How long is to long for Primary Fermentation?

I brewed this Northern Brewer kit on 7/8/06. The OG was 1.081. Now ten days later, I still have about 1/8"-1/4" Krausen on top of the beer and a bubble every three seconds in the airlock. Should I go ahead and rack it to secondary now to get it off the yeast cake or wait a day or two?

Double IPA Extract Kit

O.G: 1090 / Ready: 3 months

Kit Inventory

Specialty Grains: 0.75 lbs. Dingemans Caramel Pils
0.25 lbs. Briess Caramel 120

Fermentables: 12 lbs. Pale Malt Syrup

Boil Additions

* 1 oz. Yakima Magnum (60 min)
* 1 oz. Liberty (30 min)
* 1 oz. Yakima Magnum (10 min)
* 2 oz. Northern Brewer (Leaf) (0 min)

Special Ingredients: 1 oz. Cascade Hops (dry hop)

Yeast: Wyeast #1332 Northwest Ale Yeast. One of the classic ale strains from the Northwest U.S. Breweries. Produces a malty and mildly fruity ale with good depth and complexity. Flocculation: high. Apparent attenuation: 67-71%. Optimum temperature: 65-75.

Personally I would wait for the krausen to drop on its own and then I would rack to the secondary.

If it's stuill bubbling that frequently, leave it be. The only issue with leaving it on the cake too long is the potential for off flavors, but from all accounts that isn't an issue for at least three or four weeks. Let it keep working.

They say no longer than 14 days. And it matters on the yeast. Most dry yeast you want to way for almost a week. Besides that a majority of yeast is only 3 to 4 days

As long as the fermentation is active, you won't have a problem. A SG of 1.081 means a long ferment, as the yeast will slow with the rising ABV. Don't be surprised if it runs another week.

I wouldn't rack until the krausen falls. Higher gravity beers, like Russian Imperial Stouts or Barleywines tend to need more time in the primary than your standard ales. If you rack while the krausen is still there, you risk mixing the krausen into your beer which would cause off flavours in your finished product.

Cheers!
-Rick

Primary: Honey Amber Ale
Secondary #1: Octane IPA
Secondary #2: Oatmeal Stout
Bottled/Drinking: American Amber Ale

I have recently had a similar problem due to it being winter in Australia currently. My pilszner went 17 days in primary and then took another 20 days to carbonate but I think this would have to be the best brew I have done. Dont sweat it. It will be fine give it time.

Speaking of a long time...I've been very busy lately...work is nuts and I'm in the process of moving. I've gone from a batch every other week to none in 2 months. The last batch I made is still in the primary. It's been 2 months in there. Think I'm going to wind up dumping it but I'll give it a taste before I do that. The funny thing is, i took off the stopper to give it a smell (I was expecting the signature rubber smell of autolysis) and it smelled good. How it tastes on another hand will be another story. BTW, it is a pale ale. Anyone have any experiences like this? Did you keep it or toss?

Bopper359 said:

Speaking of a long time...I've been very busy lately...work is nuts and I'm in the process of moving. I've gone from a batch every other week to none in 2 months. The last batch I made is still in the primary. It's been 2 months in there. Think I'm going to wind up dumping it but I'll give it a taste before I do that. The funny thing is, i took off the stopper to give it a smell (I was expecting the signature rubber smell of autolysis) and it smelled good. How it tastes on another hand will be another story. BTW, it is a pale ale. Anyone have any experiences like this? Did you keep it or toss?

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Bopper,
Unless it tastes super bad, I'd vote for bottling it... even if it doesn't taste the best as it sits, it is almost always worth the trouble to bottle... there are important flavors missing that will only come to life with carbonation... do yourself a favor and bottle, you'd be surprised at how many "so-so" beer will even age out to be better beers after a few months in bottles... even if it never turns out "good" at least you will know... make sure to add some more yeast in your bottling bucket so you'll be able to get it carbonated...

Let us know what you do,

later,
mikey

Remember, a long fermentation is all a matter of reference. Like David said it really depends on a couple of factors. Gravity is certainly one and yours has a pretty high gravity. In short if its still fermenting, then it's fermenting. Although there is a lot of people who give the 1,2,3 standard for instance, brewing has no real hard and fast rule.

I'd bottle it too Bopper. I know homebrewer_99 kept a beer in the primary for over a month and it won an award. Like Beer Snob said, there is no hard and fast rule for brewing.

Ha! I'm brewing this same kit and came to this forum with a similar question. This is my first high gravity brew, and also the first time I've really paid attention to the specific gravity. Mine has been in the primary for about 2.5 weeks, and is sitting at 1.03, bubbling rarely, krausen dropped long ago. Can I expect the gravity to fall further during secondary? What kind of final gravity should I expect from this kit? My guess is that it's time to rack, but I'm wondering if it's premature, given the gravity.

Thanks.

OK, about adding more yeast to the bottling bucket.. I'm confused.

Isn't there already a ton of yeast in the fermenter? After all the food's gone, does the yeast die or does it just go dormant?

My batch has been in the primary for only 13 days (I thought this was long until I read this thread). I've just been too busy to do anything with it.

Is there ever an instance where yeast would be added on the transfer to the secondary?

If I have no indicators on the primary other than airlock bubbling, what is the worry sign? No bubbles for a couple days? After the transfer to the secondary, should I expect it to start up again?

WarStreetBrewer said:

OK, about adding more yeast to the bottling bucket.. I'm confused.

Isn't there already a ton of yeast in the fermenter? After all the food's gone, does the yeast die or does it just go dormant?

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I have no idea why people recommend this so often. I've been brewing for over 10 years and have never had to do this- even on lagers that sat in secondary at 34 degrees for months.

Your yeast sitting dormant at the bottom of the carboy is always fresher and in better shape than what's sitting dessicated in a little pouch on a LBHS shelf!