Krausen

[tanman92]

What creates more krausen? Last beer I did was a cascade pale ale and the one fermenting is a cascade Vienna smash. 10 pounds of Vienna 5.5 ounces of cascade. Last beer I had to use a blow off and tha I God I did cuz it would have been a mess. This beer only has about an inch of krausen but fermentation looks great. I used yeast from the last beer as well. Cheers!

 

[IslandLizard]

Control your ferm temps and that controls krausen forming.

 

[tanman92]

Control your ferm temps and that controls krausen forming.

Does it have anything to do with og?

 

[IslandLizard]

Does it have anything to do with og?

Sure it does. Higher OG tends to increase fermentation activity due to the abundance of sugars the yeast feasts on. Simple sugars get digested first, more complex ones later on. A healthy yeast pitch also increases activity.

This activity can be tamed by keeping the ferm temps in check. I've brewed many 1.080+ beers that built a good thick krausen layer, but never had any krausen blow off, due to restraining the temps in the ferm chamber or "swamp cooler." When things slow down just raise the temp slowly or let free rise to keep it going. A temp controlled 1.040 beer really shouldn't give you any blow off unless it's fermenting too warm or you don't have enough headspace.

That said, it is always wise to rig up a blow off hose just in case. When pressure is allowed to build up, say by the rising krausen clogging your airlock, it will release, suddenly and explosively.

 

[Vale71]

Higher OG wort will also tend to foam more because it is richer in foam-promoting proteins and dextrins which will not be counteracted by the higher ABV, at least not in the initial phases of fermentation.

 

[tanman92]

Sure it does. Higher OG tends to increase fermentation activity due to the abundance of sugars the yeast feasts on. Simple sugars get digested first, more complex ones later on. A healthy yeast pitch also increases activity.

This activity can be tamed by keeping the ferm temps in check. I've brewed many 1.080+ beers that built a good thick krausen layer, but never had any krausen blow off, due to restraining the temps in the ferm chamber or "swamp cooler." When things slow down just raise the temp slowly or let free rise to keep it going. A temp controlled 1.040 beer really shouldn't give you any blow off unless it's fermenting too warm or you don't have enough headspace.

That said, it is always wise to rig up a blow off hose just in case. When pressure is allowed to build up, say by the rising krausen clogging your airlock, it will release, suddenly and explosively.

Thanks for the help!