High Krausen Twice?

[cjteteak]

Fermenting in a glass carboy for the first time and am loving getting to watch the vigorous fermentation. However, with new experiences come new questions...

Is it a normal thing to see a high krausen rise then fall (albeit not completely) then rise again higher than the first time?

Brewed a blonde on Saturday, had a solid krausen on it Sunday night. By Monday night it had fallen quite a bit. Then this morning (tuesday) BAM! the foam was almost twice the height of the original "krausen", but this time with many more large bubbles as opposed to the little co2 bubbles.

I pitched with a 1000ml starter that was on a stir plate for 36 hours. I have pictures of each day if someone want/needs to see them.

 

[Topher79]

Did you have any temperature fluctuations? The temperature of the beer could have dropped, causing the yeast to become less active. When it warmed back up the yeasties would have had a wake up call and gone back to work causing the reformation of the krausen.

 

[progmac]

was the first krausen brown and the second white?

 

[jungatheart]

In for the answer.

 

[Kalvaroo]

Depending on which yeast you used, that sounds like just a normal temperature drop and stall like what Topher said.

I had this experience on a BGSA using Wyeast 1388...

For me it turned out that I had an overnight temperature change of a few degrees, and the yeast picked back up by the following afternoon. However with that yeast it didn't last long, only that night, and then took forever to finish. I haven't tried to do another BGSA since.

 

[cjteteak]

There may have been a temp change, but only a degree or two at most I would think. It's pretty much at 66 degrees all the time where I keep them. The first krausen was more white and the second is more straw colored. I pitched Wyeast american ale II 1272.

First Krausen:

Things calmed down: (note the new carboy of Apfelwein!)

Second Krausen:

 

[progmac]

that is some quality krausen drama. that second krausen is great for a yeast harvest.

 

[Topher79]

It doesn't take much of a temperature change to stall some yeasts. I just brewed a milk stout and on the second day of fermentation the carboy temperature was at 66* before I left for work and was down to 64* when I got home. My krausen had practically disappeared, and the fermentation was not near as vigorous. Once I warmed it up to 68* the krausen came back, and my fermentation resumed on as usual.

 

[wsmith1625]

was the first krausen brown and the second white?

Today I noticed a 2nd high krausen using WPL023. Yes, the first krausen was brown and the 2nd is white. I'm not worried, but want to know why this happened. Also, this is my first time using WPL023 yeast.