Is this beer ready? (strange yeast behavior)

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dsuarez

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A brewed a belgian blonde about 3 and a half weeks ago. I have been patient because it still looks like little bubbles are rising to the top of the beer (it looks like the surface of a glass of champagne). However I just took the first gravity reading and it was at 1.008 (which is pretty much what I was shooting for). I can't really see it going down anymore, but the bubble action makes me scared to put this into bottles. I am sceptical that a wild yeast got a hold of it, because the sample i just took tasted good. I just have no explanation for the bubble activity on the surface of the beer. anything like this ever happen to anyone? anybody got any ideas?
 
+1

Let it sit. The beer will tell you when its ready.



Am I the only person who's beer talks to them?
 
Do I have to worry about yeast autolysis? It has been in primary for almost 4 weeks. The OG was average...about 1.060

If it is still bubbling away, are their inactive yeast cells that run the risk of dying and breaking down?
 
It'll be fine.

Autolysis is extremely rare and most often caused by under-pitching yeast or re-pitching yeast from a prior batch of extremely strong beer.

Many brewers can sit on a primary for a couple of months before proceeding.
 
Do I have to worry about yeast autolysis? It has been in primary for almost 4 weeks. The OG was average...about 1.060

If it is still bubbling away, are their inactive yeast cells that run the risk of dying and breaking down?

Autolysis is a boogeyman for the homebrewer unless you are brewing lagers and leaving the beer on the yeast for SEVERAL months, many of us leave our beers on the yeast for a minimum one month anyway to let the yeast clean up after themselves post fermentation...

People seem to panic reading what Palmer had to say about autlysis...and perpetusate the myth...first like I said autolysis is more of a risk in lagering for long times, second it is something that the commercial macroswill breweries that strive for no flavor...I mean no off flavors...worry about, not we homebrewers brewing beer with flavor.

Plus people seem to miss the last paragraph in Palmer on the subject.

As a final note on this subject, I should mention that by brewing with healthy yeast in a well-prepared wort, many experienced brewers, myself included, have been able to leave a beer in the primary fermenter for several months without any evidence of autolysis.

So like everyone has already said leave you beer alone...I'm brewing a Belgian strong right now...and after 3 weeks, the krausen finally fell....and I'm leaving it alone for awhile.
 
I might add that I moved my fermenter to my boiler room about a week ago, so it is fermenting at about 79 degrees now, whereas it started the first two weeks at 68-70.
 
I might add that I moved my fermenter to my boiler room about a week ago, so it is fermenting at about 79 degrees now, whereas it started the first two weeks at 68-70.

Well that answer your own question/solves your mystery...you warmed up the fermetor which re-roused the yeasties to start playing again.
 
Isn't it possible that fermentation is done, but it's still just burping off CO2 that's in solution? Particularly if the temp rose?

If you're at your target FG and the reading doesn't change over the next couple of days, that beer kind of sounds done.
 
I've had belgians bubble away for close to 4 weeks before. Just keep an eye on it and when you see it stop you're ready. Even if its just CO2 in solution... there's something going on there that you want to let happen. Once its finished and stable, move the beer. There shouldn't be any rush...
 
Isn't it possible that fermentation is done, but it's still just burping off CO2 that's in solution?

If CO2 is escaping, it means that CO2 is still being produced.

While it may appear to be finished to the naked eye, final fermentation needs to finish or over carbonated bottles are likely.
 
I just brewed a wit with wlp400. The krausen fell at about 1.5 weeks and and at 2 weeks the sg did not change at 1.016. I thought that I had a stalled fermentation and did swirls and such but the gravity would not change. I never calibrated my hydrometer and I went and bought some pure H2O and it ended up my hydrometer was off by a bunch. Anyway I let it sit in primary for 4 weeks total since I didnt calibrate till week 3.5. When I bottled there was bubbles on the top so I would not worry.
 
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