Back Butte Porter clone - 3 weeks in Primary and still going

[JBDive]

I was hoping to bottle this weekend but my attempt at a Black Butte Porter clone is still fermenting away. Fermentation temps have been dead on 68 now for 3 weeks. Another week won't hurt it but is that length of time expected?

Yeast: Safale S-04 Ale Yeast
Ferm Temp: 68 (ok maybe it hit 67 or 69 once in awhile but never for more than a few hours.

Once bottled what do you figure, 3 weeks for first tasting, 6-8 weeks before it's really ready? I'm anxious as I can't get Black Butte here and if I'm even close I'll wet my pants... it's been almost a year since I had one.

 

[jcam91]

It might be ready to bottle. Is the airlock just still bubbling. Or are you continuing to drop gravity.

 

[JBDive]

It might be ready to bottle. Is the airlock just still bubbling. Or are you continuing to drop gravity.

Still a bubbling...

In the long run what does bottling to early do to taste?

 

[brettg20]

Check the gravity to see if it is done fermenting, don't trust the airlock after 3 weeks.

 

[kwingert]

Yeah, check the gravity. The bubbles could be CO2 coming out of the wort.

8 weeks would be the earliest I would start tasting you beer. You gotta give the beer time to mellow.

 

[jcam91]

So many times I see that airlock a bubbling but I know its done. Just excess c02 gassing off. Its gotta go somewhere

 

[RM-MN]

Still a bubbling...

In the long run what does bottling to early do to taste?

Bottling early doesn't make much difference in the taste, it just takes longer to get there. What worries me when you mention bottling early is bottle bombs if your beer wasn't at final gravity when bottles and to know that you have to use your hydrometer. Your beer might have beer ready to bottle earlier than the 3 weeks you waited watching the lying airlock. Airlocks are for venting your fermenter while keeping the fruit flies out, not to indicate when fermentation starts or stops.

Waiting extra time is not a waste though. Your beer finishes the ferment, the yeast clean up, and the beer begins maturing. It seems to me that it matures faster being still in the fermenter than it does in the bottles due to the big yeast cake.:rockin:

 

[hector]

I had always the same situation , as I brewed using S-04 .

The Airlock bubbles for 3 days and then tiny bobbles continue coming upward from the bottom

of the Jug , although very slowly even after 4 Weeks .

Have you ever tasted it during the last 3 Weeks ?

I brewed something similar to "Porter" and it took 6 Weeks to carbonate and condition in bottles .

By the way , you'll probably get the famous "Sour-Twangy" after-taste from that strain because of

two reasons :

1- It's fermented at 68-69 F . It's always recommended to ferment at low 60's when using this strain . I got that after-taste even by fermenting at 66 F .

2- You let it sit on the yeast cake for 3 Weeks and that's a long time for a fast fermenting yeast . I've had this experience with this strain and since I let it ferment for one Week in the Primary and 2 Weeks in the Secondary , I get much less of that S-04's sour and twangy after-taste .

Hector

 

[JBDive]

Well was going to use Wyeast but there seems to be such a love/hate relationship with them by brewers.