Krausen Curiosity

Hey all, been home brewing for about a year now, mainly partial mash lagers - 5 gallon batches. It's been a great experience so far and I am having a great time!

I brewed my first all-grain 5 gallon batch two weeks ago that was a lot easier than I had thought. Made one mistake - misread my sparge water volume and ended up with 1.5 extra gallons that I had to boil off. No big deal, just extra time and an extended boil. OG was two points shy but so darned close it's not a problem.

I'm curious, though, as I've noticed something different that I haven't seen in any of my previous 25 brews - the krausen in the fermenter was bigger than usual. My previous brews would get 1-2 inches of krausen on top that would fall after one week. This one, though, filled the headspace in my 6 gallon carboy and for the first time ever I was considering a blow-off tube. After the primary fermentation it has subsided, but is still about three inches thick and shows no signs of falling further.

I'm about ready to start bringing the temp down over the next four weeks for the lagering phase and usually by this time the krausen is gone. Hydro readings indicate that fermentation is complete. No, I'm not worried, but was curious if this is common for all-grain brews?

-CJ

Some beers blow out the top and some don't. Can't say it happens more often with AG, but its just another reason to always use a blow off with ales. I've never had a lager create a problem though, rather extract or AG.