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**BigB** · 10-02-2011, 12:24 AM

Seriously Matty, nobody is being a smart ass just to be a smartass. But a few days is nothing. Some airlocks will continue to show activity for weeks... usually because it is either still fermenting or CO2 is coming out of solution or like the good Rev said, "the cats bumped against it," or simply because the barometric temperature changed. What Revvy and Ryush are basically saying is that the airlock is not a fermentation gauge... it is just an airlock. Heck, some people have the opposite problem where the airlock shows no activity yet the beer is completely fermented. The airlock's only purpose is to allow gas to escape, but not to let crap in... thats all, nothing else. Always go by your hydrometer to gauge fermentation... not airlocks, not krausen, not the color, just the hydrometer. But I understand you are new and you have the new brewer jitters, but really, your beer is going to fine 99% of the time. If its at 1.010, your beer is fine... now let it sit for a week or two before botting or kegging...no matter what the airlock is doing (well I suppose if it starts talking to you, then you may reconsider). Your beer will appreciate your patience and reward you with 5 fgalllons of goodness!

mattymatumbo · 10-09-2011, 08:05 PM

Thanks Big B, Tomorrow is the 2 week mark in the secondary, I used the spigot to get a little for a taste. It is still a little sweet, but the bitterness and malty-ness have come out. When i do the priming sugar in the bottles, will that get rid of the sweetness by reactivating the yeast?

**BigB** · 10-09-2011, 09:51 PM

Adding the priming sugar and getting a refermentation in the bottles won't necessarily get rid of any sweetness. But what you will find is that carbonation adds a dryness - which in itself, reduces sweetness. So the net result is usually a reduction in perceived sweetness. Leave that beer sit for another week and then bottle it. Your yeast may very well have done their job by now, but another week will be sure they have had a chance to clean up their mess before you bottle. Some beers will continue to be a little on the sweet side, but it really depends on your recipe. Not all stouts are dry, some are quite sweet, some are inbetween. Whatever you do, don't think that Guiness is what all stouts are supposed to taste like. Many don't taste anything like Guiness, but are stouts just the same.

mattymatumbo · 10-20-2011, 12:53 AM

Bottled and discovered that I can set my space heater to low and keep my closet between 70-72 degrees. Still sweet, to no one's surprise, however, Big B was right, the carbonation does help and I assume that refrigerating will help a lot too.