Long fermentation?

[pokey]

Hey all - I've been lurking for a while, finally decided to register and post. Great site and lots of good info.

I am in fermentation right now for my first higher-gravity beer, an IPA with OG of 1.060. I used a starter (best thing I ever started using for the quality of my beer!!), and it got off to a real quick start for the first 2 days or so. I am now at day 11 though, and for the last few days it has just been bubbling along - slowed down slightly, but can still see a fair number of small bubbles coming up.

Is this normal for a high gravity beer to go for so long? I want to transfer over to secondary, but usually wait for all of the activity to stop. Just a little nervous about autolysis starting to set in at some point soon.

 

[El Pistolero]

Sometimes things happen fast, sometimes they don't. Most of mine have taken 10-14 days in primary, and one needed almost 4 weeks before it quit bubbling...and certainly higher OG beers will normally take longer to ferment out. I've never seen anything to suggest that autolysis will be a real problem any sooner than 4 weeks in the primary, and you've got a ways to go to get there. Here's where it's it's time to relax and have a homebrew.

 

[The Happy Mug]

I had a really weak batch that I brewed for my crud-beer drinker friends to get them on the good stuff. It was 4 lbs of DME. That's weak, probably putting an ABV of 3.5%. Real easy, not too hoppy, something for my friends that are afraid of real beer.

That puppy fermented well into three weeks. Blew me away, because I thought it would be done in a week, tops. That baby just kept chugging along.