Pics of my first brew: does this look normal?

[kevinjo23]

guys...does this look normal?

The SG has leveled off at 1.012 over the past three days (which is where it should be) but this green goo on top of my beer is continuing to bubble! Is this normal? under the goo, the beer looks normal. my plan is to give it one more week, then bottle. any thoughts?

 

[skeeordye11]

What did you brew and when did you brew it? And yes it looks normal.

 

[mkirkland]

It looks like its still fermenting too me..

 

[Mmenges]

How long has it been fermenting? It looks normal to me you just need to give it time for all of the hop material and krausen to drop out of the beer. Be sure to let it sit for three weeks.

 

[kevinjo23]

it is the brewer's best Blue moon clone. I believe the slower fermentation is due to the 62 deg fermentation temp.

 

[WyomingBrewer]

Looks like Krausen has'nt fallen back yet, looks fine to me.

 

[kevinjo23]

When do I know for sure that the brew is finished? Like I said above, the SG has leveled off, which is supposed to be the main indicator. Should I wait for the green goo to disappear?

 

[kevinjo23]

the brew will hit 7 days in the fermenter in about an hour. The fermentation took off like a rocket but the airlock stopped bubbling at about 36 hours. Since then, I have had this green, thin, bubbling layer of goo on top. The layer has thinned out from about .5 inches to maybe .12 inches.

 

[D0ug]

As the other posters have suggested, if it has only been in the fermentor for a week, let it sit for another 2 weeks, even if the gravity readings have stabilized.

That green bubbling goo is krauesen and maybe hops. It is normal. All of that will settle out in the fermentation bucket if you leave it alone and let it be. At the end of three or four weeks you will have very clear beer that is ready to bottle.

Technically you could bottle it now if the gravity is stable, but at this point I bet your beer is still cloudy with yeast in suspension. The yeast are consuming fermentation by products at this point, If you bottle now you will interrupt this process which could lead to a longer bottle conditioning period to clean up green beer or other off flavors, and all that yeast and other stuff will settle out in the bottles, instead of being left behind in the primary.

This is a hobby of patience! RDWHA(micro)B

 

[birvine]

As you'll find as you learn more in reading is that you could leave it in the primary for weeks or months which would actually improve the quality of the beer.

B

 

[kevinjo23]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the feedback. I'm going to be patient. I'm going to let it sit for a week before I pop the lid for another peek. If the krausen still exists, I'll give it another week.

I'm still laughing at the instructions that came with the BB kit. Bottle within 4-6 days! I'm putting my faith in all of the people on this forum that recommend letting it sit. Next weekend, I might just start brewing my second batch! This hobby is pretty sweet.

 

[JRems]

I think that's why my lhbs removes the instructions from the kits and gives you new instructions that are actually correct.

 

[Wiezer]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the feedback. I'm going to be patient. I'm going to let it sit for a week before I pop the lid for another peek. If the krausen still exists, I'll give it another week.

I'm still laughing at the instructions that came with the BB kit. Bottle within 4-6 days! I'm putting my faith in all of the people on this forum that recommend letting it sit. Next weekend, I might just start brewing my second batch! This hobby is pretty sweet.

Give it a minimum of two more weeks before doing anything with it.

 

[Homercidal]

If there is that much crud on top I'd leave it alone. The bubbles you see may not be a sign of active fermentation, but could be dissolved CO2 being released. At any rate it doesn't matter. Put the lid on and come back to it in 2 weeks.

 

[BIGREDIOWAN]

You've come to the right forum so don't worry about everyone telling you to wait 3 possibly 4 weeks before bottling. These guys know their stuff........