Secondary Fermentation

[Betsy30]

Hi,

I‘m in the process of doing a west coast IPA by festa brew. It’s fermenting in the second stage right now and the instructions say to let site for 7-10 days before bottling. I’m currently on day 10 and there’s still some activity in the airlock.
Should I wait till this dies down or am I okay to bottle at this point?

 

[rburrelli]

The way to know if a beer is ready for bottling is to take gravity readings. Do you have a hydrometer?

 

[Betsy30]

Had one but broke it and stores aren’t open

 

[cswis86]

Personally I'd wait. I rarely bottle/keg anything in less than 2 weeks.

 

[myndflyte]

Airlock activity doesn't really mean anything especially since you transferred it. Some of the dissolved CO2 is going to come out by moving it so that'll cause airlock activity. I'd give it at least until day 14 but make sure you add a hydrometer on to your next order.

 

[ncbrewer]

You didn't say how long it was in primary. It should be finished after a total of 14 days in primary plus secondary. But it's not completely predictable. If you bottle before it's finished, it will finish in the bottle, causing gushers or bottle bombs. Since you don't have a hydrometer, I would give it four weeks total just to be on the safe side. Once you have a hydrometer, you should be able to bottle after two weeks and confirming gravity is stable.

As a side note, I would ditch the secondary fermenter. It gives you another opportunity for oxidation and contamination.

Welcome to HBT.

 

[Betsy30]

Thanks for the quick replies all! I’ll have to get a new hydrometer