Good Fermentation but no Krausen

[foamous]

Hey Folks,

First off - I appreciate your time and and consideration to this post. I've been brewing all grain for over a year now and I've never had this happen before. Yesterday, I brewed an all grain coffee oatmeal stout and it's already actively fermenting but no krausen has formed. The recipe is an all grain Irish Stout from Northern Brewer with the addition of 2.5 lbs of oats (during mash) and a 2 gallon volume addition of cold pressed coffee at the end of the boil (final volume is 5.5 gallons).

I'm confident that the beer is fermenting out but I'm concerned the beer will have no head retention once it's kegged. I've read that some feel that oats causes this issue with no krausen thereby possibly resulting in no head retention but others say they have had no issues whatsoever with either. For those of you who have had this happen to them, what ever became of your final product? What should I do at this point? A Stout without head just doesn't' seem right...

Looking forward to hearing from you... and thanks for the input!

 

[Revvy]

What sign are you using to define active fermentation? Are you saying your airlock is bubbling? That's not really a good sign.

Not having a krausen after only one day is not surprising, as we point out here, the yeast can OFTEN take 3 days before waking up enough to form a krausen and begin fermenting your beer. I't nothing to worry about either way.

 

[foamous]

What sign are you using to define active fermentation? Are you saying your airlock is bubbling? That's not really a good sign.

Not having a krausen after only one day is not surprising, as we point out here, the yeast can OFTEN take 3 days before waking up enough to form a krausen and begin fermenting your beer. I't nothing to worry about either way.

Thanks Revvy for replying. I'm sure it's fermenting because I took a reading last night. I can see bubbles rising and popping on the surface too. This morning though, just a small surface area of tannish bubbles but not big fat krausen like before. Thoughts? Anyone?

 

[EBloom97]

I was under the impression that flaked oats aided in head retention, not hindered it. Are you talking about regular oat malt or steel cut oats? I would think they would help head retention as well. Also, I'm not sure no krausen translates directly to no head. I mean, krausen is mostly yeast and floating trub.

Have you checked your yeast strain to see if it is prone to this sort of behavior?

 

[foamous]

Hey EBloom97 - I'm using Wyeast Irish Ale 1084. I'm not sure about its fermentation characteristics. And you may be right regarding the Krausen-->Head Retention as there seems to be some discrepancy regarding this being a correct correlation or not. Where would I find out about more about the characteristics of the yeast?

 

[EBloom97]

Regarding oats, everything I've seen says it would enhance head retention in the same way wheat or rye would. If by chance it does kill head retention, then at least you make up what you lose in terms of mouthfeel, right?

I've used 1084, and while it didn't produce a huge krausen for me, there was some. Still, I wouldn't be too worried, especially if you're detecting signs of fermentation. Wait and see I guess.

 

[wedge421]

Strange, Ive never seen a beer without some kind of krausen. Maybe it was there but went a way really quickly?

 

[foamous]

Hey Wedge, very unlikely as I've been monitoring it every 4 hours or so and its still acting the same way. I've read some other posts and its *possible* that its the yeast strain (Wyeast London ale) that's the culprit. My biggest concern is that the final carbonated keg may not produce beers that hold a stiff thick head like a good stout should.

Anyone think that the coffee addition may be the culprit with this? The oils in the cold steeped coffee?

 

[EBloom97]

Oh yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if it was the coffee, specifically the oils from the bean.

 

[foamous]

Okay guys, I'll keep you posted. If anyone else has any thoughts feel free to chime in. I'll keep checking back and adding more information as things progress. I will make sure to post the final outcome too, but keep the replies coming!

 

[ThePearsonFam]

I'd be interested to hear about the results.

 

[foamous]

Follow up: Folks, as a follow up to this post. The Stout has been forced carbed for the last week and it turned out nice but the head disappears after a healthy, foamy pour in less than 1 minute. I cant say for sure why, but I'm guessing the oils in the coffee or the extra oats? Anyway, just wanted to follow up with the verdict like I said I would.

The stout is still quite good, just wish it had a nice frothy head like a good stout should have. If anyone has any suggestions for how to fix after kegging, I'm all ears. Otherwise, I'll chalk this one up to a learned experience.

Thanks again for all the input,

Foamy