Bottle or wait? Or other?

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bhagen

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I have my first 'big' beer in secondary, and after two weeks, it is still sending little bubbles through the airlock, once every two or three minutes. My usual routine for my standard 1.045 to 1.060 brew is one week primary, one week secondary, bottle condition for three weeks, and done. This brew is an extract brew, WLP051 California aleV yeast, fermenter at 68 degrees, started at 1.071, one week in primary, racked to secondary at 1.030. It's been two full weeks (with dry hop in secondary). Normally, I wouldn't mind waiting, but I am worried about the hops being there too long. So, should I wait, bottle now, or rack off the hops and back into secondary for further conditioning?

PS, I don't want to hear it if you think I F-ed up somewhere. I want to know what would you do in this situation.
 
Have you checked your SG recently? I wouldn't bottle until you have two or three consistent SG readings. Bubbles in an airlock aren't a reliable indicator of active fermentation. As your beer ferments, some of the CO2 will be absorbed into solution and simple temperature changes can be enough to cause it to degas, thus showing airlock activity. As for your hops, I have never heard of hops being in the fermenter too long causing issues.

My advice? RDWHAHB :tank: (and don't forget to check your SG today, tomorrow and perhaps on Tuesday. If it stays the same, bottle it :) )
 
I would check my hydrometer for 3 days in a row to see if the gravity was still dropping. If not, I'd bottle.
 
Nah,that's wasting too much beer. I'd just leave it in primary. I don't check it till 2 weeks in. After the OG sample that is. At that point I know about how long it needs to finish. At that time,I take a sample,wait till 2nd day past,& check again. If they match,I give it an additional 3-7 days to settle out clear or slightly misty. Then bottle.
 
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