Contamination or Second Wind Fermentation?

[rodneyonasis]

Hello everyone,

Brewed my second 1 gallon batch from Brooklyn Brew Shop two weeks ago (Everyday IPA). Everything looked good 2 days ago when I moved the fermenter from the closest onto the kitchen cabinet. I moved it in advance to allow any disturbed sediment to resettle. The beer was nice and clear, and there was no visible fermentation.

I got ready to bottle tonight and its a totally different story. The beer is again turbid and fermenting at a fairly good rate, bubbling in the airlock and in the bottle, almost like 24 hours into the initial fermentation.

My question is, is it more likely to be contamination or is it just that I woke up the settled yeast when I moved the fermenter?

Thanks in advance for any help!
Rodney

 

[shanecb]

Is there any large temperature difference between the closet and the kitchen cabinet?

 

[rodneyonasis]

No, I don't think so. Only a door and about 10 feet separate the two areas. After moving, I did wrap the fermenter with a clean towel to protect it from light, being careful not to touch the towel to the lid or airlock.

 

[rodneyonasis]

After quite a bit of searching, looks like the most likely cause of the bubbling I see is off-gassing from moving the fermenter and any potential change in the temperature. Would that be a fair assumption?

 

[1977Brewer]

After quite a bit of searching, looks like the most likely cause of the bubbling I see is off-gassing from moving the fermenter and any potential change in the temperature. Would that be a fair assumption?

That's exactly what's going on, I'm sure. It'll calm down.

 

[NewTulsa]

This happened to me as well. I brewed my first batch two weeks ago and had the same thing happen. The beer smelled fine but I dumped it because I was suspicious something went wrong. My hydrometer only measured 1% abv when I went to bottle it. I am assuming that my initial fermentation was incomplete and my yield wasn't worth keeping around.

 

[ong]

This happened to me as well. I brewed my first batch two weeks ago and had the same thing happen. The beer smelled fine but I dumped it because I was suspicious something went wrong. My hydrometer only measured 1% abv when I went to bottle it. I am assuming that my initial fermentation was incomplete and my yield wasn't worth keeping around.

You can't read ABV from a hydrometer. What you were probably seeing was a projection saying "wort at this OG can yield this ABV." You can calculate ABV from the difference between your original gravity and your final gravity.