Oatmeal stout still bubbling after 3+ weeks?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

jimbonnet

Active Member
Joined
May 16, 2012
Messages
43
Reaction score
9
Location
HOLLISTER
Hi-

Question, I have an oatmeal stout that is at 1.014 gravity right now that is still bubbling away after nearly 4 weeks in primary. It tastes really good and has no off flavors like its infected. I'm going to keg it up today.

My question is.. What is causing the bubbling? Is it really not "done" ?

Cheers,
Jim
 
Has it consistently been at 1.014 for a few days now? That's the only way to know for sure that it's done. The bubbling you're seeing is just the co2 trying to escape. It's not really an end-all be-all sign of fermentation.
 
The airlock is bubbling because there is an exchange of gasses. That's all it proves. It could be from the CO2 given off by the fermentation or it might be atmospheric pressure change or a change in temperature but most likely at this point is that your beer has CO2 dissolved in it from the fermentation and it's coming out of solution. Your hydrometer is how you tell when your beer is finished. Your hydrometer reading is probably at the expected final gravity and the fact that you have given it 4 weeks would also suggest that. If you really want to be sure, wait 3 to 5 more days and take another gravity reading and if it matches what you have you can be certain the beer is done fermenting.

I take a single gravity reading when I think it has has plenty of time to see if it is at or close to the predicted FG just to be sure I don't have a stuck fermentation and then bottle it. That's what I'd suggest you do too.
 
Thanks. Yes, FG was stable for 3-4 days now. I had a temp increase that I didn't think about. Went from 66-68* so I'm sure this is just out gassing. I just kegged it up and put in the fridge to carb.

Cheers guys,
Jim
 
I just kegged it up and put in the fridge to carb.
Well if you're kegging, you won't be getting bottle bombs! So there's a lot less to worry about with regard to any last lingering cleanup operations by the yeasties.

Cheers!
 
There's a YouTube video of an EMPTY carboy with the airlock bubbling away.

An airlock is just an airlock. It has an indirect correlation to active fermentation at best. The beer's done when the hydrometer says it is, not the airlock.
 
Back
Top