Still fermenting after 3 weeks

[AleHole]

My first Porter spent one week in the primary and now its been 2 weeks in the secondary and is still actively fermenting. The airlock is burping 2-3 times a minute and you can see the yeast working away. I have never seen an active fermentation last this long. Has anyone else seen this before?

 

[david_42]

Had a barleywine go for 4 months. If you rack too soon, there is only a little yeast transferred and it can take a long time to finish. It's much better to leave it in the primary until done.

 

[ajf]

Frequently, especially when it gets cold.

-a.

 

[lefteye]

Like David said and was prob under pitched

 

[MA_Brewer]

I just transfered an ale to secondary - I thought it was done, but nope. When I was racking, it was at 1.022 - and in secondary, it started up again. Oh well. I don't usually check for fermentation done-ness with the hydrometer, too much effort. Hasn't been an issue for me until now.

I think, for me, it was the temperature - fairly cold in the basement, even though I put a brew-belt on the carboy, it was probably 66 or 68 deg. F or so. Basement is probably around 60, but the carboy is near an outside foundation wall.

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

It's been cold here in Wisconsin this winter. My altbier (made with 9 lbs of extract) took over a month to finish in the primary. All of my brews are going slow this winter. I expect they will turn out really good, too.

 

[AleHole]

I think what happened is I had a stuck fermentation. I have been trying to keep the house at least 65 deg even when I am not home but we had a few cold nights and I think the house may have gotten a bit colder than the yeast like. If I would have taken a OG reading before racking to the secondary I would have been better off. SG was 1.030 after 1 week. Oh well, I am being optimistc that this will be my best batch yet!