Kicked off fermentation in the secondary?

When I racked my first brew, a maple brown ale, to the secondary on Sunday morning, I added in a mixture of about 37 ounces of maple syrup (that had been boiled with 2 cups of water). I think I may have inadvertently aerated the wort when I added the mixture; I just poured it right into the carboy through a small (sterile) funnel and I know there were some bubbles formed then.

After I sealed the secondary, I noticed a second round of pretty intense fermentation develop. It developed about a half-inch layer of foam on the top and bubbled quite a bit during the first day (about one bubble in the airlock every 2 or 3 seconds). In fact, it's actually still going on a little bit (about one small bubble every 4 seconds or so).

My questions are:
a. will this effect the taste of the brew?
b. what changes should I make to the normal secondary fermentation process? Should I wait additional time before bottling? Should I rack a third time? (I am noticing another layer of sediment forming at the bottom...I presume this is from all the additional fermentation?).
EDIT: or I guess, c. is all this just normal secondary fermentation?


Thanks!

This is normal when you add fermentables, regardless of when.

The reason you are seeing an additional secondary fermentation is that you dumped a bunch of sugars (maple syrup) into the beer and the yeast are eating it just like they eat the maltodextrin.

As far as aerating the beer before the secondary... will probly lead to some off tastes. Next time, siphon it over and avoid splashing the brew.

david_42 said:

This is normal when you add fermentables, regardless of when.

Click to expand...

So does this just mean I need to let it set in the secondary longer than normal? Should I rack again or can I just go straight to bottles from the secondary?


Thanks!

I would just let it sit for a while and then bottle. Wait until fermentation stops, add 2 weeks, then bottle.

Dumb question here: What do people mean when they say the wort is aerated? How does this happen?