foam question
 

My Nut Brown Ale brew is 2 days old now and bubbling in the airlock has slowed down. Bubbling began after about 12 hours. There was probably a 1 cm width of foam, which has now recessed in which there is now a thin layer of some brown slimy looking stuff. First off, is this all normal. Second, am I supposed to be expecting more foam? The temperature has been around 72 degrees...is this too warm? Thanks, Luke:rockin:

You're fine, nothing you described is out of the ordinary. The foam and "slimy stuff" is krausen, the amount of which depends on a wide variety of factors. You're understandably nervous about what I assume is your first brew, but try to relax and trust the yeast to do their job: they are quite good at it. :D

I like to ferment ales in the mid-sixties, but 72 is not terribly high. I've made wonderful beers at similar temps.

its gonna look scummy for a bit....let it ride out and give it a week to ten days before you do ANYTHING. At that point take a hydrometer reading(sanatize first) and then take one a few days later and compare. If they are the same then ur done primary...if not let it sit a bit longer.

You might want to do some research on using a blow off tube. For me about 25% of my brews REALLY blow off some good size slim so I always insert a blow off tube for a few days before I put on an airlock.

Every batch is different and you will see all sorts of crazy things with the krausen.

Yep, totally normal. Here's a blowoff tube setup I rigged up.

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/gallery/...m/IMG_3732.JPG