Fermentation time table

BittererPlease · 06-11-2009, 02:02 AM

After a week of over-flowing airlocks, my belgian wit with wyeast 3944, is still getting a 5 or 6 second count in the airlock. Usually by a week or so the gravity is low enough to transfer but this obviously is not. Oh, and I broke my newest hydrometer last week, so I have no way of telling what the gravity is. How many seconds should the gap be between bubbles for me to transfer to the secondary?

And I am aware that this yeast takes a while.

If there is a prior thread about this, I didnt find it.

Thanks for any help

JMSetzler · 06-11-2009, 02:13 AM

Give it another week before u worry about transferring and get yourself a new hydrometer during the wait

BittererPlease · 06-11-2009, 02:16 AM

yea, they are flimsy and I am a bull, I tend to break one once a month. I never learn...

jackson_d · 06-11-2009, 02:21 AM

i'm not an expert, just an enthusiast, but i always leave every beer i brew in primary for at least 2 weeks. every beer, no matter the airlock activity.. then depending on gravity 14 days after brewing, i either go to secondary or give it one more week in primary. just leve it in there 7 more days and take a reading and if you are close to FG, rack to secondary..

jasonh · 06-11-2009, 02:50 AM

I'm with jackson_d....after my first couple beers (which I rushed along because they were my first beers), I always do 2 weeks (at least) in primary. For standard gravity stuff, if I'm dry hopping or adding something, I'll then do a secondary for another 2 weeks or so, otherwise I'll generally just primary it for a 3 week total and then keg or bottle it straight with no secondary at all.

carl spakler · 06-11-2009, 11:16 AM

Nothing bad will happen in the time it takes you to get a new hydrometer either from a local shop or a web store.

Counting time between bubbles is misleading at best.