Beer not done.....still

So I had a post about using liquid yeast for the first time a couple of weeks ago. It took 40 hours to start and finally made a nice krausen. Still had a little head of krausen a week later, so I waited 2 weeks to transfer (yesterday). Went to transfer and as I moved the carboy to transfer the beer, it stirred up the yeast and started bubbling. I thought I 'd let it settle and waited until this AM. The head came back, there is airlock activity every 5 seconds again......grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I took a gravity and it only dropped a point. From 1.056 to 1.041. Should end at about 1.015. It's an APA BTW. So I guess I learned I MUST make a started for the liquid yeast. But come on..this sucks!!!!!!!Now It is going to be 3-4 weeks in primary (I have to take a business trip tomorrow for a week). dry yeastDryYeasyDRYYEAST from now on unless hefe or really high ABV. Thanks for letting me rant.

Well, here's what I'd do (and I always f*&k with things too much, so take with a grain of salt).

First, RDWHAHB. Give the carboy another good shake before you go on your trip, and see what's happened when you get back. If the gravity's stll high, pitch your backup Safale 05 (mentioned in your original thread) and give it 2-3 days. If still no action, I have to believe lack of oxygen is the issue. Pull 3-4 quarts out of the primary, aerate it like hell, and let that part ferment separately. If it kicks off, you know you need more O2 in your primary. Toss the "side" fermentation back in with everything else, aerate the whole thing and let it go.

I gotta bump this thread. It has now been a month and I still have airlock activity every 5 seconds! What the he**? It is completely cloudy and filled with yeast moving up and down still. I am really confused. BTW...it was only a partial boil and I aerated after I went from pot to carboy.....

what's the current reading? One thing to know is you should not transfer to secondary until the brew is finished fermenting, it will take away alot of the yeast and slow your fermentation. If you want it to go faster, make a new starter and repitch. that should get it going. see where you're at first, tho

How about the temp? At 90 degrees, things will finish in a day. At 45 it takes months, hence the Lager mystique. Especially slow if you used a warm weather yeast. Which part of Alaska are you brewing in?

LOL....Alaska. I am in Southern California (just north of you by about 3 hours). It is about 90 right now outside and I am having trouble keeping the beer at 74. I still have it in the primary and the airlock is still going strong (too strong). It is bubbling away, huge...why would I repitch?

If it's still bubbling away, it's either gotten a REALLY slow start, or there's an infection working on it. Take a gravity reading, smell the sample, and taste it. If it tastes like sweet beer, it's just fine, let it go. Take note of the progress toward your desired FG. If it tastes like vinegar or rotten eggs, it's a dumper.

I was thinking the same thing as far as infection, but I took a taste and it tastes like super-hoppy malt. I have never used the yakima magnum's before, and I think it is still ok. Just wierd with it having a krausen for 3 weeks now. I'll post a reading when I get to taking it.

**EDIT**

Just took a reading and it is 1.024. The OG os 1.056 and the FG is supposed to be 1.014. It is still bubbling away...What the heck? Should I stir, re-pitch with my dry Safale or just let it be? Tasted like sweet still beer. No vinegar or sulphur tones at all. Weird.

where did you get your yeast? I have had two mail order liquid yeasts that I have gotten smack packs and not only did they rise in the pack slowly and not fully, but both fermentations have been very slow, almost sluggish. I have a blue moon clone that has been bubbling and has krausen still after 11 days at 69 degrees. I also am on a deadline, and will have to wait for a full two weeks it looks like in primary.

I actually walked into a B3 and bought a White Labs off the shelf. It took over a month in the primary to reach the FG that I was looking for and I just racked it to the secondary the other day! Looks like it will be ready to bottle in a week or so. I am brewing again today and have my starter ready to go this time. I am making a hefe and unless it needed specific flavor from the yeast, I am sold on dry. All of my dry times have been in the hours, not the days/week to start range.

I just used my second liquid yeast//// WL 300 hefe. It took off in about 6 hours like CRAZY!!! Blow-off and everything. Made a starter this time. Anyway, I think I found my problem. I am an idiot. Other than that..: I did a 3 gallon boil and had 3 gallons already in the primary when I pitched the wort. I figured since the 3 gallons in the primary wasn't boiled, it was already aerated enough and I areated the wort on the way into the primary on top of the water. Then I threw in the room temp yeast. Hmmmmm longest fermentation in history. Yeast had to get through all the water and the malt as it seeped through the water. I never mixed the stuff at all. This was my first partial boil because my chiller was borrowed by a friend. DUH! Anyway, lesson learned and it ended up correct anyway. Gonna bottle tomorrow. Thanks for all the help and hopefully my mistake can help someone else along the way.