Secondary Fermentation

[Koop]

9 days after brewing I racked my Belgian Wit (partial mash/extract) from my plastic primary into a glass carboy today as the activity had slowed considerably. Tasted great BTW. Originally I had a blow off tube set-up and the fermentation was extremely active - bubbling a bit after 6 hours and blowing kraeusen after 16 or so. Today the gravity was at 1.022, OG was bit high at 1.066.

Now, 9 hours after racking it's blowing kraeusen again through the airlock. I rigged up another blow off tube. The temperature is maybe 2 degrees higher in the secondary at 71f. The yeast is Wyeast 3944 Belgian Wit. Is this "normal"?

Mike

[BadRock]

It is extremely possible. Basically you have roused the yeast, warmed it up and introduced some more O2. On top of that with a gravity of 1.022 there is obviously still some fermentables. So I would have to say it sounds normal. Next time I would just let it go in the primary for a few more days.

[Koop]

It is extremely possible. Basically you have roused the yeast, warmed it up and introduced some more O2. On top of that with a gravity of 1.022 there is obviously still some fermentables. So I would have to say it sounds normal. Next time I would just let it go in the primary for a few more days.

Thanks for the response, That's what I was thinking. I don't like to open the fermenter and use a beer thief for samples, so when activity appeared slow I went ahead. In hindsight, I should have checked gravity first. Do you think the introduction of O2 is detrimental at this stage? I racked as gently as possible, I guess some O2 will always be introduced when you transfer.

[BadRock]

I don't know that if I would say it's detrimental, however introducing O2 should be avoided if at all possible. This is why many people (myself included) do not do a secondary, most of the time. But on the other hand it's not going to ruin your beer. Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Homebrew!