I never drank a large amount of BMC brews to begin with. But my point of no return was Warsteiner Dunkel. It's not something I drink anymore, but the 'W' was pronounced with a hard 'V' sound. And it was metal!
One poster, here or on another board, said that the rate of CO2 production would draw the blackberry aromas out of the airlock as well. I always wondered if there was any merit to this. It's never stopped me from adding fruit/spices to a primary vessel.
1) Many months, I can personally attest to only 4 months in the primary. I've never bothered with secondaries when making cider. I imagine cider can sit in primary for longer and still be ready to bottle.
2) My current batch took 4 weeks to properly carbonate at 64 degrees. It's taken 2 and a...