Foamy layer on lager brew.

[Silver]

Just a general question. I have only just started doing Lagers/Pilsners and lager yeast is all new to me. I have a brew in FV which has a foamy thin layer, mainly CO2 bubbles i guess. Is this usual with a lager yeast or should it appear as an ale type brew where everything drops to the bottom? Current brew has Wyeast 2124 Bohemian Pils fermented at 18C and has finished fermenting to 1010 FG. I am chilling to 2C to see if that will help to drop the shite.

 

[Trough Lolly]

G'day MM,
The foam is fine - I've seen this before with Bo Pils yeast and your FG confirms a good ferment. I doubt the chilling will do much more than brighten the beer under the foam...You could skim off the foam if you really wanted to but I'd not get too worried about it.

Cheers,
TL

 

[Bizier]

Tis a ghost, TL, is that really you?

Confirm what is said, my most recent brew ended up with little archipelagos which would not go away.

 

[yum beer]

My last brew was a Warstiener clone with same yeast, exactly same thing happned, foamy layer on top even after 2 weeks cc, the beer is fine, I left as much of it behind when I transferred to bulk prime as I could.
The brew was quite cloudy as well, has cleared pretty well in the bottle but not as clear as one would like a pils.
I think your GTG.

 

[Aydos]

I have a Czech pilz I'm the fermenter atm. Mine also has a thin layer of yeast on the top. I noticed this the last time I used 2278 so not sure if all lager yeasts are the same as these.

I did do a brew with some s23 and another with wb45/70 (or what ever it is) and I found the same krausen on both of them.

Although I used s-189 in a recent beer and that didn't have anything on the top so I'm not really sure on whether they do or don't.

I haven't really helped but oh well.

Also, when are you coming over for a beer next?

 

[Silver]

Will call you this arvo.

 

[Trough Lolly]

Tis a ghost, TL, is that really you?

<snip>

Yep, thought I'd come back and check out the new ?! website!!

Cheers,
TL

 

[jotaigna]

+1 to all reassuring posts above. Wlp830 even throws krausen foam at the start of the ferment. All foams go away if you condition for long enough (i.e. 4 or more weeks) and or rack to secondary. But that's too long to wait for what I consider little gain in my little brewery

 

[Silver]

After a couple of days at 1C no foamy top but cloudier than any ale i,ve done and taste is somewhat different. Will be carbed this arv and taste again.

 

[jonw]

I'd have thought 18 degrees was rather warm for a lager. Should be more like 12 degrees. Having said that, I've never made a decent lager.

 

[mxd]

2124 Bohemian Pils fermented at 18C

Lagers should be fermented around 10 degree's, you may have a bit of a D issue at that temp ? S-189 ferments ok at that temp not too sure about 2124.

A lager should be larged i.e leave it for a week or 2 in the FV at 1 Deg, then move to keg and leave it alone for a few weeks

 

[Silver]

I'd have thought 18 degrees was rather warm for a lager. Should be more like 12 degrees. Having said that, I've never made a decent lager.

Trying a " California Common" style with this yeast my research suggests it is fermented at ale temps.

 

[Silver]

Lagers should be fermented around 10 degree's, you may have a bit of a D issue at that temp ? S-189 ferments ok at that temp not too sure about 2124.

A lager should be larged i.e leave it for a week or 2 in the FV at 1 Deg, then move to keg and leave it alone for a few weeks

No D issue. I assume that means any buttery flavour. Looking forward to getting into this one when it's aged a little.