Fermentation Stuck? 16 Days after pitch

Hey I've never posted and just got my all-grain setup going so I really haven't had a lot to say. Unfortunately I'm freaking out with what's probably not a huge problem, but it's been 16 days and my 5+ gallons of 1.058 Stout is still fermenting. The real problem is not the gravity; it went from 1.058 to 1.022ish (which is close to what Beersmith estimated) the last time I checked 2 days ago, but there is still a crazy bubbly-brown-yeasty mass on the top of the liquid.

It smells fine, looks fine (except for the still fermenting part), and I really don't think there's anything wrong with it except it's taking up my plastic primary and I'm itching to brew. My real concern is really if I should just let it sit in my plastic bucket fermenter that long, because I hear after about 2 weeks, or when the beer stops putting out co2/pressure plastic-ey tastes can leach into the beer.

My other big concern is that I didn't pitch enough yeast. I didn't get a chance to grab an erlenmeyer flask and create a starter, I just straight pitched Wyeast London III from its slap-pack, which I know isn't ideal but it was 20$ I didn't have right then. The adjoining concern is that I want to wash and save the yeast to further cut costs, and kinda need the yeast to settle to the bottom for that (or to even rack to secondary and wash and store the yeast then). The only other concern is that I've kept it too cool, its in a dark closet but it can't be colder than 70 at any given time and that's why it's taking so long.

I'd really appreciate it if someone just told me to calm down and not worry about it, but I'd also like to know how serious the potential problems can be too or what the cause might be.

if you've basically hit your FG, your fermentation should be done. the scum on top can float there even after the activity stops. gently jostle the fermenter and see if it breaks up and sinks. depending on your grain bill, you can end up with lots of floaties.

Ksuit said:

Hey I've never posted and just got my all-grain setup going so I really haven't had a lot to say. Unfortunately I'm freaking out with what's probably not a huge problem, but it's been 16 days and my 5+ gallons of 1.058 Stout is still fermenting. The real problem is not the gravity; it went from 1.058 to 1.022ish (which is close to what Beersmith estimated) the last time I checked 2 days ago, but there is still a crazy bubbly-brown-yeasty mass on the top of the liquid.

Click to expand...

Is your gravity constant at 1.022? Check the hydro again and see. If it is the same, fermentation is done. If it has dropped some more, leave it a few more days and check again. Don't worry about the crap on top - that is normal.

It smells fine, looks fine (except for the still fermenting part), and I really don't think there's anything wrong with it except it's taking up my plastic primary and I'm itching to brew. My real concern is really if I should just let it sit in my plastic bucket fermenter that long, because I hear after about 2 weeks, or when the beer stops putting out co2/pressure plastic-ey tastes can leach into the beer.

Click to expand...

Don't worry about the beer if you have to leave it longer in the bucket. I usually give mine 3 weeks at least in the primary, sometimes 5. Leaving it on the yeast for this extra time just gives the yeast a chance to clean up after themselves, and leads to a better beer (so they say...) Never heard about it leaching stuff from the plastic. As long as you have a food safe bucket, that isn't likely to happen.

However, if fermentation is over and you want to rack it to a secondary to free up you primary, you can do that too. I usually don't bother with the secondary - just leave it longer in the primary!

Oh - and buy another bucket! Welcome to the addiction!

My other big concern is that I didn't pitch enough yeast. I didn't get a chance to grab an erlenmeyer flask and create a starter, I just straight pitched Wyeast London III from its slap-pack, which I know isn't ideal but it was 20$ I didn't have right then.

Click to expand...

Not ideal, but it'll work.

The adjoining concern is that I want to wash and save the yeast to further cut costs, and kinda need the yeast to settle to the bottom for that (or to even rack to secondary and wash and store the yeast then).

Click to expand...

The yeast settle after fermentation. Don't worry about a few floaters. If you want to speed up the process, when fermentation is done, stick your bucket in a fridge for a couple of days (cold crash).

The only other concern is that I've kept it too cool, its in a dark closet but it can't be colder than 70 at any given time and that's why it's taking so long.

Click to expand...

70 should be fine. Most yeast work in the 60-70 range. Too high, and they can give off flavours. You may want to work on controlling temps in the future.

I'd really appreciate it if someone just told me to calm down and not worry about it, but I'd also like to know how serious the potential problems can be too or what the cause might be.

Click to expand...

Relax, don't worry, and drink a homebrew [RDWDHB].

Problem solved, thanks for the help, it just ended up taking 17 days to ferment and the yeast to settle out. Hit a final gravity of 1.017 so it had a little more to go I guess. My real concern, since I bottle carbonate, was if I'd have jumped the gun could I have had bottle-bombs?

My real concern, since I bottle carbonate, was if I'd have jumped the gun could I have had bottle-bombs?

Click to expand...

Yep, this is the main cause of BBs. Figure 5 ounces of priming sugar is 3 points. If you had bottled at 1.022, you'd have had 8 points worth of pressure.