what to expect. Irish red ale.

[rcdirtbuggy]

i just brewed an irish red ale last night and i wanted to know what to expect when it comes to fermentation. my last (and first) batch was a hefeweizen and i know that the fermentation was very intense for the first couple days. should i expect the same with the irish red?? right now the foam layer on top is about 1-2 inches thick. is this about what it should be?? any input will be greatly appreciated. thank you.

 

[jagg]

I used the 7 gallon plastic bucket for my primary when I brewed my red ale, so I cant say how much krausen was going on in there, but I will say after 6 weeks in the bottle it was a very tasty beer, it was a true brew kit, hope yours turns out as good as mine, later.

 

[LouT]

My Irish Ale (used Wyeast irish ale yeast) kit from Norther Brewer turned out well, but compared with the hefewiezens that I more regularly brew, I could barely tell it was fermenting. I kept it at 64F the whole time, and I didn't use a starter just pitched the smack pack after it had ballooned up. I left it in primary for a week, secondary for two weeks, it still hadn't cleared much but I went ahead and transferred it to keg and left it in keg for about 5 days at 68F before putting it into my kegerator. It still wasn't really good tasting until this weekend (I brewed it on 17 March). It never cleared fully, but I also never got any sediment in the keg during first few glasses like sometimes happens. I'm thinking that gelatin fining in secondary may have helped with clarity, since the Irish Moss didn't cut it. Good luck, be patient!

 

[Ol' Grog]

I used Nottinghams on mine and it didn't require a blow off tube. Be weary of the roasted grains. You can really taste it on this batch.

 

[CBBaron]

I think hefes and big beers (with big starters) have more aggressive fermentations but most beers will have a similar profile of vigorous fermentation for the first couple days, then ramping down over the next couple days until after 5-7 days there is hardly any activity. Larger beers may take longer and it can also take longer if you don't start with enough yeast.
So far I have always primaried in a bucket, but my first red ale kit with Notingham dry yeast left little kreusen in the bucket. The second brew a stout covered the inside of the lid with kreusen. My most recent brew an IPA like beer racked onto a previous yeast cake blew off something awful. This was a bigger beer (OG 1.058) with lots of yeast.
Craig

 

[Red Wagon]

Ive done a couple of red ales, and have seen both sides of this one, one or two went crazy and required blowoff tubes and such, and the others had a more mild start. I wouldn't worry about it, sounds fine to me.