First BIAB batch, stuck ferment?

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dilligafbrewing

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Hello

Been brewing extract for a long time, did my first BIAB batch of brown ale Friday and used a smack pack of London ale yeast. After 12 hrs I had fermentation but it never formed the usual thick foamy krausen. It bubbled with a very thin cap for 3 days and seems to have stopped. Temp was between 66 and 70 f the entire time. Haven't taken a gravity yet but I suspect that it isn't finished. Never had a stuck ferment, wondering if that's what I have here.
 
You know AG fermentation is really going to work just exactly the same as Extract fermentation, right? Only difference is maybe the AG fermentation is LESS likely to end high.

If you haven't taken a reading, then do so. But it hasn't been very long. I suspect it's nearly done. I'd probably wait maybe one more week to keg, maybe 2 weeks to bottle (To get it to clear more.)
 
Yes I am aware that brewing with grain is the same as extract from the boil onward. Using grains instead of extract is the only variable in this equation, thats why I mentioned it. Was wondering if maybe something in the grist could account for the weak krausen, or if this strain isn't a particularly vigorous one.

I fine with gelatin and cold crash before I keg, allows me to go from kettle to glass in about ten days.
 
Well, a witbier would have more wheat and more protein, so I'd expect a bit more krausen. But it's a lighter style, so maybe it's fermenting kind of slow and not throwing the foam like some others might. There are other factors too. Maybe the orange peel oils are keeping the foam down a bit.
 
Um... It's a brown ale. No wheat. No orange peels. Just 2 row pale malt and some specialty grains for color and flavor...
 
Um... It's a brown ale. No wheat. No orange peels. Just 2 row pale malt and some specialty grains for color and flavor...

Oops, my bad. I was confused this thread with a different thread from earlier today.

Brown ale may still be lower gravity, but then orange peel wouldn't be a factor (unless you brewed an orange peel brown...)

Different yeasts do create different types of krausen, however I would expect the simple malt bill in a brown ale to be normal, and therefore prone to a krausen like most beers. A small foam cap is not really unusual either.

I guess I still recommend taking a gravity reading. It will tell you without all of the ambiguity what is going on.
 
SG is 1.013, right where the wort app calculated it would finish. Never had a beer finish this quickly, this cold with this small of a krausen but I'll take it! Flavor is not quiet what I was looking for but still tasty.
 
SG is 1.013, right where the wort app calculated it would finish. Never had a beer finish this quickly, this cold with this small of a krausen but I'll take it! Flavor is not quiet what I was looking for but still tasty.

Give it another week or more for the flavor to change. If I read your first post correctly you are sampling a very young beer.
 
Even though witbiers are considered a light wheat beer, and should be drank young, I agree with RM-MN on waiting just a bit more. I've found my wits tend to taste best at about 3 weeks after fermentaiton is "complete".

Not that I don't drink some it before then... ;)
 
Dammit!

LOL!...

You should have brewed a witbier! haha.

I don't recall having to wait for a brown ale to mature. Stouts, yes. Browns don't seem to change that much in my experience, and they don't need to be very clear to be good either IMO.

Here's a nice witbier recipe for your next batch:

50% Pilsner Malt
50% Flaked Wheat
5% Honey Malt
.75 ounce fresh orange zest (no pith)
.75 ounce Coriander, crushed
Belgian Wit yeast for Belgian ale, or clean American yeast for Blue Moon style

I'll be ready to respond properly when you get that one brewed up! ;)
 
A grain bill that adds up to 105%... Gonna have to consult a theoretical physicist about this...
 
all jokes aside i'm not a fan of belgians or whitbiers so although i'm sure your recipe is awesome, it will never grace my equipment. as for the brown ale, i plan to rack it into secondary tonight. need to finish off whats left of casper milquetoast (milk stout) before i can crash and keg it tho....shucks, looks like i may have to drag out the quart glasses and call in some help.
 
SG is 1.013, right where the wort app calculated it would finish. Never had a beer finish this quickly, this cold with this small of a krausen but I'll take it! Flavor is not quiet what I was looking for but still tasty.

I'd bet your beer will smooth right on out if you leave it in the fermenter another few days. I have one in the fermenter now that ceased showing airlock activity on day 4. I'll let it ride out the full 14 days and the yeast will clean itself of many of the off flavors it produced.
 
It finishes dicetyl rest today. The flavors I was getting but not looking for were likely from a large amount of yeast still in suspension.
 
Came out sweet. Pretty sure my mash temp has something to do with that. Brewed last night again, a pale ale this time. Ezboil is not good for BIAB mashing, at least not on my kettle. Depending on where the temp probe is, the controller will overheat mash. I found temps in the 160's and higher last night. In the future I will just disable the element in my kettle during mash and insulate it better. this kettle is too small anyway, next build will be a RIMS setup.
 

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