Question concerning terminal gravity

Hi there-
This is my first post, and what a cool site this is! I feel like i've stumbled on a really great site. Anyway, here is my question. I've got a batch of stout in the basement, which is calling for a TG of 1.012. I'm at about 1.018 (if I can get a direct view at the meniscus). However, I also have a batch of barely wine going in the basement, and its in a 5 g carboy (what a mistake!) and is currently basing CO2 out of the airlock, along with beer and random ingrediants. Can I (being that my TG is a bit high) bottle it now? I need the bucket its in to put the barely wine into, as it is larger. Have I in fact passed the targeted TG as I am too high, or will it drop down to 1.012 in a couple of days? Its been 6 days.

Thanks!

What was the OG? What yeast did you use and how long has it been fermenting? My guess is that it needs more time.

OG was 1.043.

Will it affect the beer a lot if I remove it and bottle early?

If not, the carboy which is currently bubbling over has a cap with two "ports" on it, one for an airlock on top, and another on the side for removing the wort from the carboy. Can I put an airline on the second side and it (the airline) into a bucket of water so the excess barley wine to run out of it, while still keeping it basically air tight?

If the OG was 1.043, then 1.012 is right. Bottling now could result in exploding bottles. Just put a blow off tube on the carboy to keep the mess contained. And get another fermenter. Pretty soon you'll find the need to have carboys of all sizes.

What you are describing is basically a blow off tube, so yes.

Thanks so much!

Oh, and how did you figure out that it would explode in the bottles if I bottled it today? I'm just curious...thank you again.

The yeast are still eating sugars and producing CO2. If you bottle now they could over pressurize and explode. It is hard to determine exactly how much fermentable sugar is in your brew to get the carbonation just right. That's why you let it ferment completely then add a measured amount of priming sugar (0.75 cup of corn sugar or 1.25 cup of DME) to carbonate the bottles.

Makes sense. Thank you for explaining.

How long do you suppose it will continue to ferment this actively?