Questions about second Brew

[Bones99839]

So it’s week 2 in the primary and all the sudden the top of my beer looks like it is covered in spit and I have new air lock activity. Previously (last week) the airlock stopped bubbling and all the Krousen (sp?) dropped off now it looks like it is kicking off again. Is this normal or do I have an infection? I don’t have any pictures to post but like I said it looks like the top of my beer is covered in spit, hopefully it is ok and ill know Sunday because I planned to bottle late Sunday night. Unles for some reason this was a delayed fermentation and i need to leave it for another week but i dont know if that is even posible.

 

[BradleyBrew]

It is not uncommon for krausen to disappear and reappear. I have witnessed a large amount of krausen during the primary fermentation cycle. Afterwards it will drop out of suspension and krausen can reappear again. You need to check your hydrometer and make sure it is completely done fermenting before you bottle. What kind of yeast did you use?

I would say that there is literally a 1% chance that you have a infection... fermentations are not pretty and I have seen some nasty stuff in the fermenter before.

Cheers!

 

[Revvy]

Bradley nailed it. I wouldn't worry. More than likely there was a shift in temp or something in your environment and fermentation stalled, and then re-started.

 

[Bones99839]

Yeah that was what I was thinking too, the carboy got almost like a slight condensation in the top now that I think of it so it probably was just a stall in the fermentation process. I was using the Dry Yeast that came with the kit, I believe it was muntons, I haven’t progressed to liquid yeast yet due to the extra cost and this being only my second beer. The first one didn’t come out to well and had a few problems, lucky for me I am determined to brew good beer so even if I mess it up ill keep trying until I get it right. So with this kind of fluctuation in temp should I look into getting a carboy warmer, like one of those plug in to the wall jobs to keep my temp about the same all the time or is it really not worth the trouble?

 

[BradleyBrew]

My first 2 or 3 beers were not that good... I just did a mini beer sampling with my friends last night and got very good reviews. I've been at it for almost a year. Better beer is sure to come if you get the process down, control your temps and sanitize everything! In the future I would up grade dry yeast. I totally understand the cost thing. Get some S-05 or S-04 by fermentis.... great yeast and pretty tolerate with summer temperatures.

Again, I understand the cost factor and I went cheapy on yeast a few times... Its worth a few extra bucks to get some great yeast when you have to drink 5 gallons of the brew .

What temperature were you brewing at... I would just try to put the fermentor some where with a consistent temperature day and night. I have a closet in my basement that sits at about 70 24 hours a day.