Fermentation Question

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bigtau

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I brewed an Oktoberfest Ale last weekend (7 days ago). Fermentation began within 12 hours and it was pretty impressive (overflow into/out-of fermentation lock on a 6.5 gal plastic fermenter for a 5 gal batch). Fermentation subsided within a couple of days. Bubbles in fermentation lock have almost stopped. The original plan was to rack to secondary fermenter today. I popped the lid to begin racking and there is still a layer of krausen on the top. I put the lid back on and placed in back in our pantry.

I've brewed several times now and the krausen has alway subsided by now. Should I just leave in primary for the full fermentation? Should I forget about secondary fermentation for this batch? Without providing all the information, does anyone have an idea why the krausen hasn't subsided by now?
 
Sometimes krausen just hangs around, even after fermentation is finished. Sometimes it doesn't.

If your hydrometer shows the beer is done, and the SG is stable (not changing anymore over a period of several days), the beer is finished.
 
You should leave it in the primary until fermentation is done. The best way to check is with a specific gravity reading, but you can probably wait to do this until the krausen has fallen.

The length of fermentation will vary with yeast strain, temperature, pitching rate, and OG of the beer, so a week long fermentation is nothing out of the ordinary.

-Steve
 
Thanks for the suggestions and quick replies. I've always racked to a secondary fermenter, but I may just leave it alone for a couple of days, check the gravity, and go from there.

Thanks
 
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