London Ale III (Wyeast 1318)/NE IPA--squishy krausen?

[sjfischr]

Hey all,

I made a NE IPA last Friday; recipe was as follows:
62% 2 Row
31% flaked oat and wheat combo
5% carapils
2% honey malt
Mosaic, simcoe, and summit for hops at flameout
Two smack packs London Ale III

The problem:
--the OG fell from 1.066 to 1.026 (only 60% AA), in five days
--there is this sticky, but krausen-like substance on the top, and though fermentation activities have stopped, this stuff is much thicker that normal krausen, and seems to be ready to stick around rather than fall

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Observations:
--appearance is spot-on for a NE IPA
--the flavor is exactly like a juice bomb--yes!

Questions:
Should I call this 5.4 ABV brew done and rack to secondary for dry hopping? I wanted better attenuation.
Should I just wait on this super-glue krausen?
Was there too much wheat/oat in the mash?

Thanks!

 

[kh54s10]

That looks like a very good fermentation.. 5 days is plenty, sometimes, for other times it might be 7 or 10 days, occasionally longer than that. A lot of green from the hops. Wait another week, 5 days is way to early to make any determination on what is good or bad. I have had a couple that lasted almost 2 weeks then fell. I would not sweat things.

 

[sjfischr]

Ok, thanks for the prompt reply--just researching further, this was wayyyy too much wheat/oat (4 lbs!) so it's kind of like library paste on the top. This was carefully controlled using a Ranco controller/heating pad/freezer, kept at 64-66 the entire time.

Again--the taste is unreal. I am quite happy with the flavor, but want maybe another ten points in attenuation.

 

[jessup]

Why do you think it is done? Krausen is still there... Remember airlock activity means nothing. Let it go for another week at least. High levels (40%) of oats can actually make it floc & clear so im curious how it is after carbed & served.

 

[olotti]

I use 1318 a lot and ya kinda have to get to know its tendencies to really understand it. lol. So that looks like 1318, it leaves a big bubbly thick krausen that hangs around. I've found that if you can warm up the beer after day 5 that helps it to attenuate, I go from 66 deg and move it upstairs around day 4 or 5 and it rises to 70-72 where I let it finish out, never had a 1318 beer not hit its fg but if this yeast is left to warm during primary fermentation like 70-72 it will throw some esters for sure, it is English in dna after all. I have an Dipa on day 8 that's been sitting at 72-73 deg and the krausen just fell. I also mash 1318 beers at 150 and often have to use 1/2lb of dextrose to get the fg in the 1.013-1.015 range. It's a nice yeast for the style as it has the fruit and leaves enough body and mouthfeel but it can be finicky at first.

 

[jrodmfish]

though fermentation activities have stopped, this stuff is much thicker that normal krausen, and seems to be ready to stick around rather than fall

Fermentation activity should be tracked by measuring the gravity of the beer, not by "stopped activities". If you're only watching airlock activity, then you're only looking at one particular aspect of fermentation. After the airlock has died down, there's still plenty of work being done by the yeast.

 

[sjfischr]

OK, thanks all, especially @olotti--let me be clear that the gravity has held steady at about 1.026, but I think that at day six, it may be time to increase temperature so we can see if it will get rid of the glue-like krausen and let this finish off.

 

[olotti]

OK, thanks all, especially @olotti--let me be clear that the gravity has held steady at about 1.026, but I think that at day six, it may be time to increase temperature so we can see if it will get rid of the glue-like krausen and let this finish off.

Hey no prob I know I had a learning curve when using 1318 vs using Conan and 05 which are my other yeasts I like to use. Warming it will def help it but it's not certain it'll drop so if it's stubborn just slowly turn the carboy back and forth and that helps too just don't do it vigorously enough to splash and introduce o2. I also save some yeast off my starters and noticed the last batch I made with 1318 which is generation 4 the krausen dropped easier

 

[sjfischr]

Update:
I upped the Ranco to 69 degrees, and the white bubbles under the krausen really got going. This will probably fall to the desired FG after all. Thanks!