Consistently Small Krausen!

[ferm.adventures]

This is nothing that I really worry about, but I'm curious if there is something in my process or equipment that is leading to it. The beer has been clean and tasty, but it's a little odd that it's so consistent. Just looking for opinions.

The last 5 or 6 batches, if not more, have all had a low krausen, say about 1 to 2 inches at the highest level. I brew 5.5 gallons into a 7 gallon PET carboy. SG has usually been between 1.050 to 1.060.

The last 3 I have used WPL007, S-23 and now pacman. And the krausen has looked the same and "low". Fermentation temps have been 65, 55 and 60 respectively.

In the past I've had to use blow off tubes, but never with this PET carboy. Is it as simple as going from 6.5 gallon glass primary to a 7 gallon PET?

 

[bolus14]

I have had similar results with 1272 and 3463. 3463 in 5 batches has had a small 1-1.5in krasuen where 1272 has been low if my temps are in the low 60's for the first 4-5 days.

Only reason I don't like it is because I rarely get airlock bubbles when I brew lower OG beers if I peak after 4-5 days to see if there's any krausen on top there have been times there hasn't been so it makes me wonder if fermentation ever kicked off. Of course at that point I take a hydro sample, test, and have found the it's already at the estimated FG.

These have all been with washed/repitched yeast for me. Personally I think some of it boils down to how much trub gets in when I transfer from the kettle. A few have been complete dumps from the kettle into the fermenter, a few others have been IIPA's so there would have been more hop trub in those and those had a lot of krausen with 1272. Others with some of the same washed 1272, like a brown ale and a porter, both in 1.040-1.050, had almost no krausen.

3463 on the other hand has yet to show me much krausen in three Wit's, both around 1.050. I'm going to brew a Graff and then repitch part of the cake into a Mad Elf clone with 3463 and if neither of those produc any krausen then I'll say this strain just doesn't do it, since one will have a good portion of apple juice (simple sugars) and the other will be a high OG with cherries added after primary fermentation.

I use regular buckets for all my fermentations as well, if that makes a difference...

 

[user 70770]

Your fermenting at low ish temps. That will slow down the fermentation and result in less krausen buildup. I do the same thing and mine never rise up more than 2 inches as well. Try to brew a belgian ale using a trappist yeast fermented above 70F and I can almost guarantee you'll see a big krausen.

 

[ferm.adventures]

Your fermenting at low ish temps. That will slow down the fermentation and result in less krausen buildup. I do the same thing and mine never rise up more than 2 inches as well. Try to brew a belgian ale using a trappist yeast fermented above 70F and I can almost guarantee you'll see a big krausen.

Yeah, I'm leaning to mostly being the strict temperature controls. looking back to my notes, the last time i had an air lock blow was when I added 1.5 pounds of "pasteurized" raspberries to the end of my primary.

I added to my PET carboy, left for a few hours and came back to find my beer very docile, but with an airlock full of beer and yeast.

I guess that is my next attempt... ferment something warm for a change.

 

[d3track]

Is the new carboy wider? Using Fermcap?

 

[ferm.adventures]

Hmm, I think they are about the same the old 6.5 gallon fermenter cracked and long since in the trash. I haven't used fermcap in a long time in either the boil or fermentor.