NOT stuck fermentation!!

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eyuptm

eyuptm

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Help!!! Did 2 Festival Golden Stag kits 3 weeks ago today, was going to do the dry hop addition before I went away for the weekend last Friday, but forgot... Now I only have 3 days before I go away again, this time for 3 weeks, but- here's the rub- they're both still chugging away through the airlocks, about once a minute or more!!
Would it be foolhardy to leave'em going whilst I'm away and chuck in the hops as soon as I return, or would 6 weeks in primary be ruinous??
Could hop today and bottle tomorrow evening, but that'd only give it 36hrs dry hopping time...!!!???
 
I wouldn’t bottle yet as it sounds like fermentation is still going on. If you bottled before it is finished you could end up with bottle bombs or at least gushers. Leaving it in primary for 6 weeks should be ok.
 
It's pretty unlikely that they're still fermenting. The airlock activity is more likely to be due to CO2 that was absorbed by the beer during fermentation now being released. Have you checked them with a hydrometer?

Six weeks in the primary is a bit risky. Provided you don't mind the rush of bottling it all before you go away 36 hours of dry hop would be fine. Often you get better flavour and aroma imparted from dry hopping by leaving them in for less time not more.
 
I agree with @Graz you really need to check the SG. Its more than likely finished. If it were me and its finished a short dry hop is the lesser of the two evils compared to leaving it in the FV for six weeks. Whats more it should be ready to sample when you get back athumb..
 
Agree and disagree. Agree that the hydrometer should be the guide, not the airlock. However, unless the beer has gone through a rapid rise in temperature I can't see this causing such vigorous airlock activity.

Six weeks in the fv shouldn't be an issue in my opinion, although as @terrym says a short dry hop will be fine.
 
I never DH for more than 3 days in order to avoid "grassy" notes. Better to use a few more hops for a shorter time in my opinion.
 
Thanks for your thoughts... Just got myself another hydrometer- the fairies had away with my old one- will take a reading tonight and again tomorrow, if it's stable, I may decant into another FV and add hop tea when I return.
 
Don't decant it, just leave it.
Moving it about risks infection, oxygenation and other horrors.

Personally I would just leave it and do a big hop tea when you get back and then bottle it straight away
 
An Ankoù said:
I never DH for more than 3 days in order to avoid "grassy" notes. Better to use a few more hops for a shorter time in my opinion.
Click to expand...

I've read this a lot and I have never experienced it at all, even with dry-hopping in the keg. I might be missing something but I have placed it into the "homebrew myths" category.
 
Brew_DD2 said:
I've read this a lot and I have never experienced it at all, even with dry-hopping in the keg. I might be missing something but I have placed it into the "homebrew myths" category.
Click to expand...
I think it depends on the hop, to tell the truth. The worst one for me is Cascade and then the various iterations of Styrians. I've pretty much stopped using them altogether so you're probably right. On the other hand, I only dry hop immediately before bottling as I don't like to keep the beer hanging around longer than necessary.
 
Last edited:
Brew_DD2 said:
I've read this a lot and I have never experienced it at all, even with dry-hopping in the keg. I might be missing something but I have placed it into the "homebrew myths" category.
Click to expand...
Agree. I've done a number of heritage inspired beers that have sat on dry hops for 6-12 months with no ill affect. Saying that, when aiming for a modern dry hop aroma, I find 2-3 days is the optimum amount of time.
 
Brew_DD2 said:
I've read this a lot and I have never experienced it at all, even with dry-hopping in the keg. I might be missing something but I have placed it into the "homebrew myths" category.
Click to expand...
Definitely myth. Grassy is my least favourite of all the overused buzzwords in homebrewing!
 
Ghillie said:
Definitely myth. Grassy is my least favourite of all the overused buzzwords in homebrewing!
Click to expand...
It's my least favourite off -flavour. Definitely not a myth. If you get a bottle of Hobgoblin IPA and drink it not too cold, you'll get an idea of what I mean.
 
An Ankoù said:
It's my least favourite off -flavour. Definitely not a myth. If you get a bottle of Hobgoblin IPA and drink it not too cold, you'll get an idea of what I mean.
Click to expand...

I agree. I've always out grassy flavours down to English hops tbh. It's the reason why I find some English beers undrinkable. See exhibit A in your post.

It's not there in beers like TT Landlord or Fuller's ESB and hundreds of others, so I can only surmise that there is a particular hop that gives it hop. My money is on Fuggles.
 

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