Hydrometer - Need help urgently

[Janx]

Repetition is a form of change...

 

[uglygoat]

i was just waiting for the scantily clad ladies with the carboard signs with round 4 on it to arrive....

seriously i think it is a good discussion and offers alot to us newb brewers and look forward to more. you guys are obviously mature enough to disagree and continue to present both arguments in a well thought out, reasoned dialouge.

cheers guys !

 

[homebrewer_99]

...so where are the girls???!!??


Thanks. Cheers back atcha!

 

[user 574]

I'll agree to agree with both of you. When I first started (Dec, 04) I was panicked on when fermenting is complete. Am I reading this thing right, don't contaminate AHHH!! etc etc. I'm no longer worrying and would agree I can make "beer" just fine without one but I also am a wee bit anal so like to keep track of this stuff as well. I'm sitting with a batch in the secondary right now that the last check I did was when I racked it. Previous batches in the secondary I'd check gravity and wait 3 days and check again. If the same I'd bottle. Visually I know its done and will check it when I transfer to the bottling bucket but won't do two checks this go-around. Sometimes I will, sometimes I won't but I'm no longer freaking out about it...

 

[homebrewer_99]

I agree with your logic, but I don't freak out about the readings. I just like to know where I am.

I do take notes, sometimes step-by-step, of my brewing process just in case someone would ask/like to know what I did. All I have to do is pull out the doc or bring up the file.

I never said a hydrometer was imperative, just a useful tool.

 

[user 574]

I think newbies tend to over-worry. I know I did. And I think having only three batches still qualifies me as a newb.

 

[jeffrideal]

Going back to my question, is that I am at almost 5 weeks in the secondary on my IPA and it still has activity. I am not worried about it as I think the longer it is in there, the better. My question is what possible reasons can this still be fermenting. I live in the Shenandoah Valley (I say this because I am not at high altitude) and the temperature of the room I keep it in is probably an avg. of 64 degrees, well within the desired temp to ferment ale. The carboy has been bumped a few times, which may have shaken up some of the yeast on the bottom, but other than that I have no idea. I used Wyeast activator http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/wyeast.asp
Any one have experience with this particular yeast?

Thanks!

 

[Janx]

Bumping/shaking etc DOES NOT START FERMENTATION AGAIN Sorry, it's just one of those things that comes up. It keeps fermenting if there's something to ferment: sugar.

I imagine you just made a kind of big IPA or the yeast is a bit slow and it's still going. I'd just be patient and wait until the activity stops. I have a bock that has been fermenting for months and a stout I made a couple days ago that's about done. You never know.

And hey, I used to live in the Shenandoah Valley. Went to school at JMU, then lived in Luray for a while when I worked at Masanutten Ski Resort and Shenandoah National Park. Small world!

 

[jeffrideal]

I work with a bunch JMU folks. I work in Herndon and live in Berryville. Should have kept your place in the area, you would have made a fortune. Real estate is through the roof here, with no decline anytime soon.

Thanks for the info. I did finally bottle this weekend with no bottle explosions.

 

[Janx]

Yeah I never owned a place there, but my folks do. I bought a place in Northern California, which is doing pretty well real-estate-wise too

 

[jeffrideal]

What years were you at JMU?

 

[Janx]

92-95

Hey that reminds me...have you been to the brewpub there in Harrisonburg? The brewer who owns and runs it is a great friend of mine named Eric Plowman. He's an excellent brewer and that place is just what Harrisonburg needed when I was in school there. Eric and I used to brew a bunch back in the day. Check out his place if you haven't yet.

 

[jeffrideal]

I will. I am a huge fan of Dominion Brewery. They do a nice job a brew a ton of different varieties.

 

[Janx]

Totally...good stuff. But my favorite beer from Virginia, and one of my favorite reasons to visit (sorry Mom and Dad) is Tupper's Hop Pocket Ale. Dang is that stuff good!

Cheers!

 

[jeffrideal]

I just had the Tuppers this weekend. But it is brewed by Dominion. Next time you drink it, look at the cap. I agree that is one of the best beers I had in awhile and exactly the type of beer I want to brew. We have a place that just opened in Berryville. The front part of the store is a Mail Boxes Etc. type store and the back is VA wine and a awesome beer store that has beers from all over the east coast and Europe. Including Troegs, Brooklyn, Dominion, Williamsburg and many more that I cannot remember due to reasons why you probably moved to Humbolt County.