what the!

[jchobs]

So I was ready to bottle two 5 gallon batches (pilsner and lager) this afternoon carried my fermenters out to the garage from my hot water cupboard in the morning, started sanitising everything, left all my bottles to etc dry till the arvo.
When i finnally got to start i heard a few bubbles come from the airlocks yeah both of them WTF I said why are they bubbling again ,so now i dont know what to do should i still bottle or wait a week they have been in for 2 weeks their hydro readings were a couple of points higher than expected so what to do? Also if im gona have to sanitise all those bottles again thats gona suck!

 

[TheChemist]

A couple points higher than expected? As long as it's no more than 3 higher, go ahead and bottle - you don't even have to prime!

 

[KYB]

Did you take hydro readings over a few days to see if it stayed the same? Also, a lot of times moving the fermenter around will cause some airlock activity for a short time, even if it's finished fermenting, just from the beer sloshing around. That's probably what it is. I keep my beer in primary for 3-4 weeks.

 

[jchobs]

Did you take hydro readings over a few days to see if it stayed the same? Also, a lot of times moving the fermenter around will cause some airlock activity for a short time, even if it's finished fermenting, just from the beer sloshing around. That's probably what it is.

Only took one reading today maybe ill wait till 2moro and bottle

 

[netjunk1e]

If they are changing temperature from the different room, you will have CO2 outgassing. There is a certain amount of CO2 that is held by the beer, depending on the temperature. The warmer the beer, the less CO2 that is dissolved into solution.

Now if the temperature went down, then you might have some yeast action going on, the move might stirred some of it up.

 

[justinh85]

Don't trust the airlock. Hydro readings are the best way to judge fermentation. If your hydro readings stay the same over a 3 to 4 day period, fermentation is more or less completed, ready to bottle.

 

[conpewter]

I would guess temperature change. Any gas when warmed up will expand, so I'm betting your garage was hotter than your house.

 

[brian_g]

A couple points higher than expected? As long as it's no more than 3 higher, go ahead and bottle - you don't even have to prime!

I wouldn't recommend this. I don't think you could reliable carbonation that way. In theory, your right, a person could let the fermentation stop just early enough to allow for carbonation. However, I don't know of a reliable way to determine when one can stop early. I've found that it isn't that surprising for a beer to be done and a couple of point higher then expected. A couple of points difference in your reading can be affected by temperature, not holding it at eye level, bubbles on your hydrometer etc. A couple of points of actual difference can be caused by mash efficiency, mash temperature, accurate measuring top off water, etc. Even all extract batches can be different from the "expected." I you use a can of Coopers and while the recipe calls for 2 lbs of sugar, you substitute LME, your gravity will be higher. Finally, I'm not sure that all brands of malt extract are consistent with each other. While I haven't done the experiment, I wouldn't be surprised it switching from Briss to Muttons LME changed your FG by a couple of points.

 

[Hang Glider]

...Briss to Muttons LME...

ROFLMAO !!!

briss - circumcision
mutton - sheep

sorry, Brian - laffing at your expense, we all make speling errors..

 

[brian_g]

ROFLMAO !!!

briss - circumcision
mutton - sheep

sorry, Brian - laffing at your expense, we all make speling errors..

Spelling has never been a strength of mine and spell checker has problems with proper names. On the plus side most people reading this forum have been drinking, so they don't notice as much.

 

[TheChemist]

I wouldn't recommend this. I don't think you could reliable carbonation that way. In theory, your right, a person could let the fermentation stop just early enough to allow for carbonation. However, I don't know of a reliable way to determine when one can stop early. I've found that it isn't that surprising for a beer to be done and a couple of point higher then expected. A couple of points difference in your reading can be affected by temperature, not holding it at eye level, bubbles on your hydrometer etc. A couple of points of actual difference can be caused by mash efficiency, mash temperature, accurate measuring top off water, etc. Even all extract batches can be different from the "expected." I you use a can of Coopers and while the recipe calls for 2 lbs of sugar, you substitute LME, your gravity will be higher. Finally, I'm not sure that all brands of malt extract are consistent with each other. While I haven't done the experiment, I wouldn't be surprised it switching from Briss to Muttons LME changed your FG by a couple of points.

Too true! It's a pain in the butt to try and predict what your FG is going to be, since there are SO many different variables. I generally put a 'forcings' through though (around 300ml of wort with LOTS of dry yeast to ferment fast), which will give me the actual PG for the batch. I then stop my fermentations around 2 degrees above (toss in the fridge), and let settle for a few days before bottling. I've bottled my brews like this for the last few months (so, nearly 30 beers) and I have yet to find exploding bottles (crosses fingers).

As for hydrometer readings, I'm generally pretty careful to go by the bottom of the meniscus and account for temp adjustments. You are completely right though - it's something to be careful with!