Fermentation never really started

I brewed a Pumpkin Ale on Friday and had to leave to go out of town on Saturday so I was not there to check it. I had my roommate check it and it was bubbling once every minute or so by Sunday. Now its Tuesday (4 days later) and it is still bubbling once every minute or so...never seemed to actually get active. I did not make a starter..so I know this could be the problem. The question is is this beer going to ferment completely at this rate or is it screwed...I am not home to mess with it...I will not be back for 4 more days. I had my roommate take the lid off and look and he said it was covered with about a 1/4 inch of foam...so something is going on...just wondering if anyone has had this problem before and if so...is it a botched batch??

what is the gravity reading?

If you never really checked the gravity, you'll never really know if it never really started.

Sounds to me like it is proceeding along just fine. By the time you get back it should be done. Do a SG check then and see if it is near the target for the finish.

I don't know the gravity reading since i'm not there. I know it started at 1.051 but I am not at home right now so I can't check. I am just basing my assumptions off the fact that isn't bubbling but once a minute....I've definitely never had that happen before...but I'll hope that it is working ....

It could have had its most active period while no one was watching. I wouldn't expect a 1.050 beer still going crazy after four days. And that 1/4 inch foam must have come from somewhere.

1.050 isn't so big that the lack of a starter would be fatal.

Yeah, but I had him check literally every day afterwards..so if it did have an active period and no one saw it then it would have only lasted a few hours....I dunno. I just wanted to hear what others said about it...obviously I can't do anything about it now since I'm not there.

mee thinks you will be fine. I hate to use the old acronym, but really, relax. . .

These threads are fun! Just leave it alone - you're fine - don't worry about it! No you didn't screw anything up. Come back in two weeks and it'll be beer. You DON'T need to check on it everyday. Pitch yeast and forget about it.

What kind of temperature? If I under pitch a little and have the temperature a bit low, the airlock activity is very slow - but, slow is better than none.

Thanks for all the help. I'm going to forget about it. I know its going to be alright..but its always easy to get nervous about it. Thanks all!