n00b question w/ pics!

So this is only my second extract brew and have a question.

Specs on kit:

NB sweet stout extract kit
3 gallon boil
cooled to 78° within 30 minuts
SG 1.058
NeoBritannia yeast
fermenting temp kept at a solid 68°

This beer fermented like crazy, as in constant bubbles, for 2 days straight and then slowed way down. It has been two weeks in the primary and airlock bubbles have all but stopped. I was ready to put it into the secondary as the directions say. I popped off the lid to the fermenter and found this…

I took a hydrometer test and it reads 1.0265

This is Krausen that has not settled, correct?

My question is should I leave it in the primary 1 more week or go ahead and transfer it to the secondary?

Thanks in advance for your replys.

At 2 weeks you could either transfer to secondary or wait another week. Most people will probably tell you to skip the secondary and either keg or bottle.

Before you do either you want to check the gravity several days in a row to make sure that it is not still fermenting. If you can get 2-3 gravity readings in a row that are steady I saw bottle her up and get it carbing.

Hey it is great to see another new homebrewer!!! I also new to homebrewing too, why dont you leave it in primary for a little longer? It is not uncommon for most of us to leave it in for atleast a month. If anything you don’t really have to rack it to secondary just leave it in your primary for the same amount of time. Let’s say your primary takes 2 weeks and secondary takes another 2 weeks you can just leave it in primary for 4 weeks. Honestly most of us would just say leave it in for 4 weeks no harm will be done, technically you would be exposing your beer to less chance of contaminating if you just left it in primary.

Thanks for the replys!

I will take your advice and skip the secondary.

If I get 2-3 gravity readings the same, should I wait until the Krausen drops or does it matter.

That’s a cap of yeast that refuses to go down! Stubborn bastard! You still seem unsure as to what to do with it. After this long it is probably done fermenting. As others have stated, keep checking gravity to confirm that this is the case, but it probably is. I have seen this plenty of time on my ferments, so it is not abnormal for your yeast or fermentation to be acting this way. In the past, I have become inpatient with this situation and have either swirled the container to knock this back into solution, or one time I just scooped it off the top with a sanitized spoon when the batch was too large to swirl.

If you can get it cold that krausen will drop to the bottom. If you have a cold garage this time of year that will work, or a beer fridge. I just put one very similar in my garage.

I just made this extract kit and it turned out the same way.

After 2.5 weeks I still had a 1/2" thick slimy krausen just like yours. I racked to secondary right through the krausen and now i will secondary this beer for 4 weeks. no more yuck krausen on top.

I disagree with these guys. Because of the lactose you will have a higher FG and the krausen doesn’t seem to fall on this beer very easily. I w ould rack to secondary after about 2 Gravity readings where it doesn’t change and then leave it sit for awhile.

my SG was 1.058 like you and my gravity when I racked to secondary was 1.026. Right on your numbers.

I would not be trying to get the krausen to fall with this recipe. I would just rack.

Our first batch back in Aug. was the NB Chocolate Milk Stout that had 1lb of lactose. Be patient and the Krausen will fall…

Ours took every bit of 2 weeks to drop out. Everything I’ve read online has said keeping it on the yeast cake 2 - 4 weeks (skipping secondary) will allow the yeast to clean up after themselves.

Be patient and you’ll be fine.

Others may disagree with me, but it seems like alot of the English yeast want to leave the krausen on top for awhile. 68 is just a little warm but not bad, what was your method for keeping it at “a constant 68”?

The fermenter is in another large bucket filled with water. Ice bottles are added as needed. This time of year it keeps pretty close to 68 with very little assistance.

Thanks for all the replies. I’m not so worried about the Krausen anymore.

I didn’t think about the Lactose affecting the final gravity but that explains a lot.

That’s just NeoBritannia in my experience. Every time I’ve brewed with that strand it has a stubborn krausen. I’ve always just swirled my carboy a few hours before bottling and it falls right out.

Like Klump says its the yeast. If you look at the description of the yeast on the site it says "This traditional English ale strain works well for a wide range of beer styles, from low-gravity bitters and milds to strong stouts, porters, and old ales. Due to the cells’ chain-forming characteristics, it is an excellent top-cropping yeast. Moderate ester profile makes it a great match for hop-driven beers like bitter and pale ale, but attenuative enough to handle higher-gravity malty styles.
London ale III acts the same.

That’s mighty fine Krausen, so you should be proud.

I’d give it a gentle swirl to dislodge it and mix up the yeast with any remaining unfermented sugars. Let it sit for atleast 4 weeks to ensure full fermentation.

If get a fair amount of trub and hops in my primary I goto eventually go to the secondary to clean it up. Otherwise it can sit in primary the full amount of time. It’s all a personal preference.

So the next day I opened it up to get a gravity reading and the Krausen had fallen. Go figure.

I will let it sit another weak in the primary then bottle it.

Thanks for all the help!