Fermentation length for Belgian Tripel

I recently brewed a Belgian Tripel with a OG of 1.065. Primary fermentation started within 12 hours. It has now been fermenting for 16 days and the yeast are still swirling around like crazy. There is also a lot of airlock activity.

My question... Is this long of a fermentation normal? This is probably my 20th batch of beer and I have never had one have this much activity for so long.

Thanks for your help!

Jeff

What temp is it fermenting at? What yeast did you use? I let my Tripel (used WLP575) go for 4 weeks and it came out great.

Did you make a sterter? How many ml was it?

I made a tripel that finished in 5 days. 1.109-1.016.

Thanks both for your replies. I did not use a starter, I used a Wyeast 3787 Trappist High Gravity packet pitched directly into 70 degree wort.

It has been fermenting at 70 degrees plus or minus 3 degrees.

Well, if it's still churning, just leave it be. You could take an SG reading to see how far you've attenuated, but that's not really necessary if you know it's still going. My advice is just let it be.

Thanks barrooze. My only concern was some sort of infection but since it looks/ smells fine I will just let it go until the churning stops.

Thanks again for the feedback.

3787 makes some sticky krausen that will take a while to fall. Dont rush it, go for at least 3-4 weeks in primary.

I completely understand the concern of infection, but even if there was an infection, at this point there's nothing you could do to fix/salvage/help the beer. If you did have some infection theres a possibility that it would just turn out to be a sour Tripel! The best thing to do is maintain a good fermentation environment and let it finish out. RDWHAHB!

Here's what recommended by JZ in Brewing Classic Styles:

Pitch yeast at 64* and let temperature rise slowly to 70* over the course of a week. Lager at 45-50* for one month.

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When I did my last Tripel, I pitched Wyeast 3522 at 64* and did as Jamil said. After one month, I racked it into a secondary for bulk aging and let it sit at 55* for two months (much long than I wanted, but I was busy). To date, it is the best beer I've ever made. It's 8% ABV and there is no solventy flavors nor does it have a hot alcohol taste. I believe the bulk aging at lager(ish) temps helped out tremendously.