Slow fermentation; Signs for racking to secondary?

I think I may have racked my current batch of winter warmer to secondary too soon. It was only in primary for about 7 days. Anyway, I just checked the gravity after 10 days in secondary and it came up 1.030. The estimated final gravity is 1.020. When I racked to secondary, the gravity was at 1.040.

I'm assuming that I've got about another 10 days for the gravity to drop within the expected range, although we had planned to bottle this weekend. We'll wait the extra 10 days, but I'd like to avoid this in the future.

What should I look for before I rack to a secondary fermenter? The bubbles in the lock had noticeably slowed, but there was still a thick layer of cruft on top of the wort. We racked anyway, but I'm wondering if I should have waited for all of that to fall. In the secondary, there is a 1/2 inch layer of tannish bubbles on top of the wort, almost like a light head.

Any input would be appreciated.

NK

I should add that the primary and secondary fermentation temperatures have both been between 66 and 68 degrees F. Very little fluctuation.

The Krausen should drop, but its not that big of a deal. Fermentation will be taking place in secondary anyway.

Check this HBT stickies are always full of info.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/when-go-primary-secondary-if-all-43014/

I won't rack to secondary unless the beer is at or very near my expected final gravity. Usually that's 10-14 days, could be longer for a bigger beer. I never even check my gravity before 10 days. You definitely racked too early, and because of that you'll very likely have to wait another week or two for it to finish out in secondary because of the reduced yeast population. To avoid in the future, just leave it in primary longer - it will drop to FG a lot faster there.

Although your hydrometer will tell you when it's ready to be transferred, I personally don't touch it when it's still bubbling or krausen is still present. You should never transfer your beer until you are fermented out and have reached your FG.

Okay, for starters, yes, you racked WAY too early. You may find that since you racked so early you have enough yeast in suspension to do the job, however, typically racking early can cause a ferment to stall since you have racked the beer off a lot of the yeast. If you don't see any activity or a drop in gravity, I'd recommend you repitch and attach a blow-off since you're in a smaller vessel now. Either way, whether you need to repitch or not, your fermentation is going to take a bit longer now, just be patient.

Going forward, never rack until you get a consistent hydrometer reading in the approximate FG range on consecutive readings. I typically leave my beer in primary for 2 weeks, then check the gravity:

If the gravity is where I think it should be I wait a day and check it again, if it is unchanged, I rack.
If the gravity is not where I think it should be I leave it another few days and recheck. If it is unchanged, but not where it should be, I give the fermenter a swirl and maybe warm it up a bit and give it another few days.
If it still remains unchanged, I may consider repitching (this is typically after 3 weeks with a consistent reading for 1 week that is well above my target FG).

Remember, every fermentation is different. Some beers are done in 7 days, others take 3 weeks. 7 days is a guideline (and a bad one imo) not a definitive. Use your hydrometer, it is your friend.

Thanks everyone. At this point I'm confident that the secondary will do it's job, just more slowly. I'm getting bubbles again, a few per minute, which tells me there is still yeast working in there. Probably enough to not have to consider repitching. I'll wait another 7 - 10 days, or if those signs of activity stop, and recheck the gravity.

And sorry that I posted this question; I realized after I posted it that there is a sticky topic about it already. Thanks to everyone for repeating the info for me.

Divide the last numbers of your OG (say 50 as in 1.050) by the attentuation percentage of the yeast (say 75%) which is 12.5. When the brew in the primary reaches 12-13 then it's basically done fermenting.

Time to rack...for clearing and aging.