New airlock life

[Ruprect]

I'm brewing an amber ale and it has been in the fermenter for 2 weeks now. The airlock activity has been pretty predictable so far, it started out very quickly and the yeast worked vigorously for about 3 days. Then the next 10 days or so there was almost no activity. Now as I have just started to gather my bottles and bottling bucket, I notice that the airlock has been bubbling again... quite a bit...

I measured the gravity and its at 1.019, so I'm going to let it go for another day or two, but this baffles me. Any ideas what is causing this?

Thanks!

 

[Cheeto]

Your airlock is not an indication of active fermentation!

The best way to test the beer that you have brewed is a Hydrometer.

and when making a post like this please include your recipe, the yeast used and your measured Original Gravity( OG).

I would let it be for a few more days, so you have a chance to test your gravity.


Your gravity should remain the same for at least 3 days.



*If you bottle early you could produce bottle bombs*
* they are rare and dangerous)

 

[Germelli1]

If you moved the fermentor you might have caused some of the C02 dissolved in the beer to releasw

 

[businesstime]

Often that's a result of CO2 coming out of solution, due to disturbance, or a change in temperature or pressure near the carboy. Heck, sometimes the warmth from my hands touching it will cause it to do this.

 

[manoaction]

OG, yeast, and temp of fermentor throughout brewing would be informative.

 

[Ruprect]

I"m brewing the Austin Homebrew American Amber Ale Kit, it is an extract brew with some steeping grains as well. The OG was 1.058, a little higher then the recipe suggested, but I was low about a half of a gallon. It had slowed almost to a stop for over a week, then just as I was about to bottle it started up again. There might have been a slight change in ambient temperature, but only a couple degrees at best.
The yeast I used was a Danstar Windsor Ale Yeast.

I did move it after I noticed some life in the airlock and it seemed to pick up some more, so it could have been some CO2 stuck in the sediment. The gravity at that point was 1.021 (I originally said 1.019, but I didn't adjust for temp) so it did have some more fermentable sugars left in there. The airlock was going for 2-3 days before it slowed down again.

I just checked it again and it is about 1.015 now. I do notice there are a few little bubbles floating up on the top of the beer, would it be a good idea to wait another day or so before I bottle?

 

[mattd2]

Your gravity should remain the same for at least 3 days.



*If you bottle early you could produce bottle bombs*
* they are rare and dangerous)

Don't rely on a single FG to tell when it's done. The only way to tell if it is not fermenting anymore is to check that the SG is not changing oversome time period, so do as Cheeto said and take another FG in 2-3 days, if it is still 1.015 bottle, if not wait. How long in total has it been in the primary for? And did the kit state the "expected" FG?

 

[TrueNorth]

I'm having a similar experience with my first batch. Mine stalled at .022 and I racked it to secondary to free up my only fermenter. Yeasties got all excited again and after two days it's close to target FG (.016) and starting to clear up. I'll leave it for a few weeks or until I get antsy; I've tasted the samples and I'm not impressed so I figure time will only help.