Does krausen height represent level of fermentation?

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Tipharet

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Last beer I brewed was an imperial IPA. I used only one package of wyeast 1056. I forget the original gravity, however it was above 1.060. Fermentation was quick and aggressive with very high level of krausen. I ended up with a beer that was about 6.7 abv, which in my opinion that's low for an imperial. I also ended up with a pretty heavy butterscotch which more than likely means fermentation halted immediately. This makes sense to me because it got really cold one night and dropped temps to low 60s.

The beer I currently have fermenting is a grapefruit imperial IPA. Steady temps in the low 70's and airlock bubbling bout once a second. The OG of this beer was 1.090 and I was aiming for .85. As a result, I added 2 packs of 1056. Problem I'm concerned about is despite the airlock, krausen is only about a bit over an inch. I expected this beer to explode with such high sugars and with 2 packs of 1056.

I really want to avoid diaceytle again with this IPA? Any comments or suggestion would be appreciated.
 
the size of the krausen does not matter, neither does a bubbling airlock. the first beer was not an imperial ipa if the OG was 1060. the second beer needed more than 2 packs of yeast, you should have made a starter for that one.
 
Nope- basically no correlation. Every fermentation looks different- some blow off tons of krausen, others you'll see no krausen at all. Don't worry about it.
 
The first beer was above .060. Anyway, should I add yeast nutrient or pitch another 1056?

Also will bottle conditioning solve the diaceytl problem?
 
Both beers did not have enough yeast. That can lead too off flavor's from the yeast working to hard. A beer around 1.060 should have at least a 1 liter starter and a 1.090 should have like a gallon starter. You should read up on proper pitching rates and try to utilize the calculators like mrmalty.com.

A beer can still ferment while being under pitched but you will get a better beer with proper yeast amounts.
 
TahoeRy said:
Both beers did not have enough yeast. That can lead too off flavor's from the yeast working to hard. A beer around 1.060 should have at least a 1 liter starter and a 1.090 should have like a gallon starter. You should read up on proper pitching rates and try to utilize the calculators like mrmalty.com.

A beer can still ferment while being under pitched but you will get a better beer with proper yeast amounts.

So is there anything I can do now?
 
eastoak said:
in short, no. this does not mean you won't have a tasty beer in the end so i would not worry about it at all.

Yeah I don't have a stir plate so I just use wyeast.
 
Yeah I don't have a stir plate so I just use wyeast.


you can make a starter in a mason jar or apple juice jug, 2 liter soda bottle or whatever container you have at hand (food safe). just prepare the wort (100 grams of DME per liter of water), cool, pour into the container, shake to aerate and add the yeast. shake it every so often, bang! a starter. crash cool and decant the beer before pitching.
 
Also- you should not bottle until all the diacetyl is gone- it will not age out. Adding some newly fermenting beer (similar yeast) to the batch from another batch may help.
 
I agree with everybody's comments here. Nothing you can do as I wouldn't risk infection. Everything will be fine, Just give it a bit longer in secondary once you transfer.

Eastoak is right about the starter vessels as well. I don't use a stir plate and still make great starters. Just give it a good swirl every day to help the yeast along.
 
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