Fermentation over 2 weeks?

[Joshua542]

Hello, I am brewing a Strong Belgium Style Ale. It sat in the primary for 14 days. OG 1.063, yesterday I transferred it to a secondary and took at SG readining at 1.016. I know airlock activity cannot be used as a sign of anything!!! However, after tranferring I amnow getting bubbles every 30sec to 1 min. I wondering if fermentation is still active? I don't want to bottle if fermentation is still going on, howver I know you need some living yeast when you bottle to bottle condition and carbonate.

Maybe I aerated it when tranffering and fermentation picked back up? Or the carbonation that was allready in the beer is equalizing, and no alcohol is being produced now?

What do you think?

 

[lbcsax]

Or the carbonation that was allready in the beer is equalizing, and no alcohol is being produced now?

Probably this, unless it goes on for an extended period of time, in which case it wasn't done fermenting and when you agitated the beer it restarted fermentation.

 

[grem135]

I think 14 days is too soon to bottle. Let it go another week or 2 so the yeast can clean up. Then check gravity and bottle of ready.

 

[BrewerinBR]

You know that fermentation is complete when you get steady SG readings. Take another sample in 48 hours and then one 48 hours after that if all 3 are the same then fermentation has completed.

There are many reasons for the air lock to bubble after transferring to secondary, CO2 release after being disturbed, fermentation restarted ... and so on.

EDIT: Yes 14 days is to short give it another week.

 

[eltorrente]

You will get off gassing after fermentation is over. CO2 naturally comes out of the wort/beer during and after fermentation, so you can't always rely on bubbling for fermentation progress.

If it was bubbling once every couple seconds, that's fermentation - but once every 30 seconds, that's probably out-gassing, especially after this long. 1.016 may be were it stopped. Do a hydrometer reading in a couple days and see if it's changed, and I'm guessing it probably won't.

I like to swirl my carboy once a day, prior to transferring to a keg, to help get the gunk on the sides, and the yeast floaties to drop out to the bottom - and a side effect is that it ends up out gassing. I do this after initial fermentation is done. The first few times I do it, the bubbler goes crazy for a bit, and foam forms on the surface as the CO2 is released.

 

[Setesh]

Something else to think about is that even after fermentation is complete the yeast will clean up after themselves. It's a good idea to let it go for a week or 2 after fermentation is complete, especially on big beers, to let the yeast clean up.

 

[MindenMan]

I too have a fermentation question. This is the first time I have had a batch off gassing for weeks it seems. This porter had an OG of 1.054. When I started this batch on reused yeast, it didn't seem to take off like the normal 12 hours on this yeast, so I added a new smack pack of ESB 1968, and now it seems my fermentation is continuing on. Seven days ago, on day number 22, the hydro read 1.010. and 5 days later, the hydro read 1.006. I have been swirling the fermenter daily, and getting a strong amount of bubbles each time. Had I of taken a hydro reading when I added the new yeast, I wouldn't be making this post.
This an education situation for me that cements always taking an OG before adding yeast, no matter what.