7 days fermenting, gravity checked

alright, so brewed a belgian dubbel last week start gravity was 1.065. today seven days later I check it and its at 1.028 - 1.029. What do you guys think? its supposed to finish at 1.016 or less. To be honest after the first 18hrs it seems like the fermentation stopped. There was a krausen build up but it fell back into it already. I couldn't tell cause I used a blowoff tube which was pointless and i switched to an airlock just a couple days ago and I don't see any bubbles or activity...

Although I would have expected it to be lower than that after 7 days, leave it be for a few more and check again. No need to worry about it until you know there's an issue.

That's a high gravity brew, may take a while. As JLem said, wait 3 or so days, and check again to see if it's changed.

ok thanks guys, you think checking on friday is too early? Cause i'll be going out of town for a while...

jourelemode said:

ok thanks guys, you think checking on friday is too early? Cause i'll be going out of town for a while...

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Friday would be perfect. It's enough time that if it's still fermenting the gravity should be lower. If it's not, the gravity will be the same.

I wouldn't check it again for a least a week.

Patience. The greatest thing a person can learn about the brewing process.

Go out of town and forget about it. Check it if you want when you get back.

Bubbling through the airlock or krausen really aren't good indicators of fermentation. Your best tool is checking the sg. For a lower gravity brew I'd say wait until it hasn't changed for 3 or 4 days in a row. I'm not entirely sure if the higher g is going to change that much, but if you can just leave town and come back to it after you're not going to hurt anything.

alright, sounds good guys! if the gravity remains the same when I get back...what should I do?

If you are not at your target FG after you get back and the gravity didn't change, then your fermentation likely got stuck. BTW, what temp is your fermentor sitting at?

ryt now on the fish tank stick on thermo it says 76-78. Its been hot this week, but last week it was sitting at 74 the first night and I think that's from the fermentation. After the first night, it was around 70 for a few days. the beginning of this week it was at around 72ish and now ranging from 74 - 78 during the day and night.

if in case the fermentation is stuck, should I rack it to another fermenter and pitch a new batch of yeast? Will that finish the job? thanks

Ok, so temp probably didn't cause it to get stuck. While those temps vary a bit more than some folks like, and are generally higher that most people like, they sound exactly like my temps and I haven't had any get stuck yet.

I think if you do find that it is stuck, first you should probably try agitating it a bit, gently. Some people say to just kinda rock the bucket or swirl it a little bit. I've also seen folks say to open things up, sanitize a stirring implement, and stir it a bit. Might want to try the first option first, and 2nd one a while after the first since it's more invasive.

I'm sure somebody with more exp than I will pipe up on this one?

Did you take a reading yesterday?

thanks sammy, i'll keep that in mind! anyone else? thanks again fellas!