10 days and still bubbling in the airlock

I probably know the answer to my question, but a little moral support would be wecome. I brewed my first beer on saturday June 6 and here it is June 18 and the airlock is still bubbling. I used WLP 001 yeast without a starter (I'm a noob, I didn't know I probably should have). I think I probably also under aerated a bit. Anyway it took approx 36 hours to show life in the airlock, but it was fairly vigorous for about 18 hours and then less so. I has been bubbling steadily ever since, though it seems to slow a bit each day. I checked the gravity on 6-17 and it was 1.030 (OG 1.054), so I know it has a little ways to go. My question is: will the long lag time and prolonged fermentation contribute any off flavors to the final product. I tasted it when I checked the gravity and it was actually pretty good. A little bitter, but I may have been a bit aggressive with the hops. Any input apprciated.

I don't think the long fermentation will hurt anything. Just be really patient with it and don't bottle it until it hits the target FG. That bitterness will mellow once you have bottle conditioned for several weeks and cool them down.

Your beer will most likely be fine. Just give it another week or so to finish fermenting. Also, take a couple gravity samples the last 2 days just to make sure it's done.

If you are at 1.030 you definnitely aren't done, there is always a possibilty of off flavors with underpitching, and if you had poor aeration that could add to the overall slower fermentation. RDWHAB, your beer will be good still.

If you can give your recipe and more details about your process that would allow us to make a better assessment of your situation.

I usually primary for 3-4 weeks which allows plenty of time for the yeast to "clean-up" after themselves, you may want to give it a week or so after you've hit your FG to allow some "clean-up" which may help to reduce some of the off-flavors, if any were produced.

Just going off an average attenuation of WLP001 your FG should be 1.0127 so you still have a ways to go and it really should be a lot closer by now. So... I know you didn't do a starter but...

What temp do you have it at?

If you have it in the 68* range, you might consider gradually stepping it up a degree each day for 2 days and give it a little shake to rouse those yeast into still working.

Muntons plain amber DME 3lb
Muntons light LME 3.3 lb
crystal 60 malt steeped 1/2lb
Simcoe 1oz 60 min 11.9%AA
Cascade 0.5oz 30 min 3.2%AA
Cascade 1oz 10 min 3.2%AA

As I said before I think I under aerated base on what I have seen others post here, but I pitched the yeast without a starter at 75 degrees. My fermenter has sat a a very steady 65-68 degrees. I finallly read the label on the yeast and it sounds like they would prefer to see something closer to 70 degrees. Anyway that is roughly how I did it

humann_brewing said:

If you have it in the 68* range, you might consider gradually stepping it up a degree each day for 2 days and give it a little shake to rouse those yeast into still working.

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+1 Swirl your fermenter, try not to splash it around, or pop that puppy open and use a sanitized stirring device and gently stir your yeast from the bottom back into suspension.

I have had to do this on 1 occasion, and it helped me reach my target FG.

Pitching temps seem fine(70-75), I usually pitch cooler than what is recommended on the White Labs vials (~68), having said that, YMMV.

I've used that yeast several times and never pitched a starter. I usually see a day or two lag but it picks up and knocks out everything in the next 4 or 5 days.

Note: I decided to brew using the safale US-05 dry yeast instead of the 001. It costs way less and had good reviews. I simply sprinkled the dry yeast on top of the wort and gave it a swirl. Within hours I had signs of life. I woke up this morning and it was bubbling like CRAZY. Virtually no lag time and the strongest fermentation I've ever seen. I would suggest trying this exact yeast for your next brew.

+1 to the swirl. Give it a good swirl then leave it alone for another few days, it helped me get to the finish line before.

I did use the Safale US-05 on an IPA that I made yesterday, and it started in about four hours with nice steady fermentation. Not too aggressive. I'm impressed

I had the same question a little while back. Used 001, thought I aerated well, didn't see activity for 48 hours, fermenting at 70 degrees. Then after activity leveled off, i had 5 second airlock activity through day 14. Everyone in the forums said it was just because there is CO2 in the fermenter. My grav reading said it was done (OG 1.062, FG 1.012). I could have waited another week for the hell of it, but this was my first batch...i wanted the beer ASAP. I am currently on Day 15 of bottle conditioning my IPA and it's tasting great.

I have an APA bubbling away on its 5th day with WLP001, still going fairly strong. It is 1st gen washed yeast, made a 1 liter starter that I left on the stirplate for about 16+ hours. It had a fair lag time of about 6-8 hours, I may have cooled the wort too much and pitched at low temps, and I definitely could have given the starter more time, but I was done brewing before the starter was ready. However, I'm certain it will be delicious!

As for bottle conditioning, I chilled one of my Balckberry Ales to give one a try, tomorrow will be 21st conditioning day, and I must say for the first fruit beer I have brewed it was pretty good. I was surprised I thought it was going to be a disaster, but the blackberry flavor was there, but somewhat subtle not overpowering, and I think the secondary fermentation definitely made the beer, otherwise it may have been too sweet. It was crisp and "different". I am pleasantly surprised.

The more I brew the more I want to experiment, and the better the beer seems to be turning out. I am no longer hesitant to "try" something new and different when brewing.

BREW ON!:rockin: