Wyeast 1272 American Ale II Yeast Question

[TheMattTrain]

I'm currently on day 11 of fermentation using Wyeast 1272 and the krausen hasn't fallen yet. I'm fermenting in my basement so the fermometer is reading around 66 or so. I had a very bubbly krausen to start, it fell down to nothing within a day or two leaving some light bubbles on the surface, and then grew back up to about an inch high and very creamy. It's now at about a quarter to a half inch and just hanging. It's still very creamy, bubbles coming through the blowoff tube every 18-19 seconds. Is this typical for a low fermentation temp on this yeast? I don't even want to take a hydrometer reading until the krausen drops.

I should also mention that the blowoff tube fell out of the sanitizer the first night. No idea how many hours it was out. I got it back in the next morning.

 

[RmikeVT]

Seems bizarre to have krausen fall then come back. I don't think you have to worry about the blow off tube falling out of the sanitizer, microscopic critters don't crawl up and over, typically and you probably had CO2 pushing out of the tube as added protection. Which day did the krausen "come back" , how long was it "gone" for?

Every fermentation is different. I had a krausen on beer that didn't go away after 5 weeks. I racked out from under it and the beer was fine. I would just follow your planned schedule and relax. Take a hydro reading before you bottle to check for full fermentation and give it a taste to make sure their is no infection. I also encourage people to not mess with their beers.

What type of beer?

 

[JonM]

I use 1272 very often, and I have seen this phenomenon and have read other posts about others seeing it. I can't explain it, but it appears to be common.

 

[TheMattTrain]

It fell the first time on day 2, I think. My notes are at home. It came back the following day, so it was only down to a thin layer of bubbles for a day, max. More likely only a few hours. The first krausen looked more like a ton of big bubbles, no creamy head. So when that fell down, it just left some medium sized bubbles on the surface, then rose up again. I think it never got too aggressive because of the temp. I know it's still fermenting, I've just never had a krausen last this long.

My thought is that I'll leave it in primary until I get back from vacation. We're leaving Friday and coming back 10 days later. If it's still got a krausen, I'll check gravity and rack to secondary until I've got a free keg if it's ready.

I was more just wondering if this was typical of the yeast strain.