About to bottle.. maybe I should wait?

[MaxPower49]

I need some quick advice. I was going to start bottling my second batch this afternoon (Irish Light Ale). It was in the primary for a little over 3 weeks and has been in the secondary (dryhopped) for 1 week now.

I moved the carboy to the kitchen last night so everything would settle down before I racked to the bottling bucket. Of course the movement got it bubbling again... but now it has been 18+ hours since I moved it and it is still bubbling every 20 seconds. I didn't really expect that. Is it safe to bottle now, or do I need to wait?

Thanks.

 

[Bluelinebrewer]

If it were me, I would wait. Has your gravity dropped at all since you moved it? I'd rather wait it out than have bottle bombs. But, I'm still a noob.

 

[llazy_llama]

If it's bubbling from just sitting there, imagine what's going to happen when you toss in some easily digestible sugar for the yeasties to munch on. I see bottle bombs in your future.

I'd wait a week. I'm assuming you don't have a hydrometer handy. If you do, then go use it! If not, waiting a week would be safest.

 

[joe6pack]

Pull your dry hops out and let it wait. Check your gravity when you pull your dry hops and then again in a few days.

 

[Mencken]

I have a similar question here...I was going to bottle on Tuesday, but my beer is still bubbling. Gravity seems stable, and it only bubbles every 15-30 min or so, but still, I'm worried about the bottle bombs, as you said. I'm kind of at a cusp though, as on Friday I head out of town for 10 days. If I leave it in the fermenter, it'll have been in there for 5 weeks before it gets bottled. However, bottle bombs are bad, since I'll be out of town. I can put towels around it, but that wouldn't be good at all, haha

Should I just rely on the gravity readings? Is the bubbling anything to worry about, since it's so spaced out? Thanks

 

[Yooper]

Sometimes moving the fermenter causes co2 to be "knocked out" of solution. Especially if there is a temperature change, you may see plenty of airlock bubbling. It doesn't mean a thing, though- bubbling (or not bubbling) isn't a sign of fermentation. Check the SG. If it's unchanging over at least three days, and it's at the expected FG, bottle it.

 

[MaxPower49]

My gravity is currently 1.012. Recipe estimates terminal gravity to be between 1.010 and 1.014, so it looks like I'm pretty much there. I wouldn't expect it to be bubbling this much now, but I an still a n00b after all. How often should it be bubbling when I go to bottle? Once per minute?

joe, I just chucked the whole hops in the secondary so I can't pull them out.

I have heard that you can get a grassy flavor if you dry hop too long... that is why I intended to bottle 1 week after adding the dry hop. How much longer can I wait to bottle and not get a grassy flavor?

 

[ChshreCat]

If you moved it from a cooler area to a warmer area then that would certainly cause some CO2 to come out of solution and make your airlock bubble. If you're been at 1.012 for a while then I'd think you're done and perfectly safe to bottle.

 

[double_e5]

I would bottle that sucker.

 

[Yooper]

I don't know how often it will bubble. It might never bubble, it might bubble 10 times a minute. It means nothing, so I have never paid a second to notice. Counting bubbles per minute is a huge waste of time- since it might bubble if the barometric pressure rises. But it might not. It might bubble if the temperature rises two degrees, or if you move the fermenter. But it might not.

I've dryhopped up to 10 days without any "grassy" issues, but not for longer than that. If it's not enough dryhops for this batch, you could always rack onto fresh dryhops and give it another week.

 

[Superdave]

Yup, bottle that stuff. If it is right at the target final gravity, then it is done.

Also, if you're only getting a bubble every 30 minutes, then there likely isn't much activity.

RDWHAHB.

 

[SumnerH]

My gravity is currently 1.012. Recipe estimates terminal gravity to be between 1.010 and 1.014, so it looks like I'm pretty much there. I wouldn't expect it to be bubbling this much now, but I an still a n00b after all. How often should it be bubbling when I go to bottle? Once per minute?

If it's stable at 1.012 for 3 days, go ahead and bottle.

There's no answer to how often it should be bubbling; the only thing that measures is, well, how often it's bubbling. It can be fermenting hard and not bubbling at all, or not fermenting at all but still bubbling. Use the hydrometer to figure out how fermentation is going.

 

[Mencken]

So what's it doing when it's bubbling? Surely something is happening in there to cause that release of CO2, correct?

 

[MaxPower49]

Yup, bottle that stuff. If it is right at the target final gravity, then it is done.

Also, if you're only getting a bubble every 30 minutes, then there likely isn't much activity.

RDWHAHB.

The 30 minute comment wasn't from me... mine was bubbling several times per minute after I moved it. I opened it to check the gravity and it has not bubbled again since I put the stopper back in (an hour and a half or so). I think it was just some dissolved CO2 being released from moving it. I did notice lot of small bubbles coming to the top after I moved it.

Since my FG is right where it is supposed to be, I think I'm going to go ahead and bottle tonight.

 

[SumnerH]

So what's it doing when it's bubbling? Surely something is happening in there to cause that release of CO2, correct?

A change in temperature is one common reason for the release of CO2.

 

[MaxPower49]

A few hours after taking the stopper off to check the gravity, it has started bubbling pretty good again. So is the consensus that as long as I have reached my FG it is ok to bottle?

Again, this is an extract kit... 3.5 weeks in primary, 8 days in secondary now.

 

[Yooper]

If you've reached the FG, and it's been at least three days at that FG, then it's ok to bottle it.

 

[JoeMama]

I have a similar question here...I was going to bottle on Tuesday, but my beer is still bubbling. Gravity seems stable, and it only bubbles every 15-30 min or so, but still, I'm worried about the bottle bombs, as you said. I'm kind of at a cusp though, as on Friday I head out of town for 10 days. If I leave it in the fermenter, it'll have been in there for 5 weeks before it gets bottled. However, bottle bombs are bad, since I'll be out of town. I can put towels around it, but that wouldn't be good at all, haha

Should I just rely on the gravity readings? Is the bubbling anything to worry about, since it's so spaced out? Thanks

Meh. Dont worry about how long it will sit in the primary. You can even go a few months with no ill effects. Quite a few of us leave it in the primary for at least a month before bottling. The only thing that I have seen from using this method, is tasty beer.
-Me

 

[XXguy]

You're never going to get a concensus in here. You need to go with what you know (ie: hydrometer) - or, take a good look at the post count & join date of the more seasoned advice you are getting.