Is it done fermenting?

[GRBrewer]

Hey guys
I currently have an IPA in secondary right now, which was brewed two weeks ago. It has been in secondary for about a week now, and was in primary for 3 days.
Do you think its done fermenting? Its expected abv is 5%
also, I have seen someone elses thread with a similar problem, so I am also thinking that it could just be CO2 coming out of the brew.

 

[mrduna01]

Without a hydrometer reading its impossible to know but 3 days extremely soon to go to a secondary. Why so soon?

 

[GRBrewer]

I was using a blue plastic container, I could see a ring above the wort. (Where the yeast has risisen to, then fell back down) Also, I could not see any bubbles, soassumed it was done fermenting,

 

[rycov]

you need a hydrometer. they're really cheap and easy to use. you want to use it to tell you when the beer is finished BEFORE you rack to secondary. the secondary is for clearing and shouldn't have active fermentation. (its cool, you're beer will be just fine, just putting out some info). if you didn't get an Original Gravity (OG) reading thats ok. just get a hydrometer now and take a test, then take one a few days later. if the specific gravity (SG) hasn't changed then it should be done.

 

[rycov]

also it won't hurt the beer to stay in the fermenter for several weeks after its done. just so you know there isn't any rush.

 

[GRBrewer]

also it won't hurt the beer to stay in the fermenter for several weeks after its done. just so you know there isn't any rush.

Thats exactly what I keep telling my dad, but appearantly primary+secondary should only be a week long

 

[GRBrewer]

And another concern is that if I bottle it now, it may overcarbonate its self and become beer bombs upon opening XD

 

[GRBrewer]

Just threw my hydrometer in, ran some numbers, its at 3.17% abv right now. Hydrometer is a bit sticky too, looks like it has a little fermenting to do before I can start bottling.

 

[Brewham]

Begin at the beginning. If you did not take a gravity reading when you started, you can approximate by going back over your recipe and using a formula or putting it into a beer calculator. There's a bunch of free ones on the internet and for smartphones. If it was an extract brew, you can come up with a very close estimate of the OG.

For the final gravity, I am betting your target is 1.010. You can also approximate this target by taking your original gravity and applying the % attenuation expected from your particular brand of yeast. Sitting on the target for several days usually means the fermentation is finished. A little extra time gives the yeast a chance to clean up.

In any event, primary plus secondary is more than a week. Patience is a virtue seldom found in women and never found in men. However, patience does reward homebrewers.

 

[RussH]

My first two batches were not quite finished when I bottled. I had unstable temps, so the fermentation was stopping at night, and starting again in the day. The beer was in primary for 7 days then the same in secondary. I was lucky in that none of them exploded, however, the beer was sweet, and had that 'green' taste that crappy home brew can have, but the biggest thing was that every bottle was different. Some were fizzy as could be, others not so much. And the taste was just as inconsistent. I had a couple bottles that got forgotten in the camper, and found after about 4 months. They were probably the best of the lot.
Since I have switched to a 3-4 week primary, and I built a fermenting chamber out of foamular board with a water bath and aquarium heater so I can hold temps, and this seems to be doing a much better job. It's hard to do, especially as a new brewer, but when in doubt... wait a bit longer.