Finally The kraeusen Falls

[guitarjaws]

Well this batch, as the title eludes to, had a kraeusen that just did not want fall. I did not worry. I came on here and did some searching and found out that all is well and sometimes this happens. I relaxed. Well I let some time go by take some hydrometer readings and a few days ago its ready to bottle but I didn't have the time till today. I go to work planning in my head how I am going to go about it tonight get home start collecting my equipment go to move the carboy up to the counter so I can siphon it, and low and behold the kraeusen is falling. The beer was clear this morning... not now. Looking in it with a flash light shows sediment making its way down to the bottom. So now Im having a homebrew and am a lil disappointed i didn't get it bottled i guess I will wait for it to do its thing and clear up again. just wanted to vent really and share my story. Has this happened to any of you guys before? just curious. cheers

 

[earwig]

How long has it been fermenting? You do not want to bottle as soon as the krausen falls.

 

[BenjaminBier]

Hi Budday! Welcome to HBT!

Can I ask how long your beer has been in the primary? Yeast type? Temperature 24 hours after pitching yeast? Temperature now?

I've only been brewing myself for a year now, but I've had lots of variation with the amount of time a kraeusen hangs around. From what I can tell there are several factors at play, but the general rule is if the kraeusen hasn't fallen, it needs more time to sit. Give those yeasties a little time to work on it and I'm sure the krausen will take care of itself.

Now that it's falling, I would just give it some time to settle completely and rack it then. The beer will probs be better for it anyway.

I've also had a kraeusen that kinda just sat there. I moved the carboy one day to make room, then the kraeusen began to break up a bit and settle to the bottom, leaving a yeastly dust on the sides of the carboy. I think it was a hefeweizen with W3068 Weihenstephanen. It fermented fast, like really fast within a few days, and then cooled off quickly, kraeusen just chilled on the top for a while. It's also happening with a yeast I'm using now, Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire. The 1469 I used on an English Brown and then reused the cake for a Robust Porter. Both those beers fermented heavily for a few days, then cooled off and developed a second lasting kraeusen creamier and heavier than the first. Just kinda of stayed there looking exactly the same for two more weeks until it broke itself up.

Analysis is that yeast type and fermentation temp, by association fermentation speed?, can create a lasting kraeusen.

Noob answer?

 

[Smokeater233]

If you got a new layer of krausen then your yeast ain't done eating. It's likely that your moving the carboy roused the yeast and they found more to eat. Leave it alone...for days. Let the krausen fall, and then a few more days to clean up and I'll bet you'll find a clearer beer than you had before... Patience is the one item the homebrew shops leave out of the equipment kits - and yet it is just as essential as barley, hops, yeast, and water in making great beer...

Hang in there!