UGH now what

[dannyboy58]

So I’ve posted a couple times recently about my bad mojo and loss a a couple batches. Last week I brewed an IPA and pitched a nice big starter made from a very fresh smack pack 1272 at 60 degrees. Had a nice layer of krauesen next morning and let the temp rise to 63 for the next 4 days. Nice krauesen and pretty typical active fermentation for ale yeast at this temp, day 4 krauesen starting to fall a little. I started to let the temp go ambient and it started to rise slowly. Day 5 still 64-65 degrees and this really thick foam has developed. Now day 7 it’s fallen to about half that height.

I’ve never seen this. I want to say it’s just off gassing and a little second fermentation due to change in barometric pressure. We had a little snow overnight day 4-5 after a pretty mild period. Hopefully, I’m just being paranoid because of my recent issues but this makes me wonder about infection…

In the picture you can see the dark line where the original krauesen was, maybe an inch high, the foam is about 3 inches high in the picture.

[porkchop]

I think you’re justifiably being overly concerned. It’s REALLY REALLY hard to get an IPA infected, and anything that can grow in a highly hopped wort is going to take more than 5 days to make its presence known. Understandable after losing a couple of batches, but I would suspect that it’s just the yeast doing what they want to do. Trust in the preservative value of hops, they won’t steer you wrong.

[flars]

The krausen looks nice. Large bubbles and fluffy. Starting at 60°F and slowly going to 63°F gave the yeast plenty of time to bud new cells before ABV reached 3.5%. All of the new yeast is just kicking in with the warmer temperature.

[uncdeo]

1272 always does that for me…krausen falls and i start warming it up and this fluffy ass krausen shows up out of nowhere and hangs around for awhile.

[dannyboy58]

huh…must’ve forgotten that since I’ve been using buckets for a year or so…

[dannyboy58]

Thanks for the responses guys…I feel better now…like a newbie but better…haha

[uncdeo]

We are all here for you danny

[wilcolandzaat]

Dont worry think you are fine. Krausen looks good. Now give it time

[sneezles61]

Is this a paradigm to re-newing your vows? Sneezles61

[dannyboy58]

Must be something like that. Had a crazy brew day today too.

I was going to brew a pilsner because I was racking one to the keg and wanted to use the yeast cake. Well, I got up this morning thinking IPA and brewed an IPA that I had no yeast for. So I ran to the LHBS and got 2 smackpacks of british ale yeast and pitched them. Then I brewed a Pils this afternoon and pitched it to the urquell yeast cake.

I’m tired but I have beer in the lineup to fill some empty kegs.

[sneezles61]

Thats a good feeling… Sneezles61

[dannyboy58]

Talked about this one on the dry hopper thread but thought I’d update here.

I kegged this beer 8 days ago and dry hopped it with 2 oz of centennial pellot hops in a mesh dry hopper. Purged the keg with CO2, racked the beer in on the dry hopper with 2 oz centennial and left it at room temperature 68-70 degrees for 3 days. Pulled a 1/4 pint when I moved it to the fridge. Lots of hop matter, amazing aroma, very thick and green. CO2 at 25psi, 36F for 24 hours then dropped the gas to 10psi.

Now 8 days later it’s starting to clear, has decent aroma which should improve with carbonation and is WAY too easy to drink at 7.4 abv!

[WMNoob]

@dannyboy58 This is a great post for a thread titled “Ugh, now what?” LOL Sounds like it turned out great! Your post conveys why I finally got in this game.

[dannyboy58]

Had a couple of these tonight. Really cleared up nicely.