Still Bubbling

03/12/14

(10:00)

After not seeing any CO2 activity in the fermentation lock for nearly two minutes last night, I was convinced that it was time to start bottling BEER #2. However, while making a final observation before initiating bottling I saw that there is still bubbling activity happening. It makes me curious whether or not I am prolonging fermentation appropriately. I say this because the instructions that came with the beer state that a significant portion of the bubbling will stop around day 6 of fermentation. Today is day 14.

In my go-to guide The Complete Joy of Homebrewing, author Charlie Papazian suggests to allow fermentation to occur for 8-14 days. He states that terminating fermentation and deciding when to bottle beer should rely on 2-3 days of identical specific gravity (SG) readings. Once any visible signs of fermentation has ceased, such as bubbling activity, Papazian suggests to begin taking these readings to determine if the beer should in fact be bottled.

I have read enough material regarding this topic to feel comfortable that taking 3 days and measuring the SG is a worth while action. I will start tracking today and if the SG is unchanged, bottling will take place on Saturday. I will add a post each of the next three days showing the results of each SG measurement.