Question about my Scottish Ale

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RockTheGoodAg

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Howdy y'all, newbie here with a question on my second batch.

I currently have a Scottish Ale in primary (AHS's 70 Shilling/Heavy Ale kit) that I modified by adding a tea brewed from 16 oz. of heather tips and will oak with heavy toast chips soaked in a cheap Scotch.

My question is about fermentation. It's been in the primary for 1 week (I don't plan on a secondary) and there still seems to be a very thin layer of krausen, so I'm wondering if the existence of krausen is at all an indicator of active fermentation. I have a hydrometer but can't by a test beaker at the time (I know it isn't expensive, but I'm a college kid and I'm pretty strapped at the moment), so how do I know when fermentation is done? I would prefer not to add the oak until fermentation is complete, though I plan on letting it sit on the cake for a couple weeks anyway to let the yeast clean up a bit.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

Thanks y'all.

Edit: the yeast is White Labs Edinburgh Ale, WLP028.
 
Last edited:
Do what you want, but I rarely ise a hydrometer any more, except to do OG and FG at bottiling day to calculate ABV. I do 4 weeks primary, 4 weeks bottle conditioning and 24-48 hours in the frige.
 
You don't strictly need a hydro tube. You can sanitize the hydrometer, tie a piece of fishing line to the top (tightly), dangle it into the fermenter, and let it float. That's assuming you have a carboy. If it's a pail, just float it on in there.

Sometimes the krausen is just floating because it's all stuck together. Try agitating the fermenter a little to see if it breaks up and starts sinking.
 
Do what you want, but I rarely ise a hydrometer any more, except to do OG and FG at bottiling day to calculate ABV. I do 4 weeks primary, 4 weeks bottle conditioning and 24-48 hours in the frige.
When I read this, I had to check the name of the poster, to see if it was me.

Signs that fermentation is done:
The kraeusen drops
The airlock stops bubbling
the beer clears (it will appear darker)
Time passes
The hydrometer shows a stable gravity over three days.

Many here will say that only the hydrometer will tell you for sure. That may be true, but the other indicators, in aggregate, also tell a story. At any rate, with kraeusen still present and only 1 week elapsed, you need to give it more time.

Cheers!
 
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