Still fermenting!

I've made a 5 gallon batch of wit beer. This is my first time making this style and also my first time using liquid yeast. I had the brew in a primary fermenter for about a week and a secondary for another 2. My problem is that the bubbling from fermenting hasn't really slowed down, they range from 17 to 30 secs. apart. I want to bottle before the weekend, should I or am I going to blow up bottles!?

 

CO2 can dissolve into the beer and keep bubbling for awhile. You will only know if fermentation has stopped by measuring the gravity.

 

I was told that I could take a FG to see of fermenting had stopped. But I'm not really sure how, with my beer being in a carboy. I understand how to get the beer out to measure, but not sure what to put it into to take that reading from.

 

Best thing I've come up with is a measuring cylinder that holds the wort, and the hydrometer -they're cheap and available at the LBHS -and they're made of plastic (usually) which doesn't play well with concrete floors (hey, I HAD to try, after all. How else would you REALLY know?). In a pinch (initially) I used the plastic tube my hydrometer came in -it will work, but its not ideal.

 

You just take some of the beer out and put it in your hydrometer tube and measure the gravity. Really you should do it over a week to see if there is any change from one reading to the other, but if you have an idea what the FG is supposed to be, you can still check and see if is about there. I have had beers that never stopped bubbling the entire time they were in a carboy, including after I cold crashed them.

 

To take beer out of a carboy the best way is with a 'Thief', they are about $8 at your LHBS, and all you do is sanitize it, and then stick it all the way to the bottom of the carboy until it equalizes with the level of the beer. After that you can put it in your test cylinder, or whatever.

 

Thanks for the tips, I use the cylinder the hydrometer comes in. A little ghetto but at least I had something to go by.

 

That's what I use to take hydrometer samples. Easy since I have spigots on both fermenters. I don't like those huge hydrometer tubes,they'd use up too much beer.:cross: But I remember a "wine thief" one of you guys showed that could be used in place of the hydrometer tube while the end is in the beer. Take test,release back into fermenter. Sanitized 1st,of course.

 

Nope take sample test, then drink sample no risk to rest of batch

 

I find half the fun of taking SG readings is tasting the sample.

 

Me too. I may forget the OG, but I certainly remember tasting a sample -I mean taking a reading- later!

 

I bought this thing called the THIEF for taking samples to test the gravity. Works especially well when taking samples from a carboy

 

Hey guys. I made a batch of coopers canadian blonde three day ago. The frist day i had active overflow in my s-airlock with i cleaned up and sanitized. Day two was nothing no movement at all and now day three i have bubbles every 5-6 sec is this a good sign? Any comment would help.

 

It's not good or bad. I suspect your airlock was either plugged up from the overflow or it wasn't making a good seal after you cleaned it up. Now it's either unplugged or making a good seal. You've got a few more weeks to go anyway so just back off and wait. The yeast will do their thing.

 

About the only thing I've noted that the airlock can tell you is when a vigorous initial fermentation is done. The airlock will stop or slow way down at that point. It'll then slowly,uneventfully ferment down to FG.