Krausen down after one night?

[1vh1]

I brewed my first batch of beer last night, I reduced the wort down a little much (big pot, high humidity) so I added some water and un boiled wort I had from earlier.

It has been fermenting all night, and it looks like the krausen got to around 2-3 inches in hight over night, but now its down to 1/8th of an inch. But I am still getting a bubble every half second through my blow-off tube. I can also see some chunks floating up and down in the wort. Is that a good sign I'm still getting fermentation?

 

[hamiltont]

You're fine. Just make the beer temp isn't too high, which can cause a fast fermentation and undesirable results. Cheers!!!

 

[Revvy]

Everything's fine.

They can come and go in 24 hours or linger for weeks. I don't think there's anything "normal" in brewing. Especially where krausens are conderned.

The amount of krausen can vary for whatever reason, it can come quick and depart quickly or it can linger long after fermentation is complete, and it all be normal.

There is nothing "typical" in brewing...every fermentation is different, and should not be used to compare one with another...you can't do that.

No two fermentations are ever exactly the same.

When we are dealing with living creatures, there is a wild card factor in play..Just like with other animals, including humans...No two behave the same.

krausens are weird. For example, I had a wit beer that I pitched bottle harvested Hoegaarden that STILL had a 2" krausen on it three weeks later. I took a grav reading and it had reached terminal gravity, 1.010. So the beer was done, but the krausen still lingered. I finally gently swirled the beer to knock it down, and let it settle for another week before I bottled it.

 

[unionrdr]

I've seen all that too. No two are ever the same. But I've noticed that there seems to be some difference in regards to the form of yeast pitched. Dry,re-hydrated,or starter. And even that can vary from brew to brew. so,I have to agree,RDWHAHB...

 

[Mysticmead]

Like Revvy said... it's all good. I too have had a Krausen stick around for weeks after fermentation was done, and have had it go away over night. My current beer fermenting had a VERY active ferment for the first 12 hours or so (glad I used a blow off)then it settled into a steady bubble per 15 seconds...and it's still at that bubble rate a week later (yes Revvy, I know bubbles don't mean much more than CO2 being released). Sit back and wait until the yeast get done doing what they need to do... then give it an extra week or 2 to clean up after their party.

 

[1vh1]

Thanks everyone. I just checked it again and it seems the Krausen has risen a little. I guess I have some crazy yeast!

 

[Poobah58]

If that's your pic on Facebook then it's infected. Was that intentional? Why did you add unboiled wort? Give us some more details...

 

[1vh1]

Nope, no Facebook pictures. Could I get a link so I could see what an infected batch looks like? I added the extra wort because it was very low after my boil. I had ~2 1/2 quarts after boiling down.

 

[Allstar]

I just went through this, I thought it was strange that day two when I checked it looked like it was broken back down completely. OH well it is now in the secondary so I will see in a couple weeks.

 

[Poobah58]

Hmmmm, I clicked on this and your thread popped up:
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!...1221585018.663226.187611395017&type=1&theater

 

[Poobah58]

Nope, no Facebook pictures. Could I get a link so I could see what an infected batch looks like? I added the extra wort because it was very low after my boil. I had ~2 1/2 quarts after boiling down.

NEVER add unboiled wort to your fermenter. Just asking for trouble.

 

[1vh1]

Hmmmm, I clicked on this and your thread popped up:
https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!...1221585018.663226.187611395017&type=1&theater

Woah weird, I didn't post that picture. Meh, no biggie.

My brew looks nothing like that. It has a thin Krausen on it, and smells of beer. I will remember the thing about no un-boiled water/wort! I didn't even think about contamination from there, and only focused on body-equipment contamination. If I have screwed this one up, I will've taken away a good learning experience.

If I am getting good bubbles/fermentation, is that a good sign away from infection?

 

[Yooper]

NEVER add unboiled wort to your fermenter. Just asking for trouble.

This. This is worrisome, so I hope you didn't add "unboiled" wort to the fermenter, just some previously boiled wort that you had cooled in advance.

 

[Yooper]

If I am getting good bubbles/fermentation, is that a good sign away from infection?

No, there would be no way to know without taking it under a microscope if you've got yeast or bacteria working in there. Hopefully, the yeast got going well, and your unboiled wort wasn't contaminated with lactobacillus.

 

[1vh1]

Should I through all of this in a pot and re boil it? Then toss the rest of my yeast in after I cool it down?

 

[Yooper]

Should I through all of this in a pot and re boil it? Then toss the rest of my yeast in after I cool it down?

Since fermentation is well underway, I'd say that it's too late now. Hopefully it'll turn out great, and you'll have no ill effects from the unboiled wort!

 

[unionrdr]

Was the cooled wort covered,or sealed in some way?

 

[1vh1]

I tasted it and tasted strong vinegar. I took this as a lesson and I am now starting fresh with a batch of some Blue Moon Clone.