Can I put in secondary if it is still bubbling a lot?

Hello buddies, I am brewing my second batch and was planning to do 1,2,3 weeks and tomorrow is the day to rack to the secondary but the primary's airlock is still bubbling at a high rate (like once per 10-15 seconds) should I still rack it? will I lose all the yeast in the sediment and the rest of the sugar wont ferment?

the o.g. was 1.083 and i am using white labs german something yeast

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update
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I lied, it is actually bubbling at once per 20 seconds now (now it is 68f and it is going at once per 25 seconds so I dont know if that is because it is cold or because it is slowing down...

if it is at once per 20 seconds is it ok to put in the secondary?

don'r rack it yet. 1-2-3 is not a rule, it's a guideline. sometimes it can be 1.5-2-3 or 0.5-2-4 or whatever the beer feels like doing.

rack it when fermentation is esentially done (bubble every 2 minutes, no kraeusen, proper finishing gravity, etc)

You know that 1-2-3 rule is not to be followed blindly. If your airlock is still going I think you would be best served to leave it in primary until it slows down.

argh... but I am leaving town for 10 days on day 8 :-( whats better, to leave it in the primary for 10 more days (18 total) or rack it while it's still bubbling?

Leave it in the primary, rack when you return.

I don't get it. My fermentation (with noticeable bubbling) is *always* done inside of 48 hours with beer (mead is a different story). I brew a lot of ales, particularly stouts, and my fermentation temps are a little too high, but I never see days upon days of activity. It wouldn't bother me, but my FG is always too high, too. What the bleep!

Dennys Fine Consumptibles said:

Leave it in the primary, rack when you return.

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agreed.

-walker

but I hear lots of people talk about off flavors and such from the yeast :-( whats the trade off, if i rack it now, what will the negative consequences be?

thanks buddies!

Beer is good said:

but I hear lots of people talk about off flavors and such from the yeast :-( whats the trade off, if i rack it now, what will the negative consequences be?

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Potential bottle bombs down the road if the yeast has not completely fermented out. Relax, and let the yeast do their job. You can't rush the brewing process.

Off flavors from yeast will take longer than that to develop. Don't worry, it will be fine. I routinely leave brews in the primary for 14 days.

The problem of autolyzed yeast is one of the bugboos of homebrewing. It is extremely rare. As long as the fermentation is bubbling away, the yeast are alive & happy. They will continue to be alive and happy for a couple months after the fermentation is done. I've gotten the impression that some people think focculated yeast is dead yeast; it isn't.

Oxidation in the bottle is another, like homebrew is going to last long enough? The only time I've tasted oxidized beer was in an off-flavor seminar where the sample had been left in a hot room for almost a year.

Skunking, now that's a real problem.

I opened a bottle of balrey wine form last october and it tasted great. Now if anything should have been oxidized, it was that beer.

and as you said, autolysis takes quite a while to develop.

Beer is Good: RDWHAHB or two...

I lied, it is actually bubbling at once per 20 seconds now (now it is 68f and it is going at once per 25 seconds so I dont know if that is because it is cold or because it is slowing down...

if it is at once per 20 seconds is it ok to put in the secondary?

Wait untill you get back. You had a pretty high OG and a fairly low fermentation temp. Chances are the temp. is fine, probably going to yield a much cleaner beer, actually, but it will take time to ferment out completely. Patience it one of the hardest things to learn about homebrewing.

thanks guys! I'll wait then, I hope my sister refills the water bucket every day....

Hey David,
Where did you hear about that off flavors seminar and is that a regular thing?

Trap

"Secondary Fermenter" is a misnomer. It is really just a settling period with very little fermenting going on. Longer in secondary just means clearer beer. Longer in primary means clearer beer too. 2-2-3 prolly works too.

I'm going to join the "leave it" crowd. Autolysis is months away.