Carboy bubbling after moving to secondary

[Kcass]

Hi there,

This has almost certainly already been discussed. But our wine was reading 1.000 on the hydrometer so we pressed and racked into the carboy for Secondary. It immediately started bubbling through the 3-part airlock we have on it.

Perhaps it needed a little longer in Primary, but what do we do at this point? Should we attempt to let the wine finish primary by exposing it to O2? If so, how do we do that?

Thanks for the help in advance,

Emily

 

[jgmillr1]

There is no problem. The wine is finishing fermenting. At 1.000 there still is up to 2% sugar remaining to ferment as well as dissolved CO2 that will continue to bubble out. The question of how long this will take depends on the alcohol level, yeast strain, remaining yeast nutrients, temperature, etc.

You need to keep oxygen away from it now to prevent oxidation and spoilage. Leaving it longer in the primary depends on your primary container. If it is an enclosed carboy, demijohn or tank, then no problem letting it complete to 0.990 and settle before racking. If it is a in bucket with a lid then no, you should rack at 1.000 into a carboy with minimal head-space.

 

[homebrewer_99]

It's de-gassing. Don't you de-gas your wine before bottling?

 

[bernardsmith]

It may be degassing or it may be fermenting.. Think about it: pure water has a gravity of 1.000. But your wine is not water. It is - what ? 9% - 12% alcohol and alcohol is less dense than water. So the final gravity of any wine should be less than water and not the same as water. If wine has a reading of 1.000 there is a great deal of residual sugar in solution but no reason for the yeast to quit working.

 

[Maylar]

Also be aware of temperature. If your secondary is in a warmer place the yeast could start up again and go a few more gravity points, or it could just be expelling more CO2 by being warmer.

For that matter, a change in atmospheric pressure (weather) can affect airlock activity too.

 

[kh54s10]

I have limited wine experience (kits only). But, most directions say to transfer to secondary when below 1.000 or .998. There is co2 in solution unless you thoroughly degassed the wine. You will probably get a further drop in SG. You are also probably just seeing co2 coming out of solution. Any temperature changes will also make co2 come out of solution. I once had a red wine in the carboy for almost a year. Even after 9 months temperature changes would make the airlock bubble sometimes.

 

[Mallerstang]

Has anyone else observed that fermenting bubbles and degassing bubbles look different? If you're not sure which one it is, the wine has probably been going long enough to be somewhat clear. I've observed that fermentation bubbles are bigger and, because they rise from the bottom of the carboy, are more vigorous by the time they reach the top. Degassing seems to produce smaller, fizzy bubbles that form throughout the liquid and sort of vaguely float up to the surface or stick to the sides for a while.

I've also found that if you apply some heat to the base of the carboy, eg put it in a few inches of warm water, fermentation (bubbling) originating from the lees will almost instantly speed up - indicating fermentation is not complete. I don't think the effect would be so dramatic or fast if it was just degassing.