I recently brewed a Belgian Wit partial mash kit from AHS with the 1% alcohol boost. 2 weeks later, there is still about an inch of krausen on the top of the beer and the airlock was still bubbling about every 15-20 seconds. The original gravity was supposed to be somewhere around 1.048 but i measured at about 1.051-52 which I think is due to the alcohol boost from AHS. The fermentor is sitting at about 67*F, and I am going to at least wait until the krausen drops until I take a hydrometer reading.
My first 4 batches lost the krausen in about 3-4 days and just thought it was odd it was taking so long. I was just wondering if anyone else here has had the same experience, or could explain why this has occurred for so long…
1). witbier yeasts can be a stubborn lot. that might be all it is. I generally plan on that with wits.
2). if you did not make a starter, you did not pitch the optimal amount of yeast and it may take longer
3). krausen and airlock activity is not always an indication that fermentation is still going on. some krausens, particularly on wheat heavy beers and some yeast strains can take a while to subside, if at all. CO2 can continue to degas long after the yeast has gone dormant.
4). I leave most ales 3 weeks if 1st gen (a little less if successively pitched) - I wouldn’t think twice until next week.
5). Trust your hydro - if you’re curious, take a sample and see where it is at. Personally, I’d just wait.
This is very very common with Belgian yeasts and wheat beers. The krausen on my Belgian dubbel just took 3 weeks to fall. You can take a gravity reading anyway if you want to. It might be done fermenting. Then wait 3 or 4 days, and check gravity again to check for doneness. If the gravity reading stays the same both times, it’s done, and you can rack out from under the krausen without any further issues. It’s just a really stubborn krausen. Seems odd, but really it’s not. Kolsch yeast also does the same thing.
If you guys are still interested…i checked the beer on the way out to work this morning and the krausen had finally dropped to almost nothing. While the lock is still bubbling, I am sure that fermentation is done by now. I’ll take hydro readings over the next couple days and update