Hey everybody. Total noob here. I was over zealous and went for two brews at the same time. Got two completely different results.
First pic is Honey Kolsch. Krausen went nuts right off the bat was bubbling away about 12 hours after I pitched and has remained this milky bubbly organism since. Is this normal? Airlock has slowed to bubble every 30 seconds.
Other pic is of Irish red IPA. Brewed a day before the Kolsch. Krausen was a beauty for two days and then collapsed and has been this patchwork for 3 days now. Get a bubble in the airlock every 60 seconds. Is this normal? Should I move to secondary now or wait a full 7 days?
Any input would be greatly appreciated! I do not have a hydrometer. Temp was 68 for both and has been at a constant 66 since day 2.
Each yeast strain will behave differently. What strains did you use on each beer? Kolsch strains have a tendency to have a krausen that sticks around. Inversely English (for the red) are noted for their heavy flocculation.
When you say temps were 68° is this ambient or actual ferm temps? If ambient you need to understand that fermentation creates heat which means that ferm temps easily raise 5° above ambient.
Safale US-05 Ale Dry Yeast For both. Temp was read from a temperature sticker on the outside of the carboy. The kolsch went between 68 and 70 after about 12 hours as well but then has remained at 66.
The same yeast strain will behave differently in different wort composition. My experience with honey additions is that it takes quite awhile to ferment as it’s 100% fermentable, which is likely the cause of your hanging on krausen.
Your Red is about 1.044-1.045 OG. A healthy pitch (which a whole packet of us-05 was) can eat those available sugars up in no time. In addition that beer also has some unfermentable sugars which will speed things up.
