So this is my first brew, everything was going great within 3 or so hours foams began to appear, krausen formed, and there were bubbles constantly coming out of the airlock. This morning I woke up and went to check the brew, more foam than yesterday and a little more krausen. I just got home and all the foam is gone, bubbles are still coming out, and there are these brown/orange spots on the surface around ~1cm in size. My rubber stopper seems to be a wee bit small and got pushed down but is still holding at the top when I opened it to smell the batch. The batch is starting to smell like beer. But mainly I am concerned about the no foam all of a sudden in less than 12 hours and these spots.
1
-
"brown/orange spots" might be infection. Or nothing. Photo would help. Also, what beer is it? What yeast is it? What temperature is it? 10 Blg beer in 25 Celsius and aggressive yeast can finish primary pretty fast.– MołotSep 22, 2015 at 7:59
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
The loss of krausen is a perfectly normal part of the brewing process.
Usually you get a load of krausen and bubbles and other fun for the first 2 - 5 days of fermentation depending on the original gravity of the beer, the style, the yeast and a few other factors.
Fermentation will then slow down; Less or no bubbles coming through the airlock, the krausen subsides, and sometimes you will get the little circles of foam or bubbles (though I'd be keen to see a picture if you can, just to be sure!)
Some brewers (myself included) choose to rack off the sediment at this point (literally transfer the brew to another fermenting vessel using a tube) though others will recommend not doing this; It's a personal choice!
Check the gravity using a hydrometer; If it's close to what you expect final gravity to be then it's probably just fermented itself out. Check it again for 2 more days, and if it doesn't change then you're good to bottle/keg!
The most worrying things are the formation of a 'pellicle' which is a thin skin on top of the beer, off/sour smells and an unpleasant/sour taste when you sample the beer, which would indicate an infection of some sort... Otherwise it's probably OK!
