]

Well, I've decided to just leave the pale ale in the fermenter until I get back, then I'll probably dry hop in the keg. For the barley wine, I took a hydrometer reading tonight and it's all the way down at 1.020. Does that seem kind of quick? It's still bubbling so it may not be done yet, but it's only been 12 days or so. It tastes pretty good and I'm damn near buzzed after trying the hydrometer sample alone. The hop aroma is kind of gone though, which is a shame. Would it be appropriate to dry hop a barley wine? I've got plenty of aging left to do, so I guess I'd have to do it near the end. Thanks for all the suggestions.