Krausen after one week on Pilsner?

[nicholaswebber13]

Hi everyone,

I recently started brewing lagers (due to getting a Keezer) and I have already brewed an Oktoberfest and Schwarzbier last fall. Right now I have a Pilsner in the keezer and it is approximately 14 days in to primary and fermenting at 52 degrees F. I am using the White Labs pilsner yeast from a 2L starter and my concern is that I still have about a 1.5 to 2 inch krausen on top of the beer. Is this normal? Will it settle out? I did not notice this happening with the other two lagers in the fall. Thanks for all your feedback!

 

[pjj2ba]

I see this not infrequently. I haven't yet come up with a good theory as to why - I guess I need to do more experiments :rockin: I'm currently leaning towards a combination of yeast and grain bill. I usually get a good drop of the krausen with my American lagers and their corn adjuncts, and the "stuck" krausen seem to be the European, all malt brews, but not always

 

[nicholaswebber13]

Good observation and thank you very much. As this was a traditional all malt pilsner. Well Im gonna give it until this weekend and start the Diacetyl rest. Maybe that will drop it out but I guess as long as the FG is there then I can just rack around the krausen. Thanks again!

 

[osagedr]

Krausen is certainly no cause for concern. Some strains just chug away for a lot longer than others.

Of course, the only way to know what is going on with your beer is by taking a gravity reading. You want to do your d-rest when you are 8 points or so above expected FG (1.020 or just over is pretty safe for a Pilsner).