Krausen?

[sefrayser]

I have a batch of wit ale that's been in the primary since 5 January. I attached a pic, seems like there is still a thick Krausen cake on top and of course yeast cake on bottom. It really isn't bubbling anymore and I have not checked gravity yet. The temp is 66-68 range. I also noticed what looks like film on the side of the carboy...not really sure what it is. Should I let it set another week and then check gravity?

 

[IvanTheTerribrew]

Yeah that's just normal krausen you should be fine. Yeah give it until 21st or so then check gravity and see where it's at. Tho I have to ask, what volume were you aiming to make? That looks like only 2-3 gallons in those pics

 

[sefrayser]

It was a 5 gallon kit and I only got 4 gallons. I started with 4 gallons making the wort and I added water to get to the OG which ended up being a little over 4 gallons. Its my second batch and both were about the same. Not sure what went wrong but I followed the directions to a tee.

 

[Shred]

Was it an extract batch? You definitely shouldn't be missing your OG if it's extract. If it was all grain your system may not be as efficient as the kit was expecting.

 

[sefrayser]

Yes it was an extract kit that I bought from my local brew shop.

 

[DeBAD]

Next time make sure you add water up to the full 5 gals. This batch will likely not taste just right but you should still have drinkable beer.

 

[sefrayser]

If I would have filled it to 5 gallons the og would be off. What is more important the og or volume?

 

[WileECoyote]

Sounds like the kit is missing something, like enough ingredients or a typo on OG, or maybe your hydrometer is way off ?

If its a 5 gal batch, you should be ending up with 5 gallons, at the instructions OG.

I would check your Hydrometer to start with.

If you post the ingredients in your kit and the estimated OG, we could better help you figure out what is going on, you really are not giving us any information to help you figure out what is going on.

Cheers

 

[sefrayser]

I figured I would post pic instead of typing all the ingredients. If you cannot read I will post ingredients. I followed both beer directions to a tee. I started with 3 gallons of water and steeped at the right temp for the right amount of time, etc.

 

[DeBAD]

To be honest without running your recipe through a brewing calculator an OG of 1.053 sounds a little high to me. With only 6.5 lbs of fermentables I'd guess it would be closer to 1.043.

 

[DeBAD]

I'd bet if you run your recipe through Brewers Friend or something similar you will get the answer to your question. This would explain why it took less water to get to your expected OG.

 

[sefrayser]

I bought another hydrometer and checked them both. They are both right.

 

[WileECoyote]

I plugged your recipe into BeerSmith and the OG is 1.046 on a 5 gal batch, I think the instructions are off just a bit.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

 

[sefrayser]

Was that the first or second?

 

[WileECoyote]

It was the first one.

Cheers

 

[WileECoyote]

second one is 1.042

Cheers