11 days in the primary and still going?

I was preparing a yeast starter for this weekend and decided to open up my primary (bucket) to take a gravity reading of my nut brown ale to see how it was doing. When I removed the lid I was surprised to still see a little bit of a krausen present. It had been in the fermenter for 11 days. I decided to leave it and check it this weekend. Is that unusual? An hour after I put the lid on it was bubbling every 40 seconds. I was surprised. Then again, I’m a novice so I’m easily surprised.

BTW, OG was 1.046 and today was 1.017.

 

how much is a "little bit"? it's probably normal.

 

At a current ABV of 3.8%, I think you have a ways to go. What recipe is it and what yeast did you use? What's your room temp there?

 

5 gallons

White Labs California Ale w/Starter

6lbs Pale LME
Carapils 1 lb
Brown 6 oz
Crystal 120 4 oz
Black patent 2 oz
Chocolate 2 oz
Williamette (4.5%aa) 1 oz 60 min
Williamette (4.5%aa) 0.5 oz 15 min
Irish moss 1 tsp 60 min

Room temp was 66-70f

By "little bit" i mean there was 1/3 inch layer of bubbles covering the top. I should have snapped a pic.

 

I just brewed an Ipa on april 8th with California V yeast. It was still slowly(1 bubble/min) bubbling as of last night, with a small (1/4 inch) layer of Krausen on it. My temp situation is similar to yours, mid to high 60's. I was wondering if this is normal myself as i have been using dry yeasts previously. I also had a much stronger smell coming from the fermention too, and was worried that it might be infected. Hopefully this is just normal.


holy cow, i finally posted!

 

Welcome abboard. Sounds like we have a similar story. Although, IPA’s are usually higher gravity beers, so it would make sense it would take longer to ferment. But my brown started art 1.046. When I opened the fermenter on all my other batches there was nothing on top (with the usual ring on the wall). This is my first batch with liquid yeast. All others were Nottingham. What is your gravity? According to Palmer if it si still high, your OK. If it is below your target, then you might be infected.

After I put the lid back on I tilted the fermenter to get some of the yeast on the sides back in. I probably didn’t need to do that since it still seems to be fermenting, but I want to make sure the gravity drops to at least 1.013 (target is 1.010).

 

My Wit has been in the primary 3 weeks + (brewed 3/25, OG 1.076) and it is still going....SG now is 1.013 (83% attenuation...)

 

My hydrometer broke when i did this batch. I haven't had a chance to get the LHBS to get one yet. The O.G. estimate that i have is around 1.052-1.056. The Krausen on this one never did get too high, i put on a blow off hose expecting a very active fermentation.
Looks like your using a plastic bucket fermentor. It would be nice to know whats going on down below. With my carboy i have a large layer of trub with whiskers coming off of it and a lot of yeast sticking to the sides of the carboy.
I'm going to rack it to a secondary this weekend. I'll give it a taste test, let you know how it goes.

 

If it was a White Labs WLP051 (California Ale V), you'll have slightly lower attenuation and a bit maltier, fuller bodied beer.

I would definitely trust your hydrometer on this one. Three days and no change in gravity...rack it.

It'll be fine.