Wee Heavy

[henson]

My Wee Heavy called for a ton of grain. It was really chugging away for about 3 days then airlock activity stopped. Is that uncommon for a beer that big?

 

[Molybedenum]

The only reliable sign of fermentation is SG readings over time. Bubbles in the airlock only tells you that the airlock is on tight. Just take some gravity readings at different times if you want to know of it is still chugging.

 

[henson]

I was afraid you might say that. Thanks.

 

[folly]

What's your fermentation temp and OG? What kind of yeast did you use?

 

[henson]

I pitched on top of a brown ale that I had just kegged. My OG was 1.075

 

[henson]

Fermentation temp is 68

 

[henson]

American ale yeast

 

[folly]

It's not done yet. While American Ale yeast can ferment out pretty quick, it still needs the rest of at least two weeks in primary. With a 1.075 OG it could be close, but I've had some quiet fermentations with American Ale yeast. Bring your ferm temp up to the 70-72F range and give it a couple of days. Sometimes that's all you have to do to get the yeast moving again. Take the gravity readings and if it's still too high you can always use some yeast energizer or repitch.

Also, I've had a couple of buckets that let a little of the pressure out through the seal, so I saw no bubbles during fermentation. I've replaced those.

Edited after rereading the post and realizing that I didn't say what I meant.