Autolysis bubbles?

[Uden]

I'm sure this topic has been covered somewhere before, but I was wondering if autolysis causes bubbles in your brew?

 

[jbaysurfer]

No. Fermentation does though.

 

[jbaysurfer]

PS, if you've got "bubbles" and they're not of the generic Krausen variety, I suggest posting pictures. It could be an infection, although my experience is that 9 times out of 10, it won't be. If you post pictures I (and others) might be able to offer a bit more help.

 

[flars]

I suppose it eventually could if you leave your beer on the yeast cake long enough. Long enough would be 8 months to a year or so.

 

[Uden]

Well the bubbles I'm referring to are more like fermentation bubbles and there are very very few of them and they are very very tiny. The top of the brew is glassy, nearly immaculate. I'm on my 3rd racking now. I will take pictures later today and thanks for the info.

 

[jbaysurfer]

Well the bubbles I'm referring to are more like fermentation bubbles and there are very very few of them and they are very very tiny. The top of the brew is glassy, nearly immaculate. I'm on my 3rd racking now. I will take pictures later today and thanks for the info.

3rd racking? That sounds odd to me, but everything else you said leads me to believe it's perfectly healthy beer.

 

[kh54s10]

Well the bubbles I'm referring to are more like fermentation bubbles and there are very very few of them and they are very very tiny. The top of the brew is glassy, nearly immaculate. I'm on my 3rd racking now. I will take pictures later today and thanks for the info.

Co2 coming out of solution.....

Why on earth are you doing more than just a primary then secondary.

The more times you mess with your beer the more likely you will oxidize it, or worse, infect it.

If you get any benefit from a second secondary (thirdary?) it would be so minimal that the risks far outweigh them.

 

[jbaysurfer]

Co2 coming out of solution.....

Why on earth are you doing more than just a primary then secondary.

The more times you mess with your beer the more likely you will oxidize it, or worse, infect it.

If you get any benefit from a second secondary (thirdary?) it would be so minimal that the risks far outweigh them.

LOL...I totally agree. I'm pretty sure the word you're looking for is "tertiary".

 

[MindenMan]

Ever after fermentation ends, there are a lot of bubbles held in the trub. As the head pressure decreases, the trapped bubbles will escape, making it look like there is still fermentation occurring.

 

[dobie99]

I suppose it eventually could if you leave your beer on the yeast cake long enough. Long enough would be 8 months to a year or so.

8 months, huh? That's actually reassuring to me -- I mean I know that autolysis generally isn't a concern anymore these days, but...

I've been wondering because I have two brews that have been in on the yeast cake since January. I brewed them before going away for a month, and threw 'em in the back of the closet, figuring I'd bottle when I got back. Then, of course, life got in the way (new job, girlfriend moved in, etc) and I just haven't had the opportunity -- Don't worry though, I've still been brewing, just at my buddies place!

I plan to either deal with both, either bottle or dump, both of them this weekend, but I am concerned it may have been too long.

So, what, generally are the signs of autolysis? I have learned extra time is always homebrew's friend, but how much really is too much?

From outside the fermenters, peering in, they both look to be in fine shape (I.e., no infection), but other than normal stuff, I don't know what to look for that might tell me I've sat on 'em too long. Any thoughts? Specific smells or colors to look for?


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Uden]

I'm sorry I should have clarified: it's wine that I'm brewing. Also I know all about the least amount of air time the better, thanks though - I'm just an amateur and I don't have a routine down yet. So far so good though it looks like.

Pics are going to have to wait I guess, I just added a dose of bentonite yesterday, and the finer particles have started to settle nicely and overall it looks like it has a good clarity and I don't want to have to take it out of the cover and risk disturbing it too much at the moment. I have some early pics of the primary fermentation in a gallery titled Nooby Wine though, not that it helps with my question. I'm sure everything is ok though you guys seem to have faith it's normal lol.

 

[Uden]

Here are a couple pics, one up close another with a light on the other side for better view and another further away.

 

[jbaysurfer]

That's beautiful wine. I bet it tastes delcious!

 

[GuldTuborg]

That clears things up. Wine isn't "brewed," but at least we know what's going on now. What was your method of degassing? If I had to guess, I'd say your bentonite has started to clump stuff out, but residual CO2 in solution is pushing those clumps up.

But, you're in the beer forum here. Why don't you post this up in the wine forum? You'll get better feedback there.

 

[ACbrewer]

That is a lot of head space in that 3rd pricture for having racked 3 times. BTW, I've personally left vints on the cake for over a year with no off flavors from autolysis. ... Wines are not brewed, they are vinted. Where most of the brewing lingo comes from Germany, most of the winemaking will come from France or another romance language country. People who make wine are vinters.

 

[Uden]

Thanks for the compliment. I wish I could tell you that it was excellent but I've not experienced many wines at all. It did taste good to me, but again I don't have the experience tasting many wines to compare.

I'm not very knowledgeable about degassing yet but I used an oak stirring rod that I had cleaned and sterilized, to as gently as I could, agitate the wine until it had lost its fizzy nature. And I didn't even notice it was strictly a beer forum until you mentioned it. My apologies. How do I move a thread?

I know it is a lot of head space and it worries me, but the only 5 gallon container I had wasn't good enough for me and would take a bit of engineering to ready. (not to mention materials I do not yet possess - all in all it was poorly planned out and I let my excitement to begin fermenting get the better of me) I also have a 6.5 gallon wide mouth plastic bubbler but I would have had to rack it a fourth time to get it in there, and it wouldn't have made a difference anyway. Thank you for the information on time, cakes, and lingo I will be sure and put that to good use, though I am interested in brewing as well just happened to start with wine. I guess have a thing for fruit.

 

[Uden]

Well here is the wine bottled. My first batch. or.. vint.. ? Sorry the pics kind of suck. One with flash, one without. Have gotten nothing but good response from everyone who's taste-tested however.