What's the longest you've had airlock activity?

[SoonerDoc]

I'm on day 6 of airlock activity on a Hefeweizen extract kit. Brewed/pitched Wyeast activator last Saturday, started bubbling Sunday AM, still bubbling this AM. I'm not particularly worried, but found it a little unusual. The few others kits I've brewed all stopped after about 4 days.

 

[Rhoobarb]

Got an American Pale Ale that's on day 13 and will likely not finish completely for 4-7 more days. And this was pitched on top of a very healthy yeast slurry. No worries. Hefe's generally ferment out pretty fast, but yeast and temp come into play.

 

[nathani]

I wouldn't be too worried. But depending on the SG of that Hefe though you probably underpitched the yeast (even activator packs are not enough for 5 gallon 1.050 beers, despite what the package might say).

Airlock activity can go for a while if you don't pitch enough yeast. Perhaps on previous batches you had fresh packs and this one was less than fresh (or mishandled in some way). If this is the case you'll get a lot more yeast grown and esters to go with it (clove and banana).

If bubbling is happening at a decent pace, then you're likely fine. If it's a real slow bubble and you have no krausen, then you're in trouble. If you still see slow bubbling 3-4 weeks out, then you've got yourself an infected beer. Call it a Belgian and hope it turns out, haha.

Obviously you want to let it finish out and taste the finished product before deciding whether to toss it or not.

 

[Catt22]

Nothing at all to be concerned about. It's normal for a ferment to go on for 10-14 days and sometimes longer than that. A lot depends on the ambient temperatures. I prefer a slower ferment under temperature controlled conditions for most of my beer. IMO, cooler and slower is better for most ferments. I say most, as there are some exceptions such as some Belgians where warmer temperatures and more ester production can be desirable. Don't even think about tossing it at this point. Likely all is well and the beer will be fine. FWIW, I've brewed some award winning beers, including lagers, using only the yeast from a single smack pack in a six gallon batch. Under-pitching does not automatically doom a beer.

 

[jjones17]

I have had airlock activity for 5 weeks. It means nothing. Is there not a comprehensive thread out there regarding this?