Bottling while still bubbling

[Ang]

I have a wheat beer that has been in the secondary for 2 weeks now, after having spent 10 days in the primary, for a total of 3 weeks fermentation. It had completely stopped bubbling at the end of 10 days. I then moved it to the secondary to help in clarifying as it had a very large pile of silt in the primary. Upon removing the box that I use to cover it to keep it in the dark, I noticed that the bubbler is showing signs of activity. Then, after just having gently moved it to the countertop, it's bubbling again, one burp about every 1.5 minutes. I must say that today has been very warm - 86 degrees, but we've been running the AC during the daytime hours. Nights are in the upper 60s and this carboy sits on a tile floor which helps in keeping things cool.

So, my question is, what is the harm in bottling now with this slight bubbling going on? I am using 3/4 cup of priming corn sugar, dissolved in a couple of cups of water as my priming method. I want to avoid opening a bottle and it turning to foam in a few weeks. I've bottled thousands of bottles, but I've never had this occur, but then again, this is the first time I'm back to brewing in Miami, FL as opposed to my cold house in Ohio. So, my environment has changed since I last brewed.

Thanks for your help...we're standing by with cold beers in hand awaiting advice on whether it's safe to proceed with the wheat. Otherwise, we'll go ahead and start with the pale ale which is totally dead in the bubbler. Something is going in a bottle tonight - we were hoping to get both done. Thanks.

 

[sweetcell]

i foresee it being one of three situations:

1) warmer weather & pressure change = CO2 is off-gassing. if this is indeed the case, you can bottle. sounds like a likely scenario.

2) fermentation has kicked up again. need to take a hydrometer reading. has the gravity changed since you last measured?

3) infection. does the beer smell and taste OK?

BTW, regarding "I am using 3/4 cup of priming corn sugar, dissolved in a couple of cups of water". use as little water as possible. and you should consider weighing your sugar instead of going by volume (cups). use a calculator like http://www.northernbrewer.com/priming-sugar-calculator/ to figure out how much sugar in ounces to use.

 

[Ang]

Thank you for the quick response. Gravity reading...confession...In all my years of brewing, I've never taken a reading and my hydrometer that I never used didn't surviving the trip from up north down to Miami. I'm not making excuses, but rather, just admitting that I never use the hydrometer, and I won't try to convince anyone that I don't have to, as this is the first time ever for me that a gravity reading would have been helpful and telling. I suppose I'll pick up another hydrometer on my next supply run.

The beer looks awesome and smells absolutely heavenly. So, I don't suspect infection at all. We'll go ahead and start bottling the pale ale (we named it "Mermaid Tail Pale Ale") and see if the bubbling on the wheat settles down over the next few hours. I usually move these carboys to the countertop a couple of days before bottling so they can settle from being handled, but I forgot to do it this time. This is the first brewing I've done in 8 years and kept having to try to remember what to do when.

 

[tektonjp]

I say number one, co2 coming off due to temperature rise.

Is it an American Wheat? German? If German, you'll enjoy it more if you carb more to style, ie, 3-4 volumes of co2, which 3/4 cup won't give you.

Don't get a fragile hydrometer. Times have changed. You can get a refractometer for very cheap on ebay. Very easy to use. And while you're at, brewing software as well is very reasonable these days. A good investment.
Welcome back!

 

[Ang]

After bottling the pale ale, the wheat had settled down and stopped bubbling, so we bottled it. I am now thinking the bubbling came from moving it from one room to the other and placing it up on the countertop for racking into the bottling bucket. I am now less concerned that something went differently than it has for me in the years past.

We tasted both and they were absolutely friggin' awesome! I'm so excited that after an 8-year hiatus, I nailed it! The wheat was just as I remembered it, and the pale ale was exactly like the Sierra Nevada Torpedo Ale that we were drinking while bottling. I can't wait for carbonation and chilling to taste these, but I'll have to wait a while.

Tektonjp, I'm not sure what style of wheat it is - I'm one of those who just throws a bunch of stuff in a pot and it comes out beautifully. I used oat and wheat for the grains, wheat extract, wheat dry malt, Hallertaur hops for bittering and a little more for aroma at the end, and something-wheat yeast. I prefer Weinstephan yeast, but they didn't have it. They will next time. I'll see how the carbonation turns out, and up it some if I have to next time. I don't remember it being undercarbonated in the past, but it's been a long time.

Cheers, my friends!

Ang