Different fermentation time for one kind of yeast.

I brewed two beers with Wyeast 1056/WLP001. One was an IPA, mashed at 149, original gravity 1.072. The second is Mike McDole's Janet's Brown Ale in Zainasheff/Palmer's Brewing Classic Styles -- mashed at 154, and came in a little heavier than the recipe, 1.070.

Here's the thing. The IPA is still bubbling away at 10 bubbles per minutes after 8 days. The brown ale stopped after just 4. Both were pitched adequately, aerated fine. Fermenting temp for both was the same -- 68ish.

I can imagine the brown might finish up a little quicker because of the higher mash temp -- so there'd be fewer fermentable sugars. But 4 days difference seems troubling. And is making me wonder if 1) the brown is stalled, or 2) the IPA is done fermenting but maybe has an infection.

I know I can take a gravity reading to sort this out. And I'll do that today.

But any thoughts on why this might be... Anyone had such different fermentation times with similar gravity beers, and the exact same yeast strain, at the exact same temperature?

Took a gravity reading. The brown ale is at 1.014. The IPA is at 1.012. So fermentation is complete on both. The IPA seems to have more dissolved CO2, which might account for the airlock activity... but it still seems like a lot of bubbling for something that's done fermenting.

Seriously doubt that the IPA is just off-gassing at one burp every 6 seconds. Sounds like it's still actually fermenting to me.

Check the SG in both in another ~3 days and see where they are at. Since SG readings should not be considered FG just because they're at what the recipe calls out...