Started a kit on the 16th August and its still fermenting!

[Coopers]

Is this normal? I thought it only took a week at the most, i have even being using a heat belt throughout.

I don't mind waiting but the last time i did a kit (a few years ago now) i can't remember it taking this long???

Its a Coopers real ale btw

[torchwood brewery]

ok coopers with that desciption we cant help much .but saying that lets look at a couple of simple things.
1 was your gear cleaned a sanitised correctly "as its been awhile"?
2 how old was the kit and yeast?
3 what was the temp when you pitched the yeast?
4 what was your starting gravity?
5 what is the gravity now?
6 what was the temp of the wort using the heat belt?

have a look at these questions first and the its just a process of elimination. for some one to help you.

richard

[Coopers]

ok coopers with that desciption we cant help much .but saying that lets look at a couple of simple things.
1 was your gear cleaned a sanitised correctly "as its been awhile"?
2 how old was the kit and yeast?
3 what was the temp when you pitched the yeast?
4 what was your starting gravity?
5 what is the gravity now?
6 what was the temp of the wort using the heat belt?

have a look at these questions first and the its just a process of elimination. for some one to help you.

richard

Here we go:

1. Yes, if there is one thing i make sure of its that i clean everything twice! Most of it was new gear as well.
2. Only bought it the week before doing it.
3. the temp was 22
4. starting gravity was 1042
5. i'll check when i get in tonight
6. i am unsure as i just follwed the instructions, it said to place about 3" from the bottom of the fermenting bin.

cheers

[Coopers]

also, a heat belt at this time of the years isn't required, as long as the temperature is 17 deg or more it will ferment quite happily.

I only put the heat belt on as it was in quite a cold part of the house which we don't use, under instructions from SWMBO

[Coopers]

I'm at home now and the gravity is 1006, thats if i've read it correctly, it is at the top of the black band if that makes any sense!

[Coopers]

I used 500g light spraymalt and 500g normal sugar (boo hiss!) only because the shop had no other spraymalt to get at the time

[Coopers]

Every kit i have ever done i have relied on the airlock, is this bad practise? Do you think the kit will be ok after all this time?

[Coopers]

Thanks, i think i'll bottle this one and keg the next just to be on the safe side!

[torchwood brewery]

i agree with Daab there about airlocks this question comes up all the time at my brew shop .I would just say think of the air lock as a pressure releif valve nothing else .just because it dont go glug dose not mean fermentation isn't happening. the hydrometer will be your most important tool for that and your taste buds will tell you if you sample out of the test jar once you have done your reading if it is dogey .
i would bottle or keg it if you started it on the 16th it should be nice now .

richard

[StevieR]

if its been sat in primary for a while I assume that it has cleared significantly ? If so, you will want to transfer a small amount of the wort in to your bottling barrel in order to carbonate your beer, otherwise there may not be enough yeasties left in solution to convert your priming sugar to CO2