Belgian Wit with Honey=Stuck Fermentation?

I am on hour 48 of primary fermentation on a Belgian Wit that included a partial mash of 8 oz. German Pils, 8 oz. What Malt, 1 pound Flaked Oats, with 2 pounds of honey and 4 pounds extra light DME in the boil. I used Wyeast Belgian Wit.

There is a thick layer of krausen on top, but appears to have nothing going on otherwise. I will take hydrometer readings 3 days apart beginning today, but was unable to test the wort prior to pitching as my hydrometer was unknowingly broken at that time. I have read that honey is low in nutrients required for the yeast, and if I had to do it again, I would probably lower the percentage of that in the fermentables.

I am wondering what I should do moving forward with this batch?

Any help would be extremely appreciated!

If you've got krausen, that is a good sign that fermentation is underway. Honey can be a slow fermenter, so it might take 7-10 days to get down to your FG.

I'd wait it out. Check it in about 10 days to make sure it's finishing up, but 48 hours is about 10 days too early to even consider worrying about it!

Thanks for the advice! One more thing, the "S" airlock on the top appeared "pressured" yesterday, that is, the water was moved from the first chamber into the final, which would indicate to me a good level of CO2 in the carboy, even if it never actually bubbled. Now the water has settled to it's natural level in both chambers of the airlock. Should I assume then that there is no CO2 in the carboy?

Also, is it fine to take my hydrometer samples from the carboy directly through the krausen? Use a syphon? Beer thief?

Thanks again in advance!

DPlan00 said:

Thanks for the advice! One more thing, the "S" airlock on the top appeared "pressured" yesterday, that is, the water was moved from the first chamber into the final, which would indicate to me a good level of CO2 in the carboy, even if it never actually bubbled. Now the water has settled to it's natural level in both chambers of the airlock. Should I assume then that there is no CO2 in the carboy?

Also, is it fine to take my hydrometer samples from the carboy directly through the krausen? Use a syphon? Beer thief?

Thanks again in advance!

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I wouldn't assume that there is no co2 in there- I'd assume you have a small leak around the lid. Even with a small leak, there will be plenty of co2 in there, so don't take a big whiff when you take off the lid!

You can take the samples through the krausen with a beer thief or turkey baster. I'd wait until the krausen drops, though. It's easier, and it will be much more informative. Taking an SG now will be useless- it'll be lower than your OG, but not at FG so it's a "wasted" bit of knowledge, if that makes sense. There would be no point to taking an SG through krausen unless it's been a couple of weeks and the krausen still hasn't dropped. The krausen shows that active fermentation is happening.

YooperBrew said:

I wouldn't assume that there is no co2 in there- I'd assume you have a small leak around the lid. Even with a small leak, there will be plenty of co2 in there, so don't take a big whiff when you take off the lid!

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The "lid" is a plastic carboy top, it's on pretty tight, but I guess I should relax. One more question: could the krausen be a sign that fermentation has happened, and is not happening?

Thanks again!

Because when fermentation is done "happenning" the krausen then falls down. And really, fermentations don't often just stop despite what many nervous new brewers may believe. Modern yeast is our friend, and it RARELY let's us down.....as opposed to an airlock which let's us down regularly.

The problem is that without a working hydromter you are going by one of the worst "signs" there is. Whether it's in a conical, a bucket, or a carboy, it's the same thing. An airlock is a VENT, a VALVE to release excess co2, nothing more.

If it's not bubbling it just means that there no excess co2 to be vented out.

A beer may ferment perfectly fine without a single blip in the airlock.

That's why you need to take a gravity reading to know how your fermentation is going, NOT go by airlocks. The most important tool you can use is a hydrometer. It's the only way you will truly know when your beer is ready...airlock bubbles and other things are faulty.

The only way to truly know what is going on in your fermenter is with your hydrometer. Like I said here in my blog, which I encourage you to read, Think evaluation before action you sure as HELL wouldn't want a doctor to start cutting on you unless he used the proper diagnostic instuments like x-rays first, right? You wouldn't want him to just take a look in your eyes briefly and say "I'm cutting into your chest first thing in the morning." You would want them to use the right diagnostic tools before the slice and dice, right? You'd cry malpractice, I would hope, if they didn't say they were sending you for an MRI and other things before going in....

Thinking about "doing anything" without taking a hydrometer reading is tantamount to the doctor deciding to cut you open without running any diagnostic tests....Taking one look at you and saying, "Yeah I'm going in." You would really want the doctor to use all means to properly diagnose what's going on?

So take yooper's advice, instead of coming up with "worst case" scenarios, relax. Your beer has krauzen, it IS FERMENTING. It just doesn't NEED to bubble.

We answer these questions 3-4 times daily, with nervous brewers who ignore the obvious like krausen, or even their hydrometer, in favor of the superflouous, such as the airlock.

Get a replacement hydrometer, and in a week or more, take a reading. Then like 99.99% of these threads, you'll come back to this thread and tell us everything is OK!!!!

Thanks, guys. Your input is greatly appreciated, as I have been having a hard time following Papazian's mantra very closely. If you would, please check out my newest question regarding a partial-mash recipe I found here:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/apa-recipe-add-dme-final-15-20-min-186127/#post2156093

Again, you have helped me to relax, which makes the process a lot more fun!

Cheers!

Ok, boys. Here's an update, a few days after your very wise replies, a very fast fermentation began. The krausen remains, and looks like it doesn't want to go anywhere. Other (I know, Revvy) visual cues have basically ceased. I have read that may be the case in recipes that use wheat malts may cause, though in my case only 8 oz.

Here is my next question: I want to take a hydrometer measurement this morning. Can I poke my sanitized turkey baster through the krausen without damage to the batch? I am leaving for almost a week, and plan on leaving it in the primary for as long as necessary, but another reading when I arrive home on Sunday would be very telling if I had one to compare it with from today. Therefore, any quick replies would be greatly appreciated. The color on this beer is the best-looking beer I have produced myself, I can't wait to try it. Just want to be sure when fermentation is done by taking these readings!

You guys are faster than Jimmy John's, so I know I'm in good hands.

Don't bother with a reading before you leave. Just let it sit and check it when you get home. It should definitely be done by then but be sure to check your gravity.

Thanks for the input! Another questions: Is it possible that the krausen can still exist on top even though fermentation is done? Or, does it always fall?

Although I agree with smoking about not bothering with a reading until Saturday, when you do, you CAN just stick your sanitized turkey baster through the krausen to draw a sample.

Yes Krausens can hold on for some time, especially it seems with wit yeasts. My Wit with bottle harvested Hoegaarden yeast held on for over three weeks. Even though the grav reading on the third week showed that the beer was finished (@1.010)

It fell away a few days later, or may even have fallen after I took the reading. Either way I just left it another week, and when I re-opened the bucket it was gone.

So go ahead on saturday and see where the beer is at.