Kolsch Yeast...is this normal?

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curlyfat

curlyfat

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I brewed a batch of an amber beer with a Kolsch yeast (WYeast 2565). Why? Because I had a big starter (4 quarts) and didn't feel like making a traditional kolsch. :ban:

It's an 11g batch that I brewed two weeks ago tomorrow. It took off within hours, but still has a full krausen! I'm worried because it's basically an open fermentation (12g bucket with loose fitting lid), and I rarely leave beer like that for more than a week, but don't want to transfer until fermentation is basically done.

SO.....is this normal for Kolsch yeast? And should I worry and transfer? Or forget about it for another week?

P.S. It's in a temp controlled freezer with probe taped to the bucket, set at 60f (the recommended temp for this yeast).
 
Patience grasshopper....

I wouldn't worry about it. Keep that Kölsch yeast at 60º for another week then take a gravity reading to see where it's at. I also wouldn't worry about the bucket and lid. As long as you don't keep opening it, the headspace should be mostly CO2.

Lately I have been keeping all my beers in primary for at least 3 weeks.
 
I'm generally a 3+ week primary guy, but when I don't want to take up two carboys, and both freezers, I use the bucket. I've never had krausen this long, even with lagers. I'm not "worried" about the batch, but the long active fermentation is throwing me off, and making me question "just how clean is that freezer?" :)

I'm curious about any specific experience with Kolsch yeast, though. I've never used it before, and bought it on a whim last month. Is it a pretty "slow" yeast generally?

Edit: I should point out that the SG was 1.056, currently a little under 1.020. Just for informational purposes.
 
I've used the Wyeast kölsch strain twice, and both times it's taken 3+ weeks for the kräusen to fall. It sounds normal, and since you're doing a "semi open" fermentation, it's probably for the best. The kräusen will protect the beer underneath.
 
I've just used the same yeast for two batches as more of an experiment. They were a Pale Ale and an IPA pitched on the cake.
I did notice the krausen longer than say WLP001/US05 etc, but was fallen away completely around 2 weeks. I did ferment around 63-64 though, so that may have sped it up a bit.
I have noticed now going through the whole process with this yeast that it does not floc well at all either. It has taken a full 4 weeks to get the carboy to look fairly clear on my 2nd batch.
It sounds like you are OK and should have nothing to worry about.
 
curlyfat said:
I'm generally a 3+ week primary guy, but when I don't want to take up two carboys, and both freezers, I use the bucket. I've never had krausen this long, even with lagers. I'm not "worried" about the batch, but the long active fermentation is throwing me off, and making me question "just how clean is that freezer?" :)

I'm curious about any specific experience with Kolsch yeast, though. I've never used it before, and bought it on a whim last month. Is it a pretty "slow" yeast generally?

Edit: I should point out that the SG was 1.056, currently a little under 1.020. Just for informational purposes.
Click to expand...

Been brewing Kolsch beer for several years now and I've noticed that the 2565 holds on to its krausen longer than a typical 1065 yeast.

I have a washed 2565 that is 3 years old. It takes another day on the stirplate to wake it up but it has preformed great for me. In fact, the last Kolsch I made with it just took 2nd in the homebrew contest at the WI State fair in the light hybrid catagory. I like this yeast.
 
I kegged a Wyeast 2565 Kolsch yesterday. Fermented for three weeks at 55F or so ambient. I did not look at it until after the three weeks, but by that point the krausen had fallen, and it had hit FG. There was a ton of yeast in the hydro sample. I dry-hopped (no-chill adjustment) and gave it a week at 65F, then cold crashed at 34F, added gelatin after two days, and racked clear beer after 12 days total cold crash. I suspect it would have been clear after 7 days cold crash, had I had time to rack it.
 
Ibrewaletx said:
According to the Jamil Show on kolsch, he actually recommends filtering since its not flocculent at all.

