After 2 weeks in secondary - air lock activity again?!

Hi All. Finally registered...no longer a voyeur. Brewing an amber ale with fresh apricots for my first batch (I know, I know...KISS, but I didn't) and seem to have ran into a problem. I racked the beer on top of chopped up apricots (froze them the day before...did not sanitize as alcohol content of beer was at least 5% - probably an error there) about 17 days ago. I was just about to bottle and I noticed activity in the air lock! There was nothing going on there for at least a week! For the past two days it's bubbling every 20-30 seconds or about every minute. Anybody know what this is or what the impact of this may be???

paino_8 said:

I know, I know...KISS, but I didn't

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Indeed.

Has the temperature gone up recently? Increased temperature can lead to CO2 escaping the beer.

In any case, you're probably fine.

could be an infection. you need to sanitize fruit before adding it in. that 5% rule is something of a fantasy; real world doesn't work perfectly. let it go for a while, then post pics in a week or so when you start getting the yeast strings across the top. could also be off-gassing; beer getting rid of excess co2

thanks, gents. No change in temp...still in same room in same house. No bumping, no vaccuuming, etc. Infection sounds bad...

What are yeast strands and how will I know what they look like? At anyrate, happy to take a pic and post. Don't do anything until airlock activity ceases, right?

Thanks.

paino_8 said:

thanks, gents. No change in temp...still in same room in same house. No bumping, no vaccuuming, etc. Infection sounds bad...

What are yeast strands and how will I know what they look like? At anyrate, happy to take a pic and post. Don't do anything until airlock activity ceases, right?

Thanks.

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Have you taken gravity readings? No way to tell why the airlock's bubbling at this point, but a few gravity readings will tell you if the beer is fermenting or not, which is one of many causes of air lock bubbles.

@ Nordeast - No readings. My kit unfortunately didn't come with one (Austin Homebrew Supply Father's day special). All I have is that airlock letting me know if I'm going to live or die

paino_8 said:

@ Nordeast - No readings. My kit unfortunately didn't come with one (Austin Homebrew Supply Father's day special). All I have is that airlock letting me know if I'm going to live or die

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Then all you know is your airlock is bubbling not WHY.....

Get one. Order online if you have to. All airlock activity means is that you have or don't have airlock activity...nothing else.

Airlocks start and stop for various reasons. Including barometric pressure. or a truck rumbling by on the street. Or the other reasons mentioned or not...Long before it could be an infection.

You can even make your own hydrometer. It won't tell you how much alcohol there is but it can tell you if it is changing.

http://m.wikihow.com/Make-a-Hydrometer

Thanks all. Take away is it's silly to speculate at this point. Get (or make) a hydrometer. Noted.

Not sure why it hasn't been mentioned yet but it is probably just yeast eating sugars from the apricots.

Or the fresh apricots had a bunch of living stuff on it that is growing in beer. You never know, when you dont have all the facts.

I didn't mention it because they were put in 17 days ago and that sugar should be gone by now. I guess if the OP dropped in whole halves that might be possible though.

Could just be CO2 in solution coming out.

Erroneous said:

Not sure why it hasn't been mentioned yet but it is probably just yeast eating sugars from the apricots.

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malevolent said:

Could just be CO2 in solution coming out.

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Could be anything.... could be that the floor boards shift every time someone walks near it, or that the family cat loves up on the fermenter all the time. As was mentioned before, there's really no way of knowing without a gravity reading.

A few times I brewed beer in which I added bananas (no sanitation , just peeled them, cut them and dropped them into carboy) after fermentation. Airlock activity restarted after that which I assume is just yeast munching newly added sugar. Didn't have any infection and beers turned out great. So just let it be and it's probably gonna be ok

Thanks again, all. Very helpful team with good points. All I can do is wait it out. Next time - hydrometer.

Just checked it again. Bubbling every 30 seconds. Also, I notice that the bubbles are coming from the bottom (as if you were watching a carbonated beer or soda in a glass). But my fruit is, and always has been, floating on the top. That the bubbles are coming from the bottom but the fruit is on top - does that mean anything?

Just that your more than likely meaningless bubbles are coming from the bottom....

It probablymeans that vibrations in your house are causing the co2 which often gets trapped in the trub to come to the surface....

"Just that your more than likely meaningless bubbles are coming from the bottom...."

Thanks - revvy. Realizing that ignorance/entrance into something new makes me extra sensitive to things that are probably nothing more than the obvious....nothing more, nothing less.