Need y'all's opinion

[Ryan0186]

So it has been 8 days since I first brewed and racked to the carboy. I have the large krausen ring in the neck of the carboy and what looks like bubbles that have the consistency of spit sitting on the top. CO2 bubbles or something else? I want to take a pic but the flash on the carboy makes the pics blurry. If I pop this airlock off the top of the carboy to take a picture could it possibly infect my brew in any way? I just want to try to get a pic of the beer to show y'all so I can get an experienced opinion on it.

 

[JimRausch]

Your description sounds normal to me.
But if you want to pop the airlock, 1st spray everything with starsan. And don't drop anything into the carboy(and watch out for that fly.....)
Part of the reason I ferment in buckets is so I'm not tempted to constantly stare and worry. Obsession is a wonderful thing......

 

[CBMbrewer]

Post a pic and will have a better idea of what your talking about.

 

[Ryan0186]

I think Ill just leave it be and stop worrying. I am planning on bottling on Saturday so Ill be able to take some pics then and post them. I am sure everything is fine. I am just being a worrier because this is my first batch and all. Sure will be nice once I get my fermentation chamber built.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Are the bubbles coming out of the airlock? If so, and if you filled it with starsan, then the bubbles are normal(ish). No worries. If not, no worries anyhow.

 

[Ryan0186]

Naw, the airlock has stopped bubbling last day or so. There might be a bubble every few hours but thats about it. from the second day till a few days ago it was bubbling hardcore. These look more like very tiny bubbles just sitting on top of the beer. Almost like someone spit in the carboy a few times.

 

[govner1]

Naw, the airlock has stopped bubbling last day or so. There might be a bubble every few hours but thats about it. from the second day till a few days ago it was bubbling hardcore. These look more like very tiny bubbles just sitting on top of the beer. Almost like someone spit in the carboy a few times.

Have you measured the SG? I'd wait until the krausen has completely fallen before bottling.

 

[LabRatBrewer]

Ah, well as other have said, its almost certainly fine. Probably just part of the noble tradition of yeast risking their lives to turn sugar into alcohol.

 

[Ryan0186]

How long does it take for the Krausen to fall? It looks to me like it dried onto the neck of the carboy. Will it fall on its own or do I need to tip the carboy so the beer touches and loosens it up? forgive me if I sound like a complete rookie...First batch

 

[woozy]

It varies. Drying and caking to the sides is normal and you'll nearly always get a krausen ring remaining even if the rest of krausen falls. Don't disturb it. If it doesn't fall (and maybe one out of three times it doesn't; it just gets thin, dries up and sticks to the sides) nothing bad is going to happen.

Take a photo with the flash and we'll probably see enough to get the general idea. (It's sounds *really* normal.) Or take a photo without the flash. You *can* open for a photo but you should get in the habit of avoiding opening unnescessarily and this is an unnescessary occurance.

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have the large krausen ring in the neck of the carboy and what looks like bubbles that have the consistency of spit sitting on the top. CO2 bubbles or something else?​

That's actually a *really* good description and I don't think any photo is nesc. The krausen ring in the neck is normal and will dry up and remain untill bottling day. Ignore it; it's harmles. The consistancy of spit sitting on top is CO2 bubbles and they'll ... well, they'll do whatever they darn well please. Ignore them too.

 

[Homercidal]

First, your description sounds very normal. So no reason to worry.

Also, although sanitation is touted very highly, and for good reason, there is also very little chance that you will infect your beer by taking the airlock out to take a picture. People rack their beers to other vessels, including bottles, with no problem. Just use some sanitizer and spray or wipe everything down a couple of minutes ahead, and try not to spit in the carboy!

What you have to watch out for is something that can harbor a good amount of bacteria, like old beer, moldy spot, deep scratches that can't get cleaned, bugs, saliva, etc. You are pretty safe to open the carboy for a few minutes.

FYI I had a beer recently that had a krausen that would not drop. I ended up racking from under the gooey krausen into secondary. It didn't look very tasty, but after 2 weeks of settling in the secondary it was awesome! Probably could have done ok with 1 week, but I got busy with other things.