Krausen/foam after 12 days, should I wait.

[Heavywalker]

I was planning on starting cold crashing tomorrow, there is still a layer of krausen/foam on the top of the beer. I used WLP001 and fermented at around 68* for a week then allowed it to warm up to room temp over the last week.

Should I wait until all the Krausen falls before dry hopping and cold crashing? I cannot get a SG reading because my wine thief broke while washing it. The fermentation seems to have slowed down a lot over the last few days.

 

[TANSTAAFB]

I was planning on starting cold crashing tomorrow, there is still a layer of krausen/foam on the top of the beer. I used WLP001 and fermented at around 68* for a week then allowed it to warm up to room temp over the last week.

Should I wait until all the Krausen falls before dry hopping and cold crashing? I cannot get a SG reading because my wine thief broke while washing it. The fermentation seems to have slowed down a lot over the last few days.

What was the recipe/ style/ OG? If you still see krausen I would let it ride. There is no problem letting it go for 3 to 4 weeks.

 

[Heavywalker]

Recipe was an extract IPA

7LBS Amber DME
1LB Crystal 40

Hops were Warrior, Simcoe, and Cascade.

Yeast was WLP001, with a 1.75L starter.

OG was 1.061

I came home from work tonight and the foam has dropped from around an inch to about 1/4", and the movement of the sediment in the beer is almost stagnant. I am thinking by tomorrow the krausen will be gone at this rate.

But I guess the bottom line is that as long as there is krausen then I should just leave it alone and let the yeast do their thing, right?

 

[TANSTAAFB]

Yep, and then leave it for at least another week, two is better. The yeast are still working even after signs of active fermentation--such as airlock bubbles and krausen--have stopped. They need time to clean up after the party!

 

[Red_Scooter]

Be patient...and be prepared. With proper sanitation, you can use all sorts of stuff to get a sample to test the gravity. I have used just a plastic cup to get samples from my bucket before. A cup might be hard if you're using a carboy for primary. If so, got any tubing laying around? I bet you do. Sanitize...stick it in and put your thumb over the end and pull it out....low budget wine thief.