Fermentation Situation.

[Clintaurus]

Hello everyone, I'm new to posting in the forums. I've gathered loads of information from here in the past on other peoples posts but I'm having an issue I can't seem to find info on.

I am not completely new to Homebrewing but I am always learning. I have found myself having a new situation I have not yet encountered and now I have no idea what to do.

I have a brew in a secondary and it's been there since 12-23-13, so roughly 29 days. As of 1-10-14 my FG was reached however the airlock has never quit bubbling. So I am thinking something has gone wrong and tonight I pull a sample, check gravity, smell and taste. Gravity is the same from 1-10-14, aroma is light without any in pleasant scents and it actually tastes like it should. The only thing I noticed is.... It's almost as if it's carbonating in the fermenter. When I took a sample I got at least a 4 second cascade that lead to about 1&1/2 inch head in my hydrometer tube. I was shocked, I was thinking wow! I should put this sucker in the fridge and start drinking it!

I'm not sure what to do now, do I leave it alone? Will it eventually stop bubbling the airlock? Is wild yeast a possibility? Is it safe to bottle? I'm completely dumbfounded at this point, none of my previous batches have done anything like this.


Anyone else ever had an issue like this?

 

[day_trippr]

So you know that the bubbles are from CO2 produced by yeast, and the yeast are spread out all through the wort, so some of that CO2 is dissolved in the wort, raising the carbonation level from zero to something greater than zero. This is why a good priming calculator includes the temperature of the beer prior to bottling to account for the carbonation level already achieved by the beer during fermentation.

Once the beer has reached a stable Specific Gravity, there may still be occasional lock activity. This could be caused by temperature changes - if the beer warms up even slightly, some of the CO2 will break out of solution, because colder beer holds CO2 better than warmer beer. Also, a drop in atmospheric pressure can cause CO2 to break out, so if you've been experiencing weather, that could be a contributor.

As for "wild" yeast or other biologic contaminants being in the mix, again, a hydrometer will tell the tale. If the SG is dropping, something is dropping it.

All of that is why folks recommend not getting caught up in airlock activity and instead performing a series of hydrometer checks over a few days to determine if the yeast have completed the heavy work. At that point you can decide if the beer is ready to package, or if you want to leave the beer on the yeast longer for them to clean up any byproducts of primary fermentation. Either way, stable SG readings over a few days will assure the likelihood of an exploding package event is pretty much over and done with...

Cheers!

 

[Clintaurus]

Right on! Makes perfect since. The past few weeks the weather has fluctuated from mid teens to low 70's F. Regulating temp has been a battle for me since I work 10+ hour days. I'm gonna bottle tomorrow and be done worring about the airlock. Thanks for the quick response, Cheers!