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[freeballer]

Brewed a batch of Irish Red Ale from a kit a few weeks ago. Everything seemed to be going fine with the fermentation, but after ten days the Krausen still hadn't fallen back. After 15 days it was still not budging even though the airlock had quit bubbling a long while back. I tried poking the Kruasen with a brewing ladel, and to my dismay it has hardened into a solid layer floating on top of my wert.

I racked it into a secondary and took a gravity reading, which was normal. After a few more days I kegged it. The beer is now drinkable(girlfriend likes it), but I'm not at all happy with the quality. It has an off flavor to it that I can't quite discribe, and its very cloudy and dark looking.

Has anyone had this problem before, or know what I did wrong. Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[ohiobrewtus]

Did you brew this from a liquid extract kit? If so, the LME could very well be the source of the off flavor and darkness that you describe moreso than the issue that you had with the krausen in your primary.

Do a search for 'extract twang' and 'late extract addition' for more information, but when I was doing extract, I'd add about half of it in at the beginning of the boil and the rest of it in with 15 minutes left in the boil. This prevented the LME from caramelizing in the brew kettle resulting in lighter colored beers.

lmao - your handle has me thinking of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer has to switch from briefs to boxers.

 

[malkore]

depending on your yeast, not all krausen 'heads' disappear. krausen falling is not what you use to know if the beer if done in primary. a hydrometer reading is.

off flavors are likely due to fermentation temperatures and/or the yeast used.
15 days is a bit long in primary, but not out of the question, and honestly its partially based on final gravity (the beer is done) and partly on personal preference.

as far as off flavor descriptions: buttery? butterscotch? fake butter on popcorn? green apple? rubbery? band-aid flavor? those are they 'typical' off flavors, besides sourness which would indicate an infection, rather than a 'yeast produced' ester or fusal alcohol causing the off taste.

but 'a few days in secondary' means there was probably no point to secondary. secondary really needs to be at least a week or two, since its done to let the yeast fall out and produce a clearer beer.

extract beers are typically a little darker...the extract process tends to darken it a bit, and if you did only a partial boil of al lthe extract up front, it may darken a bit more.

 

[BierMuncher]

I've had krausen that looked like banana bread that held on until I had to chisel my way through it. No big deal.

The off taste is possibly (as has been said) a side effect of Liquid Extract. Did you let the beer clear up in a secondary?

A lot of brewers (early on) make the mistake of thinking their beer is done fermenting and don't allow enough time for the yeast to fall out of suspension. THis can leave a yeasty-bite to the beer.