2 weeks and yeast still putting out co2?

**HOPCousin** · 01-02-2011, 04:56 AM

So its been 2 weeks now and we're still bubbling

I've been sitting here and it seems to bubble about every 15 minutes.
I opened the fermenter to dry hop a session IPA this past Monday and was planning to bottle tomorrow the 14th day. I checked my FG and it's there already.
Is there any reason I shouldn't go ahead and bottle tomorrow and maybe just keep and extra eye on the carbonation by checking it earlier then I normally should due to any possible sugars and such active yeast?
Never had this happen before.

SamuraiSquirrel · 01-02-2011, 05:05 AM

a bubble every fifteen minutes after two weeks isn't a cause for alarm in my opion. Go by final gravity not bubble count. Also, just bc it's hit final gravity doesn't mean you should rush to throw it into bottles. Theres some clean up that goes on even after it's fermented most of the way out.

I leave everything 3 weeks (personal preference) and don't worry about bubbles. I still take a hydro sample for good measure and so that I know final gravity but I call it done at 3 weeks and don't bother taking reading from the time I put it in the primary until day 21 when I go to bottle/keg it. There's still an occasional bubble every now and then (I don't have the patience to wait 15 minutes to see one though so I couldn't tell you how frequently) even at bottling time.

dummkauf · 01-02-2011, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HOPCousin

So its been 2 weeks now and we're still bubbling

I've been sitting here and it seems to bubble about every 15 minutes.
I opened the fermenter to dry hop a session IPA this past Monday and was planning to bottle tomorrow the 14th day. I checked my FG and it's there already.
Is there any reason I shouldn't go ahead and bottle tomorrow and maybe just keep and extra eye on the carbonation by checking it earlier then I normally should due to any possible sugars and such active yeast?
Never had this happen before.

You've hit FG based on what the recipe says? Or you've hit OG because you've taken gravity readings a couple days apart and it isn't dropping anymore?

Bottenbrew · 01-02-2011, 05:42 AM

FG i an estimate of where you are trying to get to. Take hydrometer readings a day or two apart to make sure the yeast aren't still chugging away. The alternative is to prime and then bottle and hope that your yeast was almost done. This could be risky though if it wasn't completely done, because you could end up with bottle bombs. The only way to really be sure is successive, unchanged hydrometer readings.

Calder · 01-02-2011, 04:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bottenbrew

The only way to really be sure is successive, unchanged hydrometer readings.

Even that isn't a guarantee. Some yeasts drop out of suspension and need to roused back to get them going again, and if the wort got too cold, the yeast may stop working giving the appearance of being done.

Nothing is absolute. You should take gravity readings and also have an idea of where you should end. If the two are different, then you should question why. If they are similar, then constant readings should give you confidence it's done.

mithion · 01-02-2011, 08:14 PM

Beer that's done fermenting is loaded with dissolved CO2. When you dumped your hops in the fermentor, you created nucleation sites for the CO2 to stick to. Once enough CO2 has stuck to form a bubble, buoyancy will release it and will trigger your airlock as pressure builds up. If your confident about your hydrometer reading that the beer is done fermenting, there is no reason to not bottle it. I'm willing to bet once you've transfered your beer off the trub and deposited hops that are probably settled in your fermentor, this CO2 release effect will stop. This has happened to me as well with an IPA I dry hopped. I decided to bottle it anyway and didn't have any carbonation issues (ie bottle bombs due to continued fermentation after bottling).

**HOPCousin** · 01-03-2011, 05:41 AM

I checked the hydrometer reading today and it was the same it was quiet all day today. Came out great. I went ahead and bottled it this evening as planned. It's a 4.5% session IPA. I think the dry hopping process kicked it up so it seems something occurred similar to what Mithion is describing. It tastes great and is my best so far. It's the third AG that I've done.
Thanks for the help. If it turns into a bottle bomb I'll let you know

HerotBrewer · 01-03-2011, 11:00 AM

Sounds good. I was going to echo mithion, seems your beer was just de-gassing. As long as your readings are consistent and near the estimate, you're golden.

malkore · 01-05-2011, 10:33 PM

Adding anything that creates a nucleation site in the beer makes CO2 come out of solution.

Example: adding grains of salt to a glass of Budweiser makes it foam (and taste like something besides dirty water)

If you look at priming sugar charts, you'll notice the temperature of the beer is listed. The colder the finished beer the more CO2 still in it, so the less priming sugar needed.