So I recently made a Dunkelweizen extract 3gal batch. I used Safale WB-06 pitched at 68-70F, and the beer has been fermenting since 4/27 at 61-62F. I pitched the whole packet of yeast. I was just curious if it normal for the primary fermentation to take this long. I was planing of racking to secondary fermenter so i could start another beer. The krausen was great early.
Make sure to take a hydrometer reading regardless of what it looks like. You may just have a layer of junk material sitting on top of finished beer. I have a 3 week old dark wheat experiment that looks similar. Its done fermenting, but I’m letting it sit to help it settle out.
What is the gravity at now?
I have not taken one yet, i was planing waiting to rack eventually. I was just surprised that there as still some active fermentation after an extended period of time
That’s been almost three weeks. At the low O.G. it was probably finished in the first few days, but giving it the extra time certainly didn’t hurt.
Some types of yeast leave a lot of stuff floating on the top. It doesn’t mean it is actively fermenting just because is hasn’t fallen to the bottom.
weissbier strains in particular are very low flocculating and can have a yeast krausen floating on top a good time after fermentation is finished. That’s what makes them “top cropping”. Take a gravity reading.
+1 for gravity reading. The gravity reading will be the true indicator of whether you fermentation is where it needs to be. Let the numbers tell you what is going on with the beer 
This.
Although I have no personal experience with the strain you mentioned.
So I attempted to get a gravity reading with my hydrometer, however, it would not float. So i have no idea the actual gravity. So i rack the beer to secondary to remove the trub and stuff and then wait a couple to days for the beer to clear up and then take another reading? I think i may also be going shopping for a refractometer, anybody know a good brand for cheapish?
Is your hydrometer cracked? Is there liquid inside? I’ve never seen one that wouldn’t float.
Paul
How did you try to get the reading?
I used a wine thief to collect about 100ml of liquid, put in the hydrometer case (like every other reading i have taken). I spun the hydrometer a couple times to remove any O2. then released it and it sank, didn’t float i repeated these steps a couple of times but with no luck.
Check out http://seanterrill.com/, read up on his work related to FG/OG, re-read it again, then check out ebay:
I’ve only used this one once so far but it’s really simple to use. No more broken hydrometers for me.
My hydrometer will not float in 100ml, put in enough liquid until it floats. You can do this with the hydrometer in its case, you spin it to remove the bubbles that cling to the surface around the hydrometer so you can see the reading. Save your money for another fermentor.
I have always used 100ml to measure, my hydrometer usually wont float w/o that amount. In fact just 2 days i used it check my F.G. on my American Wheat with no issues, thus why i’m confused now why it wont float?
Is the hydrometer completely submerged? if not, add more liquid until either the hydrometer is completely submerged (Broken Hydrometer) or the hydrometer begins to float (dry beer). It is possible that the beer is just drier than your normal beers, and so it sunk a bit further than normal.
I have brewed an red ale, milk stout, and American wheat, would a dunkelweizen be drier than those?
Also if I fill my current tube any higher the beer will overflow and thus be about the same level as i currently use.
Shouldn’t be.
So when you have the tube full of, say, water, where does your hydrometer read? Is it still reading zero? If so and it reads less than that in the beer sample, then that’s one very dry beer.
