Nervous Newbie... NE IPA and hop burn

[jlpeifer]

Hello Everyone... about 8 days ago I cooked up a batch of NE IPA. The entire process went off without a hitch following the recipe. I did make 1 error in dry-hopping. Instead of waiting until signs of active fermentation I dropped the first batch of hops into the barrel at the same time I pitched yeast. I'm now at day 8.5 of fermentation... being held steady at ±19C (66F). I expected krausen to drop by now, but there's still about a half-inch of creamy, bubbly foam floating on top. I've taken samples about every 24 hours. The s.g. is dropping very slowly and doesn't seem to have "hit bottom" yet. Samples pulled from mid-fermenter have a lot of suspended particulates that accumulate at the bottom of my measuring cylinder after about 15 minutes of rest. That particulate layer is slightly green... which I'm assuming is particulate hop kept in suspension by a semi-active fermentation.

I'm looking for some experiential advice... for those who have brewed NE IPA style... should I expect the krausen to drop? Will the hop burn subside over time, or should I start considering a cold crash?

 

[jlpeifer]

Here's a breakdown of gravity measurements....

 

[Jag75]

I would give it time . Your only 8 days into fermentation. I always leave beer in the fv for 3 weeks . I'd wait about 5 more days then dry hop again ( if you were ) then cold crash 3 days after that . I'm assuming you have the equipment to battle suck back. Then package .

 

[Jtvann]

You'll have to cold crash at some point to deal with the hop particles.

 

[jlpeifer]

Thanks for the replies!
@Jag75 ... I also thought that 8 days was too short, but that's what the recipe suggests. I've also read elsewhere that NE IPAs using Wyeast - London Ale III 1318 fermented crazy-quick. I'll cool my jets and wait for the beer to finish its work. Thanks also for the tip regarding suck back. This will be the first beer I cold crash. I wasn't aware of suck back. Would've sucked consider how careful I've been to avoid oxidation up to this point. Thanks for helping me avoid an expensive lesson!