Zombie Airlock (awoken from the dead...get it?!?!?)

[Arose302]

So I just started up brewing again after 3 grueling years and have not had this happen before:

Brewing a blind pig clone, racked to secondary and dry hopped, added oak chips. There was no activity for 3-4 days save a little "glub" every now and again. I go to check it this morning and it's bubbling every couple of seconds. I have read to soak the oak chips in bourbon to sterilize them, but I read that too late.

I'm supposed to keg (tap-a-draft) tomorrow and now am questioning if I should leave it for a while longer? It's also been fermenting at about 56-58, but has been warming the past couple of days to around 58-60.

Thanks for the help!

 

[RobertMuldoon]

Could be some further fermentation from raising the temps, dormant yeast waking up and such. It could also be (and probably is) just c02 from the raise in temperature. What yeast is in there? I wouldn't be terribly afraid of infection unless you are getting an off flavor or visible signs.

 

[boydster]

I would wait and see if it will keep fermenting. Did you wait to transfer until you reached a stable FG?

 

[Arose302]

Yeast strain was WLP001 CA Ale. I'll give it another few days just to check. Gravity reading at transfer was appx 1.025, but at that point most airlock activity had stopped so I figured the transfer was warranted.

Thanks for the replies, if something else comes of it I'll be back here.

 

[boydster]

Unless your OG was like 1.100, it probably wasn't done and therefore not ready to transfer. Definitely let it finish, now that it's going again.

Luckily, it started again. In the future, just know that you can stall fermentation by transferring early. And airlock bubbles aren't a good gauge to use - the hydrometer will tell you the truth every time.

 

[fearwig]

My advice: Don't secondary in the future. Racking to secondary before primary fermentation is done means you will be waiting a while for the few yeast cells that are left to finish the work that should have been done by your whole cake. Wait until the gravity reads the same for three days in a row (you can skip reading #2, just do a reading and then a reading three days later--at least three days, since this may be going slow).

As was said, don't read airlock bubbles, read a hydrometer. Except for bulk aging, your airlock should be considered ornamental (and superfluous).

 

[beergolf]

A bubbling airlock means nothing. If the temp is getting warmer then that is probably what is causing it. irlock bubbing only means that the pressure inside is higher than outside.

Is this one done?

 

[JoppaFarms]

Hahaha that's a great video.

 

[SmokeyMcBong]

Is this one done?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jzT_KTTZ0Q&feature=youtube_gdata_player

I'd give that one at least another week!! It must have been transfered off the yeast cake too early bahahaha!!