Hey guys. I'm brewing a batch of hefeweizen, following the mini-mash variant of Paulaner Hefe in Clone Brews. The only thing I'm doing different is I'm using WLP300 instead of the recommended Wyeast 3056. I pitched at 65F and have been fermenting between 62F and 64F for about 12 days. My concern is that the krausen is still present. About 24 hours after pitching, the krausen reached all the way to the lid of the bucket (and that was without a full seal on the lid!... which I did so I wouldn't need a blow-off setup). It began to fall in the days after, but it hasn't disappeared yet. I'd say it's down to about an inch, which is where it's been for almost a week. Can this be completely explained by my low fermentation temperature? That is, I know yeast work more slowly at lower temperatures, and thus can be expected to take longer to ferment the wort. At first I was concerned that fermentation was stuck, but I aerated the wort pretty well initially and used a 30 hour old starter. I also read elsewhere that it's unlikely to be stuck if I still have krausen. Is that correct?
I'm in no hurry to bottle, I was just wondering if this is normal. Thanks!
I'm in no hurry to bottle, I was just wondering if this is normal. Thanks!