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Secondary fermentation not bubbling
I'm working on my second brew right now (Hefeweizen). The primary fermentation was very active. By the 8th day bubbling had settled down to about once every 50 seconds and the gravity had dropped significantly. I racked it to a secondary fermenter and since then the bubbling has stopped completely. I'm using a 2-piece airlock, so I can tell that absolutely no CO2 had been produced in the last 36 hours. I've checked many times to make sure the lid is securely on my fermentation bucket. The temperature stays around 76 degrees.
I'm worried because I assumed that I would still get some bubbling during the secondary fermentation. Obviously it would be less, but I didn't think it would stop completely. Is this normal? Primary fermentation had slowed down significantly, but was still active. I didn't worry about that because I thought it would continue to ferment in the secondary fermenter.
I saved some of the slurry for making cider or more beer. Should I toss it in to get the fermentation going again?
Thanks in advance.
Let me field this one before Cubx sees it... hahaha
Kevin, you should always let your hydrometer be your guide, not the bubbles in your airlock. If you have your brew in the primary for 8 days and the gravity had significantly dropped, then that answers your question. The function of a secondary is to rest the beer in order to get it off the yeast cake and let sediment settle to the bottom. This process ensures less "junk" in your bottles and a cleaner looking brew. The fact that you do not see bubbles is a good thing... but the fact that your gravity is where you want it is even better. At this stage, the airlock is there primarily to prevent contamination.
Your beer is fine, just at rest until you add priming sugar when bottling. When you add priming sugar, the remaining yeast will eat it and create carbonation in the bottles.
I saved some of the slurry for making cider or more beer. Should I toss it in to get the fermentation going again?
I would not toss it in now.. maybe a little bit before you bottle, but that is probably not necessary. If the fermentation is done, it is done. Adding more yeast won't ferment sugars that have already been fermented.
BrewRob,
Thanks for answering my question. I feel better now.
I'm just curious about one thing. Won't this allow the beer to oxidize more easily? I read that in primary fermentation, the CO2 produced by the yeast pushes the oxygen out through the airlock. In my case, the bucket is going to have a big cloud of oxygenated air sitting on top of it throughout the secondary fermentation.
Perhaps I should cut the secondary short and next time use a glass carboy with less head space.
Yeah, I think that having as little oxygen in your secondary as possible would be a good thing, but not essential. As long as you have a lid on it, it should be fine with the oxygen thing. You need to be careful when you rack to your bottling bucket though, try not to splash the beer around too much as this can contribute to off flavors caused by oxidation.
Personally, I don't rack to a secondary. I go right from primary (usually 10 days) straight to the bottle.
I wouldn't worry too much about the oxidation issue. I think oxidation really comes into play when you are doing any transfer OR if you have a very sensitive palate. I wouldn't suggest aerating your beer at all, but simply exposing a small part of the top of your beer (a relatively small surface area considering the volume of beer you have) to some oxygen shouldn't be a problem at all.
I currently use secondaries as getting a clear beer has become a bit of a personal challenge to me. I also like to share my beers and I know some people would be put off if they saw all sorts of things floating in their beer.
i am no expert by any means, but as most folks i have had goldfish (i know, sounds off topic, but stick with me here) up and die on me. they need oxygen in the water, and they use a little air pump. Take away the pump and within a couple weeks they die, due to "breathing" all the oxygen in the water. Just having the water sit there adds no oxygen to the fish water, so i dont think it should hurt your beer.
that is really just a theory though, like i said am no expert, i could be completely, and moronically wrong on that one
Kevin,
I too just finished a honey wheat, and had the same thing happen. I too was kinda freaked out. but I let the secondary set for 4 days, instead of 5-7. I just opened my first bottle, after 10 days, carbonation isn't quite where I like it, but the beer is wonderful. Brew on!!!!
I rack to a secondary every time also. I just shoot some CO2 in the carboy right before I rack into it. The theory is that CO2 gas is heavier than air/oxygen thus the CO2 fills the carboy and forces any oxidizing air out. I never had a problem with oxidation before this but it's cheap so I do it.
Thanks Rob!! No matter how many times this question comes up, even if the forum was packed daily with it, someone still asks. I'm at the point that I avoid certain questions because it is blatent obvious many people don't bother using "search".
I could understand if this place was brand new, but it is about 6 months old. It is almost a given that any major topic, fermentation, cleaning, equipment, has likely been discussed.
BTW, the IPA that I made over 3 weeks ago is still bubbling! That is a record. I thought my Belgian Trippel was going to be the record breaker at over 2 weeks, but nope, my IPA is.
And yes, sticky is right about the air pump. I have an el cheap one I bought at Wally World (as I call it) with an airstone that I sometimes use. Causes a hell of a lot of foam though.
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