Long Ass Primary Fermentation!

[albeerquerquean]

I usually rack to the secondary when my beer bubbles only 2 or 3 times a minute in the primary. For some reason both of the beers I have going have been in the primary 15 days now and one - a double IPA - is bubbling every 12 seconds and the other - a blonde ale made with some corn sugar to lighten the color - is bubbling every 7 seconds!?

Any advice, ideas, should I rack these puppies already or what? I want to get started on some new brews!

Thanks.

 

[humann_brewing]

15 days is not a long ass time, a lot of people here primary for 3-4 weeks. I have primaried as long as 2 months with a big beer.

Just give it more time and keep in mind that your airlock is not a calibrated instrument like your hydrometer is. Check the gravity if you want but giving it more time will reward you more than you think.

 

[albeerquerquean]

I've just never seen that before - I've made a few big beers and they are usually done in 10 days.

 

[IceFisherChris]

Different type of yeast? Different amounts of yeast? Different fermentation temps?

 

[albeerquerquean]

The big change was that I harvested this yeast from the last batch. I hadn't tried that before. Everything else is exactly the same - even the IPA recipe. Seems strange - and, I want to get it in the bottle and then into my blood stream. ;]

Thanks for the advice!

 

[humann_brewing]

The big change was that I harvested this yeast from the last batch. I hadn't tried that before. Everything else is exactly the same - even the IPA recipe. Seems strange - and, I want to get it in the bottle and then into my blood stream. ;]

Thanks for the advice!

how about dry hopping it?

 

[albeerquerquean]

Ummm - I did dry hop in my primary last time - but I'm going to dry hop and oak in the secondary this time. The blonde is hoppy enough as it is.

Why?

 

[malkore]

I usually rack to the secondary when my beer bubbles only 2 or 3 times a minute in the primary.

This is your first problem. An airlock is a means of venting CO2. It has nothing to do with gauging where fermentation is at, or if its done.

Use a hydrometer. That's the correct tool for doing this.

Break your bad habit now, early in the brewing career.

 

[humann_brewing]

Ummm - I did dry hop in my primary last time - but I'm going to dry hop and oak in the secondary this time. The blonde is hoppy enough as it is.

Why?

It sounded like you were rushing it so I thought you were skipping that. nevermind.

 

[albeerquerquean]

Ummm - thanks. I know how to measure the gravity. I just don't like to geek out over brewing too much, open the fermenter too often or worry over my beer too much. I've read plenty that says you can get a good feel for eyeballing when active fermentation is done and that works ok for me. I stopped measuring the obvious after my second brew. I know for other people it is all about the measurements and the notebooks - but, you see that kind of behavior with all hobbyists. If I was brewmaster for Heineken I would be an anal freak measuring everything and coming out with millions of identical bottles of beer. But, I'm cooking up some beer for me and my friends and it is pretty hard to make it worse than what is on the shelf at the store. So, yeah, I know what gas is coming out of the lock and that it isn't a super accurate measure of the gravity or the alcohol content, But, it seems a good rough guide for when active fermentation has slowed.

Are you saying that it is at all likely that a lock bubbling every 7 seconds is done with primary? That doesn't seem likely. Do you really think I should open it every day and measure its gravity when it doesn't seem close to done? I've never seen that advice before.

Like the doctor says - common things occur commonly. Have you actually seen this before - active fermentation complete and a seven second interval on the bubble?

 

[albeerquerquean]

It sounded like you were rushing it so I thought you were skipping that. nevermind.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[amh0001]

It is true that most people primary for 3 weeks. But that is not because active fermentation is usually still occurring. Most beers I have seen tend to slow within 10 days. The rest of the time is to allow the yeast to do its other things and clean up after itself.

Even know you dont like to "geek" out about brewing your beer, is it really that hard to take a hydrometer reading? I mean you DID post on the forums asking. The only sure way to tell if your beer is ready to move to secondary is by taking a gravity reading. Take another reading in 3 days, if its the same, you can move it.

I have a one gallon juice jug I bought from the grocery store. I fill that up with some starsan solution and drop my wine thief in to sanitize. Then I take a sample reading and drink it.

Cheers

 

[timOD]

Today marks one month of active fermentation for a Rye Pale I brewed. It was also my first attempt at harvesting yeast. 4 days before I brewed a blizzard knocked out my power for 48 hours and my yeast sat in house in the upper 40's instead of mid to high 60's, so I figured there would be problems. I pitched anyway, and it was active for a few days, then I went away on vacation (to drink more Red Stripe than a person would ever want to drink). When I got back, it stopped and it only went from 1062, to 1044. I repitched a Wyeast 1056 and it's had a krausen with bubbling every 8-10 seconds since. 20 days, not including the first 4 days of activity.

 

[setag9]

and it is pretty hard to make it worse than what is on the shelf at the store

Amen to that brother!