WLP400, this strain of yeast is taking forever

Yeast & Fermentation
1

Hey guys, so i am brewing a belgian witbier, with the OG at 1.051. I made a starter for it, and it took off fermenting within a couple hours.

My concern is that this was 3 weeks ago, and the yeast is still very active, swimming and bubbling up the airlock. Also, still a thick krausen on top. The yeast looks happy, but damn, shouldnt it be done?!

It is fermenting at about 68 degrees, should i increase temp to speed up fermentation? Most yeast i have dealt with ferment for 3-4 days, not 3-4 weeks…

2

It’s almost done. If you want it to finish faster, you could always just rack it. This removes a huge portion of the active yeast cells, so that the ones left behind will grow old and tired and crap out sooner.

3

What is the current SG?

4

thanks! I may just wait a bit and see what happens.

I havent looked at the SG yet, should probably take a look…

5

so i just took a look at the SG, and my refractometer is reading 1.036. isnt that pretty damn high if my OG was 1.051?

i took a taste of it, and it tastes incredible. i may swirl it, or let it continue to ferment until the SG lowers more.

6

You’ll need to adjust refractometer reading for alcohol content or use a hydrometer.

7

@ mvsawyer: Why and how do I adjust for alcohol content? I thought all you need to determine alcohol content is the SG readings? My Refractometer has a SG scale next to a Brix scale.

8

AFAIK a refractometer measures the density of water, but because alcohol is less dense than water, it skews the reading. One of the guys that use a refractometer will have to chime in for an adjustment calculator. My thoughts are that your beer has already finished and what you’re experiencing is a lingering krausen, common with certain strains of yeast, and residual CO2 being released from suspension. I bet your refractometer reading of 1.036 adjusted will prove that you’re at final gravity.

What should you do? First, you will want to be sure you’re finished by getting the same gravity reading two days in a row. Then, you can either rack the beer from underneath the krausen, or you can swirl the beer up a little to break it apart and let it fall to the bottom. If you choose to swirl you may want to give it a few days to let it fall to the bottom or cold crash it for a day to speed it up.

9

Use this calculator to make the adjustment: http://onebeer.net/refractometer.shtml.

You need the original Brix and the new brix.

10

thanks guys! Learn something every day on here. Appreciate all the input!