Active Secondary - is this ok?

[davarm]

I made a AHBS Oatmeal stout extract and added the alcohol boost. My OG was around 1.065, and I am using the Wyeast London Ale. Did a yeast starter, aerated the wort, etc.

I was using a blow off tube in a bucket fermenter for primary. After 6 days, the activity was low to nothing in the tube, so I transferred to secondary and then took my gravity reading....1.022. The FG is supposed to be 1.012, so I knew I had a way to go.

My secondary is in a better bottle, and since transferring, I have seen quite a bit of action in the fermenter. This has been going on for about 4 days now; lots of bubbles coming to the top, and a small layer of foam on the surface.

I'm assuming this is what I want since my gravity at transfer was still to high. Is it usual for a fermentation to carry on this long? I'm worried that the bubbles are CO2 rather then fermentation, but I don't see a real thick layer of trub at the bottom of the bottle, so I'm guessing it is fermentation.

In hindsight, should I have left the primary alone for an extended time? I've read varying opinions, from 1) move to secondary after most of the active ferment has occurred; 2) leave in primary for extended time, then move to secondary for clearing, and 3) don't move to secondary at all.

 

[EvilTOJ]

1.022 is still too high to transfer out of the primary, you racked too early. You should wait until it hits your target gravity then rack to the clearing tank, otherwise you get what you're getting right now.

In hindsight, should I have left the primary alone for an extended time? I've read varying opinions, from 1) move to secondary after most of the active ferment has occurred; 2) leave in primary for extended time, then move to secondary for clearing, and 3) don't move to secondary at all.

Any one of these methods is perfectly valid. It's all about what you feel is best and/or laziness factor I usually do #3 unless it's a big beer or I need the primary for another batch.

 

[davarm]

So are you saying it is definitely CO2? If that is the case, should I call it a loss and dump this one down the sink?

 

[Kilgore_Trout]

So are you saying it is definitely CO2? If that is the case, should I call it a loss and dump this one down the sink?

It's CO2 produced by the fermentation. There's no reason whatsoever to dump this.... not really sure where you got that.

It's not hurt, but you kind of negated the "point" of using a secondary (which I don't do anyway).

 

[kevmoron]

DO NOT DUMP

Your beer is fine. You will not likely see any major effect from this, except for perhaps a slightly higher final gravity. If your FG is too high and it ends up too sweet for your taste, you could always toss in a couple of packets of dry yeast to finish it out. Don't worry about it!

 

[Frogdude]

Do NOT dump it down the sink. It is going to be fine. Fermentation is what causes CO2 bubbles. Wait until it stops bubbling, check your final gravity, wait for it to clear and bottle it.

 

[LakeErieBrew]

This beer is ruined! Give it to me!

Not really. You have nothing to worry about. The yeasties got roused up when you transferred to secondary, just let them do their thing. Once you pitch the yeast, you are no longer in charge.

 

[Deacon240]

So are you saying it is definitely CO2? If that is the case, should I call it a loss and dump this one down the sink?

I'm thinking that's sarcasm el oh el.

On a more serious note send the ruined beer to me for proper 'disposal' (it would help if it was bottled and carbed as well)

 

[davarm]

I'm thinking that's sarcasm el oh el.

On a more serious note send the ruined beer to me for proper 'disposal' (it would help if it was bottled and carbed as well)

It was a bit of sarcasm. Sorry about that.

Thanks for all the responses. I like doing secondarys, but I will learn to be a little more patient in the future, and rely on my hydrometer.

 

[davarm]

As a follow up, I moved the batch to the seconday (5 gallon better bottle) about 2 weeks ago, and there has been a steady stream of bubbles heading to the surface ever since. Yesterday, I checked the gravity, and surprisingly it was still 1.022. My target gravity is supposed to be 1.012.

I'm a little concerned now because I thought all of the bubbles were active fermentation, but now I'm not so sure. Any ideas?

The original yeast was Wyeast London Ale 1028, and the OG was 1.065. I'm wondering if the yeast is fully attenuated and incapable of breaking down more sugars.

I would not consider bottling now since there are still some bubbles coming to the surface. I can live with the higher final gravity, but I am worried about bottle bombs. Would it be advisable to add a pack or two of dry yeast as mentioned in a previous post in this thread? The dry yeast offered by ABH for Oatmeal Stout is Danstar Windsor, so I would probably go with that. Would it affect/negate/ruin the flavor imparted by the London Ale Yeast?

 

[KayaBrew]

I love AHS kits, but I'll never mess with the "Alcohol Boost" again. First of all, the kits are amazing as is. Second, I dumped that big bag of sugar into my AHS ESB, I got an OG of 1.064, and after 4 weeks in primary AND a packet of S-04, my gravity never got below 1.020. I made a HUGE starter for this beer-I think the yeast was WL013. So I learned my lesson. I'm not expecting this beer to be very ESB-y.