air lock bubbling still after 10 days

I brewed an IIPA what an O.G. of 1.093 on 3-11-11.. I used 2 packs of rehydrated US-05 it fermented pretty hard for 3 days or so and the krausen fell after 4~5 days. So now 6 days later and the air lock still lets out a bubble every min.. I was wondering if this bubbling is an infection or is there some fermenting still going on? Never brewed a big beer before so I don't know how long they ferment for.

I am going going to rack to a secondary on to some dry hops tonight So I will take a gravity reading and taste test and post an update.

That's a big beer that's still fermenting and letting out CO2 albeit slow. It may continue bubbling for several weeks at that rate but this should be no indication of fermentation being complete/not complete. only trust your hydrometer and with a big beer even after fermentation is complete you'll want to leave it alone for several more weeks so the yeast can clean up before you remove it from the yeast cake. This advice is from only a year of brewing so maybe someone can correct me or back me up on that.

Big beers like IPAs and Imperials take longer than "average" beers. Recently I have made beers in the 1.050 to 1.060 OG range and have left the beer in the primary for three weeks. Patience is key for a big beer like this.
I wouldn't rack from your primary until you receive consistent gravity readings two days in a row. You don't want to rack a big beer like this too early.

I second the comments of mrduna01.

This is a great big beer. You should leave it on the yeast for at least 1 month if not 6-8 weeks. You will not get off flavors doing this. Then I would suggest moving to a secondary fermenter for at least another month if not two. Only because this is so big this will take some time to clean up after itself. The week before you bottle though I suggest dry hopping. For an American IPA use Simcoe, amarillo, or even cascade or centennial.

mrduna01 said:

That's a big beer that's still fermenting and letting out CO2 albeit slow. It may continue bubbling for several weeks at that rate but this should be no indication of fermentation being complete/not complete. only trust your hydrometer and with a big beer even after fermentation is complete you'll want to leave it alone for several more weeks so the yeast can clean up before you remove it from the yeast cake. This advice is from only a year of brewing so maybe someone can correct me or back me up on that.

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+1 on all this. A beer that high is likely going to take a while anyways, but I wouldn't use the bubbling. CO2 can dissolve in the beer, then any air pressure or temp change can cause that CO2 to leak out without meaning its fermenting.

If I were you, I'd toss a towel over it and leave it alone for at least 3-4 weeks, then come back and take a hydrometer measurement to see where you're at. That will give the yeast plenty of time to finish up fermenting and to clean up some of the byproducts. The tough part is the waiting . If you've got another fermenter handy brew up another batch to take your mind off this one. If you don't have another fermenter, either plan on the next batch, or go get another fermenter :rockin:

FensterBos said:

Big beers like IPAs and Imperials take longer than "average" beers. Recently I have made beers in the 1.050 to 1.060 OG range and have left the beer in the primary for three weeks. Patience is key for a big beer like this.
I wouldn't rack from your primary until you receive consistent gravity readings two days in a row. You don't want to rack a big beer like this too early.

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I second that advice. I have an imperial Russian stout in the fermenter right now bubbling every several minutes after one week but I'm not going to secondary if I do at all for a couple more weeks. I may just keg in several weeks, cold crash the keg for one or two, carb it up and enjoy. And that would be pushing things for a really big beer. I don't think big beers are ideal for beginners due to noobs lacking patience. That includes me!

erikpete18 said:

+1 on all this. A beer that high is likely going to take a while anyways, but I wouldn't use the bubbling. CO2 can dissolve in the beer, then any air pressure or temp change can cause that CO2 to leak out without meaning its fermenting.

If I were you, I'd toss a towel over it and leave it alone for at least 3-4 weeks, then come back and take a hydrometer measurement to see where you're at. That will give the yeast plenty of time to finish up fermenting and to clean up some of the byproducts. The tough part is the waiting . If you've got another fermenter handy brew up another batch to take your mind off this one. If you don't have another fermenter, either plan on the next batch, or go get another fermenter :rockin:

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I like to in between beers that may take a while to brew up a really light beer with like 8 lbs of 2 row and a little crystal. This can be ready in a couple weeks and takes my mind off the beer that needs time as I have something I made to sip on.

I would modify the SG reading time span from two days in a row to two readings 2-3 days apart. If the fermentation is still going, but has slowed way down, you could miss a change if you take readings in concurrent days. If you space the readings apart more, chances are you'll see the move and leave it alone.

Even IF the readings are stable, I would taste the brew before considering moving/bottling it up... Bigger brews do tend to take longer, so giving it the time it needs is important...

I've had great results with leaving brews on the yeast for 4+ weeks. Even lower OG brews do really well this way (for me, lower is in the 1.050-1.065 range). Nothing wrong with letting a brew sit on the yeast for 6-8 weeks. Especially when it has a higher OG. If you want to brew again, and need to free up a primary, pick up another one. I'm sure there are plenty of people here with more than 4 primary fermenters on hand... Myself included.

I'm sure there are plenty of people here with more than 4 primary fermenters on hand... Myself included.

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Yup, its a constantly growing proposition . Once you get a few beers under your belt and you've got those to drink, its a lot easier to have the patience necessary to build up your pipeline. Of course, that doesn't mean impatience won't get the best of any of us!

Just reviewed what I have on hand/in use...

