krausen taking forever

So I brewed up a batch of oktoberfest ale style and it has been in primary fermentation for over 3 weeks and the krausen still hasn't dropped. Should I transfer it to secondary or continue to wait for it to fully drop?

Just wait. What's the rush? Traditionally, Oktoberfest beers are brewed in March, to be lagered until October. I'd say you could wait another 3-4 weeks before transferring.

thanks. what causes this? every other beer i have done it has dropped within two weeks or less. the oktoberfest has a strange plastic wrap'ish film on top...

hmmm said:

So I brewed up a batch of oktoberfest ale style and it has been in primary fermentation for over 3 weeks and the krausen still hasn't dropped. Should I transfer it to secondary or continue to wait for it to fully drop?

Click to expand...

Are you using US-05, cause lately it like doesnt drop

hmmm said:

thanks. what causes this? every other beer i have done it has dropped within two weeks or less. the oktoberfest has a strange plastic wrap'ish film on top...

Click to expand...

Post a picture...

Cheers!

I am having this same problem with s-05. after 2weeks it's still on top. Check gravity reading and it's done. I just sloshed the fermenter around until it dropped. I needed it gone so I could dump dry hops in.

Not able to post a picture at this time but i checked it again today and there is chunks floating at the top and a really strong alcohol smell. Almost as strong as a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

What's the gravity??? That will tell you wheter the beer is done or not.

Don't mean to hijack the topic but I have just recently switched to AG and noticed much more vigorous fermentation activity with my first attempt (Xmas Porter). Just after 24hrs, my airlock was bubbling like MAD, nothing like I had noticed with any past extract brew of mine. Never had a problem with Krausen blowing upward into airlock when using my 6.5 gallon carboy. WELL...not until I came home today and had to clean up a serious mess. Luckily I keep my fermenter in a round bin and covered with a brown towel. My question should read, is this typical of AG brewing? I noticed more cold break being passed on to fermenter regardless of how well I strained it during transfer, ie cheesecloth and big mesh strainer. I aerated typical of past brews. I used Burton ale yeast. OG was near 1.06 and I had calculated efficiency at 20ppg for five gallons, low percentage (first time, don't criticize). Fermenting at stable 70F and just converted to blowoff tube. Krausen is very dominant. Hopefully I will hit my target date of first pour on XMAS Eve. Thoughts or advice is welcome.

@ Maddad

Did you use a yeast nutrient? If so, some yeasts (notty for instance) will go ape-crazy in your fermenter, even fermenting cool.

I never had blowoff issues until switching to all grain. It might have something to do with break material getting chomped up as yeast fuel in your primary.

Extract brews tend to be pretty clean in my admittedly limited experience. That's not to say that an extract brew can't exceed the limitations of your primary fermenter.

Top cropping yeasts are much more krausen-y what I've seen and can persist for a while. What yeast did you use?

Azurecybe,
I used WL Burton ale yeast. From reviews I have read, it is great in Porters and is top cropping. I have just never seen this level of activity in any extract recipe and want to be prepared as I head into AG. I tasted some of the wort from my gravity readings and could tell that there is a significant difference between extract and AG. Did not add any yeast nutrients but there seemed to be plenty of grub with all the cold break that passed through. How long before the Krausen dropped in your similar experience(s)?

The notty experiences I have had usually dropped krausen in about a week. The Wyeast Labs West Yorkshire Ale - Private Collection - 1469PC I pitched on 10-31 still has a half inch of krausen 12 days later. I'm going with no secondary on this one once it finishes out. I just can't wait to get it in the bottle.

The last time I brewed my ESB I used SAFALE S-04 and the primary was over in 4 days flat.

Recipe is here.

http://www.brewmasterswarehouse.com/recipe/bc8fa190/azurecybe-short-bus-bitter

I hear you about not wanting to wait to bottle. Makes drinking it that much better, though. Thanks for the info. I need to read up on all the different varieties of yeast and their intricacies. My first foray into AG breing and certainly not my last. Can't wait to mash on Sunday!!!