Too Early?

I brewed a batch of porter a week ago and racked it to a secondardy today.

I did check the gravity levels over the past 3 days but it never changed so I assumed it was ready for the secondary.

However, today when I got about 1/4 the way from the bottom of the primary I saw some bubbles rising from the bottom where the trub/yeast layer resided.

I did stop for a second to ensure I was not just seeing things and did see several other bubbles rise to the top.

So, did I rack too early or could this be something else?
What would be the ramifications to racking to the secondary too early?

Thanks

Sounds like offgassing CO2, it's normal when you agitate the beer, I wouldn't worry about it.

What was your SG when you racked? If it was in the range your recipe predicted I imagine it was finished.

Edit: Racking to secondary too early can sometimes halt fermentation completely but usually it will just slow it down (there are still lots of yeast left in suspension).

I don't think it's a problem. I do the 1-2-3 method and don't usually use a hydrometer. At 1 week, I put it to secondary. I usually see some bubbles.

You are putting it to secondary, not bottling, so even if it's early, I don't think you have anything to worry about.

I racked a Belgian Wit to the secondary after about ten days in the primary, and it started fermenting again almost immediatley. Krausen formed in about 12 hours, and it bubbled for about three days. I neglected to take a hydrometer reading before racking it (and some will say, there really was no need to rack a Belgian Wit to a secondary).

But it all turned out good. I was right on the money with my FG, and it tastes good. So I wouldn't worry too much about a little residual fermentation going on in the secondary.

(By the way, Fritz, nice to see a fellow PUXer on this board!)

bradsul said:

Sounds like offgassing CO2, it's normal when you agitate the beer, I wouldn't worry about it.

What was your SG when you racked? If it was in the range your recipe predicted I imagine it was finished.

Edit: Racking to secondary too early can sometimes halt fermentation completely but usually it will just slow it down (there are still lots of yeast left in suspension).

Click to expand...

Actually the SG was pretty much right on the money so I was not too concerned really. Being a newbie I just wanted to check with the pros.

Thanks