Occupied fermenters:
2 3 gallon glass carboys -- 1 with a blackberry melomel, the other with a traditional mead
1 3 gallon PET carboy -- hard lemonade
1 5 gallon glass carboy -- traditional mead
1 5 gallon PET carboy -- strong scotch ale
1 5 gallon corny -- honey cream ale
1 6 gallon PET carboy -- ESB
1 1 gallon glass jug -- mocha madness mead

Not occupied (yet)
1 3 gallon glass carboy
1 5 gallon PET carboy
4 5.16 gallon Sanke kegs

Means I have 8 things occupied at this time... I will be racking the strong scotch ale into one of the Sanke kegs either today or tomorrow, to age on some oak cubes... The mead will be racked before the weekend too, to shift things around a bit. I might be putting the 5 gallon glass carboy to the side, since the batch in there is getting low in volume. Plus, I can use the 'extra' to top off the other batches. The madness is about ready to be sampled (been sitting on a split vanilla bean for over a month now). I started all the mead back in November 2010...

I might update my sig with what's in which vessel... Although that will be a pretty long list if I get everything filled at one time.

Thanks guys I will just move this bad boy back to my chamber and wait a few weeks.

Jcmccoy said:

Thanks guys I will just move this bad boy back to my chamber and wait a few weeks.

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Good man. Your probably stronger than I!

I will take a hydro reading here after 2 weeks.

In my chamber I now have this IIPA 1.093 and a Imperial stout 1.100 (brewed yesterday) and a black IPA 1.066

I am finding that once you do create a bit of a pipeline, your patience increases exponentially... I have 4 brews either ready for drinking, or soon to be ready... Of course, one of them is down to under a dozen bottles. I do expect to be bottling up the honey cream ale in another week or so.. It's just passed the 3 week mark... I'd rather give it until at least this weekend before I even sample it. If it tastes good, and the SG is in the area I expected/hoped for, then I'll take another SG in a few more days and decide...

Learning to trust your yeast to do it's job, to give you great brew is one of the most important lessons in home brewing. Treating the yeast RIGHT is another... With that combination, chances are you'll get really good/great brews time and again (unless you get a contamination somehow)...

Jcmccoy said:

In my chamber I now have this IIPA 1.093 and a Imperial stout 1.100 (brewed yesterday) and a black IPA 1.066

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NICE... A couple of hefty brews along with a smaller one... Give that stout the time it needs on the yeast, and it will be a thing of beauty... :rockin:

Golddiggie said:

I am finding that once you do create a bit of a pipeline, your patience increases exponentially... I have 4 brews either ready for drinking, or soon to be ready... Of course, one of them is down to under a dozen bottles. I do expect to be bottling up the honey cream ale in another week or so.. It's just passed the 3 week mark... I'd rather give it until at least this weekend before I even sample it. If it tastes good, and the SG is in the area I expected/hoped for, then I'll take another SG in a few more days and decide...

Learning to trust your yeast to do it's job, to give you great brew is one of the most important lessons in home brewing. Treating the yeast RIGHT is another... With that combination, chances are you'll get really good/great brews time and again (unless you get a contamination somehow)...

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I think the pipeline being full is the trick. I'm thinking about a group buy on some 2 row malt that will allow me to cheaply get a bunch of light beers going to fill that pipeline up.

mrduna01 said:

I think the pipeline being full is the trick. I'm thinking about a group buy on some 2 row malt that will allow me to cheaply get a bunch of light beers going to fill that pipeline up.

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Getting grain at group rates is HUGE... Gets your cost per batch way down... If you harvest liquid yeast from batches, you can save even more. Buy your hops in bulk and you're just spending less and less per batch... Using all of that, I can easily brew a 5 gallon batch in the $10-$12 range.

Golddiggie said:

Getting grain at group rates is HUGE... Gets your cost per batch way down... If you harvest liquid yeast from batches, you can save even more. Buy your hops in bulk and you're just spending less and less per batch... Using all of that, I can easily brew a 5 gallon batch in the $10-$12 range.

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For sure... Looks like a sack of base malt will run 30.00 which is really awesome assuming it will last 5 batches!

Yeah I was able to get 55# sacks of pale 2 row for 39$ and bought my hops in bulk helps a lot, but now that I have a few BIG beers, I think I will just do a number of small beers to keep me away from these big ones. I know I am going to try to age this stout for many months, so a bunch of small beers will keep my hands of these big ones.

I'm trying to make enough of a mix so that I have both easy drinkers (for me at least, my family are a bunch of wimps), some medium weight brews (7%-9% ABV) as well as the required BIG brew (10%+) either on hand, aging, or in process at all times. I have my old ale which is damned great, at ~8.1% (think it's a little higher since I probably got a lower gravity sample on the partial mash batch due to topping it off with water) it's a good strength. My first barleywine needs more time to age, but I'm already thinking of brewing another one. All grain this time of course... Thinking about brewing a dirty blonde ale soon too. Basically, I want stuff I can drink on hot days with ease, or on cooler nights with someone.

Luckily, I have enough fermenters to do all of that... Plus enough grain left to carry me for the next several months (I hope)...

What temp should I keep this as it conditions for a few weeks?

Jcmccoy said:

What temp should I keep this as it conditions for a few weeks?

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Just keep it at the temp your primary is at... 68 or so should be fine.