Transfering to secondary

I brewed a batch of Honey Wheat 8 days ago. The OG was 1.052. As of today I was still getting a bubble in the airlock every 15 to 20 seconds. I pulled the fermentor out of the closet and took a gravity reading. It was at 1.027. the finished gravity is supposed to be 1.017. Is it to soon to transfer into a secondary? Also after I put the fermentor back in the closet the activity in the airlock seems to have mellowedout a little. Still getting a bubble every 15 seconds or so, but they seem to be smaller and more gentle. Does this mean anything?
Apparatus

You should be fine to move it. The 1-2-3 rule is in play right now. I would anyway to ensure you get a good CO2 blanket in the secondary, IMO, but someone else my say something different.

IGOR

apparatus said:

Also after I put the fermentor back in the closet the activity in the airlock seems to have mellowedout a little. Still getting a bubble every 15 seconds or so, but they seem to be smaller and more gentle. Does this mean anything?
Apparatus

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When you moved the fermenter, the agitation probably pulled CO2 out of solution. When you put it back it slows because some of the CO2 being produced is going back into solution.
This is strictly my hypotheses!

There are no set rules as to when you HAVE TO transfer.

Most of our opinions are based upon our experiences.

The 1-2-3 method works OK most of the time, exept for high gravity brews.

Many people rack when the gravity has dropped about 80% from the original (too restricting) while some rack when they feel like it.

The main purpose for racking to the secondary is to get the brew off of the dying yeast so you don't get any off flavors. The second reason is to allow the brew to clear and age a bit.

What comes into play after you rack to the carboy is beer clarity and gravity. I always sample my gravity when I transfer. Whe your beer is within the final gravity of the style of brew then it is time to bottle. If it is still too high then you should wait another couple of days/week (whatever is recommended for the brew).

apparatus said:

I brewed a batch of Honey Wheat 8 days ago. The OG was 1.052. As of today I was still getting a bubble in the airlock every 15 to 20 seconds. I pulled the fermentor out of the closet and took a gravity reading. It was at 1.027. the finished gravity is supposed to be 1.017. Is it to soon to transfer into a secondary? Also after I put the fermentor back in the closet the activity in the airlock seems to have mellowedout a little. Still getting a bubble every 15 seconds or so, but they seem to be smaller and more gentle. Does this mean anything?
Apparatus

Click to expand...

4 bubbles per minute and an SG that high says to me that it's still fermenting...I personally wouldn't rack it yet. Wait until you have less than 1 BPM, and the SG stops dropping, IMHO. If it takes another week, then that's what it takes.

I think I may have made a stupid mistake. When I took the sample out of my primary to get a gravity reading yesterday I drew it from the siphonless spigot on my primary fermentor. I imagine this now needs to be resanitized some way as I am sure there is some residual in there creating nasties.

I plan to wait a few more days before transfering to secondary. Can I just swab out the spigit with a cue tip and some vodka when I am ready to tranfer?
Any suggestions?
Should I not worry about this?