Should I still be fermenting?

[navynukesteve]

I brewed a baltic porter 9 days ago and I am still getting a bubble about 4 times a minute. I pitched Wyeast 1028 yeast at 70 degrees. My OG was 1.082 and the primary has been sitting at 67-69 degrees the entire time. This is only my second beer and I don't remember the first one taking this long to stop fermenting and its OG was 1.076. I am using a blowoff tube into some water and don't know if I should try and take a gravity reading on the beer yet. Does anyone have any recommendations or words of encouragement? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[dramirezpa]

based on the recent experience of this noob, leave it.

 

[BrewerinBR]

Let it sit, that high of an OG will need a lot of time to completely ferment out. I just bottled a Smokey Pumpkin Porter and it took 28 days to get it to FG. It started at 1.080 and finished at 1.016. I would say leave it alone for at least 21 days.

 

[user 84304]

What's the current gravity? Hitting target is what matters. You're well within normal ranges from what I see. Might be a good idea to do two packs of yeast and/or a starter next time. Seeing if you're on target for your final gravity is what you should do. Your hydrometer is your friend. RDWHAHB, as well.

 

[Ace_Club]

I brewed a baltic porter 9 days ago and I am still getting a bubble about 4 times a minute. I pitched Wyeast 1028 yeast at 70 degrees. My OG was 1.082 and the primary has been sitting at 67-69 degrees the entire time. This is only my second beer and I don't remember the first one taking this long to stop fermenting and its OG was 1.076. I am using a blowoff tube into some water and don't know if I should try and take a gravity reading on the beer yet. Does anyone have any recommendations or words of encouragement? Any help is greatly appreciated.

More than likely, the bulk of fermentation has stopped and what you are seeing is CO2 coming out of solution. However, the only way to ensure that fermentation is complete is to take gravity readings.

That being said, it is not at all detrimental to leave your beer in the primary for 4-8 weeks. In fact, it is probably beneficial as it allows the yeast to clean up byproducts of fermentation and the result is better beer.

 

[navynukesteve]

Sounds like the consensus so far is to let it sit. I have read leaving the beer on the yeast for too long can lead to off flavors. Does that generally happen quickly after fermentation has stopped or is it something that takes a week to develop?

 

[Ace_Club]

Sounds like the consensus so far is to let it sit. I have read leaving the beer on the yeast for too long can lead to off flavors. Does that generally happen quickly after fermentation has stopped or is it something that takes a week to develop?

It takes a long time to develop. I've left beers in the primary for 4-8 weeks before with no perceptible off-flavors from the yeast.

Are you on a sub? I only ask because your username is fairly obvious. I used to work for NR.

 

[unionrdr]

What you read was pretty much old school,outdated info. The used to think the yeast were settling out because they were dying. I've never gotten any of those off flavors associated with dead yeast. They're tough lil critters that live a long time.
I'd worry more about good temps for the yeast being used,& giving them all the time they require to do their duty.