krausen question

[rdkngjoe]

I've brewed quite a few batches of beer over the past 3 years. My latest batch of black ipa, primary fermentation has slowed down after about 5 days, but the krausen is still floating on top. In my brewing experience, it usually falls back in by the time primary fermentation slows down. I normally rack to a secondary after 1 week. Should I wait to rack it to a secondary?
Should I be concerned?

 

[BigB]

5 days is too early. I would leave it alone and not even bother transferring to secondary as it is an unnecessary step 90% of the time. Also, depending on the yeast strain, it may hang around a very long time. I've had kolschs that still had a full krausen after a month although they had long since fully fermented. If you really must transfer to secondary, just take hydrometer readings a couple days in a row to be sure the readings are stable.

 

[rdkngjoe]

Thanks for the input BigB. I'll leave it alone til I'm ready to dry hop. This was my first batch that I made a starter, using Wyeast 1272. It took off very quick and was very active for the first few days. My experience has been when the bubbles slow down, the krausen falls in. You believe racking to a secondary is usually unnecessary?

 

[chaydaw]

From my short time on this thread I would think a large majority think a secondary is not necessary. Most would say unless adding fruits, spices, etc. just leave in primary for 3-4 weeks. After that maybe cold crash or go directly to bottling/kegging.

 

[BigB]

chaydaw pretty much said it. It is a bit of a debatable subject and you will find many people that still strongly believe in using a secondary. You will definitely find many threads on the subject. The only time I use a secondary is when I add fruit, spices, oak chips, dry hop, or lager. I would suggest that you read some of the many lengthy arguments for and against using a secondary and decide for yourself. Heres a great thread to start with: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f163/secondary-not-john-palmer-jamil-zainasheff-weigh-176837/