JulesSeddo
Member
Hi Folks, this is my first post for some time so go gentle on me…!
My query is whether or not I should be concerned about still having positive airlock pressure after nearly 3 weeks of fermentation? Background is I’m brewing my first all grain beer in 10 years and am a bit rusty. I have followed John Palmers instructions and recipe for his Tittabawasee Brown Ale as detailed on his ‘How to Brew’ webpage. I’m using liquid Wyeast British ale yeast and fermenting at around 17-18 Deg C (63-64 F). All went well with the 1-week primary fermentation and the OG of 1.053 having dropped to around 1.013. After 1 week I racked to a secondary fermenter but decided to try dry hopping at this stage so added 40g (~1.5 Oz) of EKG hop pellets to the secondary. Within a few days the airlock pressure had increased and has remained positive for nearly two weeks now in the secondary. The gravity has dropped to around 1.011 and remained there for two or three days now so in theory I could bottle now but I’m not comfortable about the positive airlock pressure. I’m not sure if it is something to do with CO2 coming out of solution or if it’s a sign of infection? The samples I’ve taken to test the gravity taste and smell fine but perhaps there is an ugly beast lurking undetected waiting to explode my bottles? Could this a normal occurrence with dry hopping (I’ve never tried it before)?
Any suggestions would be most welcome!
Jules
My query is whether or not I should be concerned about still having positive airlock pressure after nearly 3 weeks of fermentation? Background is I’m brewing my first all grain beer in 10 years and am a bit rusty. I have followed John Palmers instructions and recipe for his Tittabawasee Brown Ale as detailed on his ‘How to Brew’ webpage. I’m using liquid Wyeast British ale yeast and fermenting at around 17-18 Deg C (63-64 F). All went well with the 1-week primary fermentation and the OG of 1.053 having dropped to around 1.013. After 1 week I racked to a secondary fermenter but decided to try dry hopping at this stage so added 40g (~1.5 Oz) of EKG hop pellets to the secondary. Within a few days the airlock pressure had increased and has remained positive for nearly two weeks now in the secondary. The gravity has dropped to around 1.011 and remained there for two or three days now so in theory I could bottle now but I’m not comfortable about the positive airlock pressure. I’m not sure if it is something to do with CO2 coming out of solution or if it’s a sign of infection? The samples I’ve taken to test the gravity taste and smell fine but perhaps there is an ugly beast lurking undetected waiting to explode my bottles? Could this a normal occurrence with dry hopping (I’ve never tried it before)?
Any suggestions would be most welcome!
Jules
