Should I Bottle?

I brewed a Belgian Wit 2 weeks ago with WLP400 and was intending to bottle it today. The thing is, it's still bubbling slowly out of the blowoff tube. It's bubbling at a rate of maybe 4-5 per minute, but if it's bubbling at all does that mean that fermentation is incomplete and I need to let it sit longer? I started fermentation at 66 deg and slowly ramped up to 70. Thanks!

While lack of bubbles doesn't necessarily mean fermentation is complete, the presence of them definitely means it is not. Let it go for another week or two, or until you get consistent SG readings two or three days apart.

If it's bubbling, it's still fermenting. There's no question on whether or not you should bottle. Definitely DO NOT bottle until it is done fermenting... Unless you like bottle bombs, that is!

Before bottling, you need to have at least two stable gravity readings. I'd you're not doing this, you're asking for trouble.

I disagree. I've had airlocks bubble after I move a fermenter into my bottling location (I usually do this the day before I bottle so the yeast I stir up while moving have another day to re-settle). In any event, there will be some bubbling, but it's just CO2. This airlock activity will take place after a dormant airlock of days or a week or more. I have taken a hydrometer reading on moving day and then the next day and there is no change there. HYDROMETERS dictate fermentation - not airlock activity.

drainbamage said:

While lack of bubbles doesn't necessarily mean fermentation is complete, the presence of them definitely means it is not. Let it go for another week or two, or until you get consistent SG readings two or three days apart.

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This isn't true. You can get bubbling due to temperature changes, or slight vibrations causing the beer to offgas some residual CO2.

However, bubbling is still a reason to look further, and look for consistent gravity as said.

Some Belgian strains like to take their time working down to FG, so it's certainly possible that it's still going. But the occasional bubble does not automatically fermentation make. So definitely confirm via hydrometer.

I've NEVER seen a beer which is done fermenting bubble at a rate of 4-5 per minute. Occasional bubbling, sure, but not that type of activity.

max384 said:

I've NEVER seen a beer which is done fermenting bubble at a rate of 4-5 per minute. Occasional bubbling, sure, but not that type of activity.

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+1

Perhaps I shouldn't have been so black & white in my response, but that rate is more than I would associate with miscellaneous offgassing.

Oops, I misread, and thought it was a bubble every 4 or 5 minutes, not 4 or 5 per minute. Doesn't change the impact of what I've said, but yeah, if it's bubbling every ~10-15 seconds, it's more than likely still working. Still would check via hydrometer.

Do you typically throw out your samples used for hydrometer reading or put them back in. My concern with dumping them back in would be exposing the beer to oxygen.

Don't put them back. Not just oxygen but also contamination. Drink them.