Hoping someone can help me solve this mystery.
I have two 5 gallon plastic big mouth bubbler fermenters that are around 3 years old. They've probably seen around 15-20 batches each.
I normally brew 10 gallon batches with a few buddies, but over the past year I've been solo brewing 3 gallon batches. I noticed a couple of these, but not all, taking an abnormally long time to ferment, going by airlock activity. Like 3-4 weeks in primary. I didn't think much of it as the beer always finished at the target FG and tasted fine.
A few weeks ago, my buddies and I brewed our first batch since pre-covid (it was a glorious reunion). We did our typical 10 gallons and split it between the two fermenters.
As of today, one of the fermenters is still bubbling away at a regular interval of 20-30 seconds. The other has had no activity since day 4 of fermentation.
I checked the gravity in both and they're identical at 1.014. They also smell the same.
So I don't believe this airlock activity is a result of fermentation or contamination. The fermenters are together in a swamp cooler and held steady at ~68 degrees.
Has anyone experienced anything like this? Any thoughts on what could be causing this rogue airlock activity?
I have two 5 gallon plastic big mouth bubbler fermenters that are around 3 years old. They've probably seen around 15-20 batches each.
I normally brew 10 gallon batches with a few buddies, but over the past year I've been solo brewing 3 gallon batches. I noticed a couple of these, but not all, taking an abnormally long time to ferment, going by airlock activity. Like 3-4 weeks in primary. I didn't think much of it as the beer always finished at the target FG and tasted fine.
A few weeks ago, my buddies and I brewed our first batch since pre-covid (it was a glorious reunion). We did our typical 10 gallons and split it between the two fermenters.
As of today, one of the fermenters is still bubbling away at a regular interval of 20-30 seconds. The other has had no activity since day 4 of fermentation.
I checked the gravity in both and they're identical at 1.014. They also smell the same.
So I don't believe this airlock activity is a result of fermentation or contamination. The fermenters are together in a swamp cooler and held steady at ~68 degrees.
Has anyone experienced anything like this? Any thoughts on what could be causing this rogue airlock activity?
