Wyeast 1332 Krausen question

[dandw12786]

I brewed a Pale Ale a few weeks ago and pitched this yeast, first time using it. At about 3 weeks, I decided to dry hop for a week, then bottle. I brought my bucket up from the basement (temp was getting down to mid 50s... drafty basement), put it in a room so the temp would be about 64 or so, and put in my hops (also took a gravity reading, was at 1.016 from 1.053, just where I was expecting). This was about 4 days ago. There was still a really thick krausen on top (about a half inch, pretty dense), and today I noticed a bit of airlock activity still, and the krausen hadn't gone down. Anyone have any experience with this strain, and if so, was it similar? Would like to bottle in the next few days, but not sure if I should with all that krausen on top and bubbling in the airlock. Thoughts?

 

[MalFet]

Krausen and bubbles don't mean jack. CO2 moving through your airlock just means that there's gas coming out of solution from your beer. This could be because of fermentation, but it could just as easily be because of a change in the solubility of CO2 in liquid due to a change in temperature. If you warm a fermentor up or disturb it mechanically, it will release a lot of gas.

Krausen is just a protein-based foam that gets made when beer gets agitated. I talked to a foam scientist once (seriously, these guys exist) and asked her why krausen might fall or stick around differently in different batches. She said there were so many factors in the mix that it might as well be random.

 

[dandw12786]

Hmm, good to know. Thanks! Guess I'll put it back downstairs in the cold to drop some of the hops out and go ahead and bottle!

 

[Wyrmwood]

Hmm, good to know. Thanks! Guess I'll put it back downstairs in the cold to drop some of the hops out and go ahead and bottle!

Yeah, if you dry hopped, that could be giving the krausen something to hang on to. In my vast experience of one dry hopping, I had krasuen and hops kind of stuck at the top. I cold crashed it at ~33 degrees F for 3 days and it all sunk to the bottom, save a few seeds.

 

[BrewDonkey]

FYI - I emailed Wyeast about 1332 and see reply below. Clearly a common trait for this strain (and apparently others too).

"Yes, this is a common trait with many strains - the krausen not dropping - the attenuation seems fine for that temperature and how long you left it in the fermenter. Sometimes you just need to swirl the carboy or bucket to knock the krausen down, this will also rouse the bottom yeast into fermenting out a little more.. Hope this helps.

Customer Service Manager
Wyeast Laboratories, Inc.
P.O. Box 146
Odell, OR 97044 USA
Phone: 541-354-1335 Fax: 541-354-3449
[email protected]
www.wyeastlab.com"