Long fermentation times?

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

collindv

Active Member
Joined
May 30, 2017
Messages
40
Reaction score
3
Tl;dr
First batch of beer came out great. Second batch was still bubbling at 4 weeks and gravity stalled at 1.014, tasted bad, poured it out. Third batch is 3.5 weeks in and still bubbling every 28 seconds (gravity stalled at 1.018). Trying to figure out why these are taking so long and possibly not turning out well.


Full version
Here is my situation, I am a new brewer. Brewed my first batch (a standard porter extract kit from my LHBS). Used a dry yeast, fermentation took off like a house on fire, primary for 2 weeks, bottled and drank, turned out great.

Second batch was an American Brown Ale kit from my LHBS but instead of utilizing the dry yeast that came with it I substituted a wyeast liquid yeast (WLP005), I pitched straight in with no starter. Fermentation started out very slowly (36-48 hours until I really started seeing activity). High krausen came and went but 3 weeks later and it was still bubbling around once every 30 seconds. I started taking gravity readings each day for a week. 1.014 each time, pretty close to the predicated 1.012. I tasted it, it tasted off to me. Being a new brewer I’m not sure how to describe “off”, perhaps vinegary or sour? I decided to dump the batch rather than risk contaminating my bottling equipment if it was infected.

My third batch was an amber ale extract recipe of my own design, again I pitched just a single wyeast liquid pack (WLP001). This time activity started a bit quicker, bubbling within 24 hours. Now high krausen has come and gone and it is still bubbling at around every 28 seconds or so 3.5 weeks later. Gravity seems to be stalled around 1.020 (Beersmith says it should get to 1.012).

My primary question is this: Why are my batches taking so long to ferment? Does it seem reasonable that 4 weeks later I would still have that much airlock activity, especially if the gravity does not seem to be changing? Is this a side effect of not using a starter with my liquid yeast? Could I have a consistent source of infection? RDWHAHB?

I do currently have a 4th batch going and have gone back to dry yeast for this batch to see if that makes a difference. Appreciate any advice.
 
I don't use airlock activity to judge where or not fermentation is happening...I usually take a hydrometer reading at about 10 days to see where I'm at, and it is usually pretty close to FG. Have you taken gravity readings after primary fermentation has complete or after the krausen has settled? And not just relying on air-lock activity...

I wouldn't call 1.014 stalled when the predicted is 1.012, especially when you substituted the yeast. I wouldn't even really call 1.018 for an estimated 1.014 stalled. Did you hit the OG on these recipes?

Could that "off" flavor your tasting be the trub when you sample the beers?

Either way, my tips would be to not totally rely of air-lock activity as a sign of fermentation, and take hydrometer readings sooner...Happy BRewing!
 
They aren't. Bubbles aren't a good indicator. Pull a gravity sample at 7-14 days. Check again 3 days later. If the gravity doesn't move, fermentation is done.

A sour off flavor would lead me to think a cleaning & sanitation issue. Another possibility for an off flavor would come from fermentation temps being too high.
 
Your switching yeast is a good thing for your situation right now meaning it should tell you a lot about the source of the 'long fermentation'.

Where is your fermenter/ how are you controlling temperatures?

If your home or the brewing space is experiencing large shifts in temperature it's possible you're seeing off-gassing from those temp swings.

Non mature beer usually taste very different from mature beer and it takes experience to get a feel for how it should taste vs this might be off. I'd say no matter how batches 3&4 taste bottle them, give them a full 3-6 weeks before making a final decision. I can not stress how different young beer tastes from mature carbonated beer!

Your gravity finishing a bit high is almost certainly effected by pitching one pack of liquid yeast. There could also be something going on with your ingredients and oxygen levels in the wort to effect yeast health. If these are low to say below 1.065 beers pouring your wort from boiler into fermenter then back to boiler then back to fermenter should give you enough dissolved o2 for healthy fermentation.

In summary you could have off-flavors due to process or it may simply be you're not used to tasting young uncarbonated beer. Either way you're being patient... be more patient. Bottle batches 3 & 4. Share results with other homebrewers and a local homebrew store owner. Good luck rdwhacb.
 
1.014 sounds pretty good to me, especially if you substituted yeast. The recipe FG is based on a certain yeast. If it truly tasted bad enough to dump, you have other issues at work besides yeast issues. There's a great thread around here somewhere that says Never Dump Beer. It's a terrific read.
 
I think the advice given is spot on, you should check gravity at about 2 weeks of fermentation, keeping an eye on the airlock but not relying on it to determine FG. I usually do 2 weeks and then again at 4 depending on how far i am from my target.

Your numbers seem fine to me and I wouldn't worry about "hitting your numbers" especially if you are a new brewer.Its more about the experience at your stage. Also, never throw away beer unless it has an infection or mold growing on it, it still serves as good practice and a guide for future brew, observe what happens in order to fine tune your brewing process, don't be quick to give up on a brew.

And stop taking readings everyday for a week, thats just trouble waiting to happen. Beer is awesome in that you can brew it and then forget about it and check on it every once in a while, don't mess with it to much, let it do its thing.

My take is that you're making rookie mistakes and being a bit pushy and anxious with your beer, chill out.
 
