leroycheetah

Recipes 

I recently brewed a double i.p.a. and its been fermenting for about a week and a half and were still seeing bubbles in the airlock about once every minute or so...i currently do not have a hydrometer and cold weather may have slown down the fermentation..should i wait til the bubbles have completely stopped or would it be safe to bottle...any input is greatly appreciated.

homebrewdad

Recipes 

Bubbles mean nothing. Only way to know for sure is to take gravity readings. Invest the $8 in a hydrometer.

__________________
Homebrew Dad - blogging about making my own beer and raising a lot of kids.
Check out the priming sugar calculator and the beer calorie calculator.

Fermenting: Yorkshire square brown ale
Bottled: Belgian golden strong ale, Yorkshire square brown ale, Leffe Blonde clone, imperial nut brown ale

metanoia

Recipes 

You can't be sure that active fermentation is done without a hydrometer, so you have to play it safe. Also, airlock activity is not a sigh of fermentation, just how quickly CO2 is being pushed out of the fermenter.

Give it at least two more weeks to be safe, and try to find a place that's within the temperature range of the yeast you used. And invest in a hydrometer if you can; its $12 for one and a plastic test tube at the LHBS and it really gives you a more firm grasp on fermentation.

__________________
Gertrude Street Brewing
Primary: SMaSHing Bitters [ESB], Hefeweizen
Bottled: Gingerbread Brown Ale, Two Hearted Ale clone
On Deck:

Thinking about racking to a secondary? Read this first.

sweed

Recipes 

I am guessing you didnt have the hydrometer to check the OG. With my iipa's, 2 weeks was good, but I could have left it alone for 3 weeks. Get a hydrometer then check the gravity before bottling. You wont know if its done until you check the gravity.

leroycheetah

Recipes 

Thanks for all the advice my beer turned out fantastic! Finally have my hydrometer and plan to take on advanced brewing techniques for the next brew.