Airlock bubbles,, gravity readings, and bottling question

No, I am not going to ask if I should bottle because the airlock has stopped bubbling.

I am asking if I should bottle even though the airlock is STILL bubbling. I brewed a Kolsch 3 weeks ago, and pitched a starter of some Munton's ale yeast that I had prepared the evening before. It was an extract/steeping recipe, and the 1.042 OG was at the low end of what the recipe called for, but still within. The airlock is still bubbling, but the gravity is within the final gravity range, though at the upper end, at 1.012.

I really want to free up the fermentor so I can brew another batch tomorrow.

So what does the collective think? Bottle and stop obsessing, or quit trying to rush the beer?

looking forward to a response on this as I was about to ask a similiar question!

Take a gravity reading a couple of days in a row. If it doesn't change, it's done and bottle. If it's still dropping you don't want to bottle as you could end up with some bottle bombs.

Haha, I know the predicament. I have a stout that should be finished, by the time it's been fermenting. But I still have action going on in the airlock. I went to take a gravity reading and found I broke my Hydrometer last time I put it up. So with my wife's urging I headed off to the LHBS to get another carboy, new Hydrometer, and stuff for my new brew.
In conversation with my favorite guy at the LHBS (who always gives sage advice) I mentioned what was going on and that if I took a SG reading that was down to my target gravity and stayed that way I would bottle. He told me not to trust my gravity reading and go by the airlock. If it was still bubbling it's not ready to be bottled.
I know this doesn't answer your question well, but know there are those out there with the same predicament. Get another carboy, you can't have too many and they will help with not rushing your brews.
Dave

You could get a 5 gal. better bottle or carboy and rack your beer into their for secondary fermentation. That would free up your original and let the beer finish.

If the airlock is still going you won't want to bottle. However, as someone else pointed out, three days of the same hydrometer reading is a reliable way to tell if you've reached the end.

Yeah - invest in another primary! LOL

Well, buying another primary, especially by tomorrow, isn't an option.

I DO have a couple of 5 gallon water bottle carboys that I could transfer the beer to, but I generally haven't been doing the whole secondary thing. I'm afraid that Revvy would float down from on high and whack me with a mash paddle or something.

But really, the beer is within a point or two of being completely done. Even if there is still a miniscule amount of fermentation going on, what does it matter whether it happens in the bottle or the fermentor? I don't see a risk of exploding bottles.

Just because the air lock is bubbling, doesn't mean its still fermenting. It's the hydrometer that will tell you if it is. Air lock bubbling could be a result of pressure changes or actual carbonation that is present in your beer. Take your hydrometer and read it now. Take another one tomorrow, and again the next day. Has it changed?? If no, then you can bottle your beer.