I've used the Wyeast kölsch strain twice, and both times it's taken 3+ weeks for the kräusen to fall. It sounds normal, and since you're doing a "semi open" fermentation, it's probably for the best. The kräusen will protect the beer underneath.
Today 05:44 AM
Click to expand...

That makes me feel better. It's just sort of a new experience for me. I've gotten good at quick, rapid, and clean ferments and this thing really threw me off!
Click to expand...
 
Ok. Here we are at day 29. I checked again.


and...







KolschKrausen002.jpg




REALLY?!? Now, I'm wondering about my temp controller's accuracy, and how good my sanitation actually is!

I want to point out that this isn't "newbie" syndrome, I've made beer for 8 years, and just never used this yeast before. I have just never seen it this long with krausen! Geeze. In any case, I am most definitely going to RDWHAHB. I might just try to forget it for a another couple weeks.
 
Oh, and if the krausen looks a little odd, I will point out that I use FermCap.
 
I know what you mean, but that is perfectly NORMAL for the 2565. That is the only yeast I have ever used where the krausen never goes away! Rack it, its likely done... I bet if you check the FG you will confirm it is done.
 
As an update, my Kolsch is not perfectly clear, but clear enough after a cold crash with gelatin. I did suck up some yeast when racking to the keg, but it has become even more clear over the last week or so.
 
BigB said:
I know what you mean, but that is perfectly NORMAL for the 2565. That is the only yeast I have ever used where the krausen never goes away! Rack it, its likely done... I bet if you check the FG you will confirm it is done.
Click to expand...

Great info!

I didn't plan on secondary-ing this one. I did plan on filtering. I'll check the FG and figure out what I want to do. I wonder how it tastes?

I really wish I'd researched this yeast more before doing a ten gallon batch, since I'm not equipped to do more than "quick" beer this way.
 
Checked the FG last night. 1.011. I was shooting for 1.012, so we're there. Weird to never lose the krausen like that. I'm crash-cooling and will filter/keg in the next couple of days. The sample tastes amazing, BTW.

Thanks for the info everyone!
 
curlyfat said:
Checked the FG last night. 1.011. I was shooting for 1.012, so we're there. Weird to never lose the krausen like that. I'm crash-cooling and will filter/keg in the next couple of days. The sample tastes amazing, BTW.

Thanks for the info everyone!
Click to expand...

Yeah, the yeast IMHO gives great flavor... its just an odd ball when it comes to the fermentation.
 
I just did an IPA with 2565 and still have a THICK krausen. My question is.. how the heck do I dry hop this? Seems like the Krausen will prevent any of my hop pellets from getting in the actual beer LOL.
 
If you are dry hopping, rack to a secondary from underneath the krausen. If you wait for the krausen to go away, you will be waiting for a VERY LONG time.
 
x2. Did a small 3 gal batch towards the end of last year using this yeast for the first time, hit FG after @ 4 days but krausen had not dropped. After 3 weeks I decided it was done and racked it out from underneath. Yummy batch of beer! (The "krausen never dropping" thing is very disconcerting though...)
 
I wanted to add my experience in case anyone else had this happen. I've used the White Labs kolsch strain twice and it fermented like a normal beer in 3-5 days and the krausen went away. The Wyeast strain that I've used on my current batch has lasted forever and freaked me out. I won't be using that strain again if I can help it.

The krausen died down after a 4-5 days but foam always stayed on top. I hooked up the carboy to temp control again after it looked like it wasnt done and it krausened again and still bubbles once every 10 seconds on the 12th day. Get a lot of sulfur in the nose. Will cold crash and go ahead and bottle.
 
I'm following up on my previous post. I had to use this strain again because it was the only thing I could get when I made another Kolsch. This time I did not get an unending krausen. The beer does take a long time to clear up however. After six weeks in the keg it was brilliantly clear tasting great. I even took first place with this beer at competition out of 18 entries for the category.
 

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