Kraeusen... is bigger better

I’m now on my forth home brew and wonder when I’m going to get some huge action and see a big kraeusen. My first two where fermented in a plastic bucket so I can’t really tell how big they got. I recently switch to a 6.5 gal carboy to watch the action inside the fomenter but have noticed good activity but not a huge kraeusen. Well the first one I did in the carboy was a Belgian double the kraeusen was about 4in high and very rocky it popped away for 2 weeks until it stopped. I currently have a hobgoblin fermenting right now the kraeusen only rose about 4in on this one and started about 6hrs after pitching the starter. Well there is the back round information on what I have going on. My question is with a small kraeusen is my beer fermenting right? I have reached fg on all the brews so far, just wondering if I’m doing ok?

Four inches is pretty darn good! If you want to see a hellacious krauesen, you might want to try brewing another beer and pouring it over the yeast cake left behind in you primary from the previous brew. But be prepared to have a blow-off tube handy!

More info on this technique can be found here.

Size doesn't matter. All it is is a big head, so brews with good head retention will have big krausens. Faster ferments will product bigger krausens, as well. But, a small krausen doesn't mean a bad ferment.

david_42 said:

Size doesn't matter...

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that's what I keep telling SWMBO...

Bigger isn't always better. If you ferment at a the high end of the yeast temp range or higher, you will generally get a bigger krausen but more fruity esters which may not be what you want in your finished product.

Also, the amount of krausen will vary considerably depending on the yeast strain you are using and the ingredients in the recipe as well as all the other environmental factors.

I never worry about the krausen as long as I have done everything I can to follow the recipe including any starters, aeration and correct temps. I have never had a bad batch yet.

Rhoobarb said:

Four inches is pretty darn good! If you want to see a hellacious krauesen, you might want to try brewing another beer and pouring it over the yeast cake left behind in you primary from the previous brew. But be prepared to have a blow-off tube handy!

More info on this technique can be found here.

Click to expand...

LMAO!

The best part about that thread is how the husbands tried to hide what happened from their SWMBOs. Classic.

I'm actually excited to do this for the first time on New Year's eve! What better way to ring in the New Year than to brew, then have a huge party, and blow up a carboy!

Prowler 13 said:

Bigger isn't always better. If you ferment at a the high end of the yeast temp range or higher, you will generally get a bigger krausen but more fruity esters which may not be what you want in your finished product.

Also, the amount of krausen will vary considerably depending on the yeast strain you are using and the ingredients in the recipe as well as all the other environmental factors.

I never worry about the krausen as long as I have done everything I can to follow the recipe including any starters, aeration and correct temps. I have never had a bad batch yet.

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Agreed. My trappist I brewed up a few weeks ago had a massive Krausen and gushed foam out of the airlock as it fermented in the low 70s after I pitched a quart starter of liquid yeast. My porter has had about a half inch Krausen the last day as it has fermented in the mid 60s with a packet of dry yeast. Different beers will have wildly varying Krausens, but there's no one right amount of foam for all fermentations.