Still Fermenting?

[Brewski221]

Ok, now let me make it clear that this is my very first batch of beer i have brewed. I have brewed tons of wine so i have a pretty good understanding on how the fermentation process works ( generally speaking). I started with a Belgian Tripel. It sits in a room around 70 degrees wrapped in a towel in the dark. As the direction sheet says, OG should be between 1.083-1.086. FG should be between 1.017-1.020. I pitched the yeast on December 29th after taking a reading of 1.082 ( one notch below where it should have been due to a little too much water). After the second day, i took a reading because the bubbles slowed down A LOT. My reading was 1.022. Assuming the fermentation was slowly coming to an end, i racked the beer into a secondary fermenter (6 gallon glass carboy i used for wine) to let it finish and push the oxygen out of the extra head space. After a bit, it started to bubble a little again in the airlock for about six days and then came to a stop. Every now and then i would walk by the table it sat on and give it a little bump causing a bubble to come out into the airlock. I am now on day 15 and i can still make a bubble come out by bumping the table a little. I assumed it was still fermenting but was very frustrated that i didn't know for sure so i did something i know was a risk. I took the airlock off, titled the carboy a little to get a sample in my test jar. My reading hasn't changed at all. It is still at 1.022. So im assuming that fermentation is finished but is two notches less then the recommended 1.020. Any help would be greatly appreciated or suggestions on what i should do. Leave it sit? Pitch a small yeast starter? or bottle it since the reading hasn't changed even tho its a bit high still? Please Please Please help. Thank you ahead of time!!

-John

 

[Mojzis]

Looks like you are starting off well.

If it were me:

I would let it sit for 2 more weeks. I like 4-5 week total. Occasionally I will forget and let it go 8 weeks. This allows it to age and consume some secondary products and clear up. Especially on a big beer, I do not want to rush anything.

I also have a heating pad for plants. I might put that into my temp controller and set it to 75-78 and see if I cant get that fg lower. If you cannot do this I might set it in a warmer area of the house.

After the 4 weeks or so if it hasn't changed I would go ahead and bottle. It is very close and will likely at least hit 020 after 2 more weeks. Belgian strains have a tendency to take forever to finish up, but ferment vigorously in the beginning.

One last, maybe obvious thing is to check the temp and gravity readings and make sure you adjust.

Don't panic. It sounds like everything is going well. Just wait it out.

As always YMMV.

 

[Brewski221]

Ok thank you for the reassurance and help.. I was panicking for sure. Now that i tilted the carboy and opened it, Do you think it will be ok with the introduction of the oxygen? I have def learned one thing from all of this, i surely need a 5 gallon carboy for secondary fermentation because that extra head space can surely introduce problems!

 

[Mojzis]

I wouldn't worry about the oxygen, just leave it be. I like my buckets for this reason. I have the spout at the bottom for easy transfers and readings.

I almost never transfer to secondaries. No real point, waste of energy and risking infection. But to each his own.

 

[Brewski221]

Update: The brew has been sitting for around ten days now. I couldn't hold off any longer so i chilled one down and popped the cap. It carbonated! Over all taste is still young and pretty sweet (as expected). The alcohol taste comes through pretty strong at the end as well. Carb is still a little low but im thinking another week or so it should be right on. Thanks for all the help through this first brew.

 

[IvanTheTerribrew]

Just so you know, the reason you are "still getting bubbles" is because the carboy is literally filled with CO2 and when you agitate(bump) it the CO2 in the beer gets released and thus pushes some more out of the airlock. It's the same concept as you taking a 2L bottle of soda, opening it to let the carbonation out, closing it, shaking it, opening it again. You'll get CO2 again because you agitated it out of suspension.