GoeHaarden and brewcat are barking up the right tree also. There could be a lot of things wrong or right here. You simply can't know fermentation is complete without gravity readings and I'd guess yours is complete. However you don't know without gravity readings.

The reason I suggest sharing the beer is experienced tasters will help pinpoint where/what the issue is. If you had said my beer taste like green apple or butter or something specific from experience me and others would have perhaps more accurate predictions of where the issues if any lie. I'm not totally convinced you have an off-flavor issue.
 
Thanks everyone for your feedback, just to answer some of the points from above, I will concentrate on batch 3 since that is still fermenting. This one hit my og almost exactly at 1.052. After I pitched and aerated, I poured a cup into a graduated cylinder to take my og. Then I out an airlock on that cylinder and fermented it under the same conditions as my carboy. It is this sample I have been testing for gravity. I suppose I have no way of knowing that it matches what is in the fermenter.

The batch fermented in a swamp cooler in the basement for the first 19 days around 68 degrees (according to the stick on thermometer). 6 days ago I brought it upstairs where it is a bit warmer since that is where I bottle. Airlock has been going steady the while time.

With all this said, I will wait for the airlock to settle, take true gravity reading, compare it with one 3 days later, and assuming they are the same bottle the batch.
 
Don't worry at all about the airlock. I have a wine that has been in my basement for 6 months. The other day when the temperature changed quite a bit it was bubbling quite a bit.

Also don't decide a beer is bad before it is carbonated and aged a bit. Longer for big and dark beers. I had a couple that I tasted when bottling and said "this one is not going to be so good" After 3 weeks the beers were quite good.

At 25 days it is ready now to take a gravity reading, take another one Friday.

Extracts often stop a little higher than all grain versions. 1.020 is a common stopping point. It might not be stalled. Predicted FG is just that, a prediction. There are many variables that will skew the numbers. Your other numbers were fine. If I have a predicted FG of 1.015. I consider anything from 1.020 to 1.010 as an acceptable FG as long as it is really done and tastes good. Most of my extracts have finished between 1.015 and 1.020.
 
Exactly!! I just bottled a brew that stopped at 1.020 for a week. Predicted was 1.015. I'll take it...
 
Quick update. Took a new sample tonight for gravity. It was virtually the same as the sample I have kept since I pitched ( 1.016-1.018 ). Still bubbling every 28 second through airlock. I'll check again Saturday or Sunday (on the newest sample I kept)
 
Quick update. Took a new sample tonight for gravity. It was virtually the same as the sample I have kept since I pitched ( 1.016-1.018 ). Still bubbling every 28 second through airlock. I'll check again Saturday or Sunday (on the newest sample I kept)

Airlock activity does not indicate fermentation! Some CO2 gets trapped in the beer during fermentation, it can take a while to come out of solution. If the gravity is the same, it's done! Get it off the trub and bottle that sucker.
 
Gravity check again this morning showed a consistent 1.016 (still bubbling every 1.5 minutes). Primed, racked, bottled. Will see in a few weeks!!
 
Then I out an airlock on that cylinder and fermented it under the same conditions as my carboy. It is this sample I have been testing for gravity. I suppose I have no way of knowing that it matches what is in the fermenter.

A separate cylinder isn't a good way to monitor fermentation. The sample size vs the main fermenter sized, possible temperature differences, possible contamination of either sample, and other variables prevent getting a reliable indication of fermentation progress. But I like your desire to leave the fermenter alone. There are different opinions, but I try to minimize the number of times I open the fermenter. I decide on how long I plan to ferment. Then two days before bottling day I take a gravity sample (using a bottling hydrometer to get better accuracy). On bottling day I sample again. If the gravity is stable and close enough to predicted FG, and it's reasonably clear, and I bottle. (It's always been stable.)
 
can you give more info on the temps you are fermenting at?
 
Basement swamp cooler with occasional ice packs. Trying to stay around 68 or so
 
I was doing that kind of temp with some issues

I've got a cheap fridge that will hold a carboy - at it's lowest setting it'll stay at 63F so I just keep them in there first week now and no longer worry about the room temp
 
I was doing that kind of temp with some issues

I've got a cheap fridge that will hold a carboy - at it's lowest setting it'll stay at 63F so I just keep them in there first week now and no longer worry about the room temp

That would be nice. Eventually I would like to get a chest freezer but then I would have trouble deciding whether I to use it as a keezer or a fermentation chamber :)
 
A basic rule I follow for ales 1.050 or below is two to three weeks in primary.
Prime and condition in the bottle for three to four weeks.
I primarily brew low ABV ales and drink them young.

Observe the krausen or "yeast cap" if you're doing an ale. During peak fermentation the inside of your fermentor should resemble a snow globe as the yeast swirls vigorously at that time. When the fermentation is almost complete the yeast cap will tend to drop and suspended yeast activity will fall off.
 
To circle back here, I cracked one open tonight, 12 days after bottling to check carbonation. Turned out pretty well, a little under carbonated so far and a bit malty but that is probably recipe related. Thanks everyone. I'll give it a few more weeks of conditioning and give an update.
 
Back
Top