Bubbling Started up in Secondary, during Week Four

Hi all, first off.. i'm impressed with the wealth of knowledge and passion here! Cheers to all!

I'm a first-time brewer. Decided to do a partial mash, using WYEAST 3787 to make a Belgian Dark Ale. The brewing, primary and transfer to secondary all went very well.

Transferred to secondary on 9/8, not activity for 3.5 weeks. Two days ago, I noticed fine (almost champagne like) bubbles on the surface. Even more today, measured 11 bubbled per minute in the airlock.

(A photo from today is attached)

Looks like activity is picking up. Is this normal? Should I let it do its job, then transfer to a third carboy for conditioning/settling?

Thanks everyone!!

Fermentation should have been pretty much complete when you transferred to secondary so I don't see why it would start back up, did you add extra sugar or anything, usually secondary is for clearing up the beer

Any change in temperature or barometric pressure? The CO2 was in solution because it was at equilibrium. Changing conditions changes the equilibrium point. Just because you notice the CO2 doesn't mean it wasn't there all along.

That would be my guess. Could it be an infection taking hold and causing further fermentation? Yes, it's possible. But I wouldn't worry about it.

Does it smell and taste good? Did you take gravity readings?

No sugar added, but I did add Biofine Clear to the secondary. It was pretty cloudy, could the settling have given the yeast more food to chew through?

Also, at the start of the secondary, the temperature was about 70/72. Today it read 66/68F. Could the drop in temperature reactivated the yeast?

What is the temperature difference between the primary and secondary you transferred to? If it is higher then it is possible that the bubbles are just off gassing from CO2 in solution.

Did you take a hydrometer sample before / when you racked? If it was a stuck ferment the rousing of the yeast when transferring to secondary could have caused it to restart. Although that is not as likely. If you didn't take a hydrometer sample, you need to.

Not to scare you but the third option I can think of is a possible infection. I personally don't use secondaries for that very reason.

how long was it in primary for? My guess is that it wasn't finished and you transferred too early, then its just taken this long for the residual yeast to build up and being to ferment further. Did you take a gravity reading when you transferred?

Smells and tastes great! OG was 1.068. At transfer it read 1.016
Thanks!

aCharlie said:

Smells and tastes great! OG was 1.068. At transfer it read 1.016 Thanks!

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Then it was likely done. That's 75%+ attenuation. Did you happen to take two gravity readings a couple days apart? That would ensure it was done. If you didn't I would still be pretty sure it was done.

Hmm. Not sure.

It was in the primary for 7 days. Activity picked up on day 2... in fact, it was very active towards the evening on day 2. On the 5th day, there was very little activity, and nearly no activity on the last couple days.

Infection is possible... i was very careful to wash and sanitize everything though

3787 is a yeast that willl fool you. It will take off fast and them take a long time to finish. I don't think is done yet. Let it sit for another couple of weeks. The last few points will come, but let it have some more time to finish.


I have had that yeast make a carboy look like a lava lamp for a fulll three weeks and then take anothoe couple of weeks to finish.

No rush.....I usually give this yeast 6-8 weeks to finish.

Thanks beergolf!
After it quiets down completely, should I consider transfer to another carboy to condition & clear?

aCharlie said:

Thanks beergolf!
After it quiets down completely, should I consider transfer to another carboy to condition & clear?

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Sure. I have done it both ways. You can leave it in the primary for a while or transfer to a secondary and let it sit. At 1.016 it is not done yet.

Some age will make the brew better. Belgian yeasts do like some age.

beergolf said:

Sure. I have done it both ways. You can leave it in the primary for a while or transfer to a secondary and let it sit. At 1.016 it is not done yet. Some age will make the brew better. Belgian yeasts do like some age.

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I've never brewed a Belgian before, so I'm a little out of my element, but OP already has more than 75% attenuation. Wyeast lists 74-78% (I think). I know those aren't hard and fast numbers, but how do you know it's not done?

It is already in secondary. Let it condition for a month or more then package. Make sure the gravity is stable before bottling. It might not have been totally finished when you transferred to secondary. Any further transfers have more risk of infection than reward.

Temperature changes, atmospheric pressure and the addition of the fining agent all could have caused gas to be released from solution.

It is already in secondary. Let it condition for a month or more then package. Make sure the gravity is stable before bottling. It might not have been totally finished when you transferred to secondary. Any further transfers have more risk of infection than reward.

Temperature changes, atmospheric pressure and the addition of the fining agent all could have caused gas to be released from solution.