Skin On Fermenting Fermentises?

[wyane]

I've tried k&k brewing for several months using non-kit yeast (fermentis). most batches have gone well, but i've noticed a bit of a skin developing on the fermenting wort around day 5-8 with some safale/saflager/safbrew yeasts... is this ok?

1st batch was with a us-05 which i almost tipped out but kept a few and just tried one after nine months.

this was/is an "amber ale" ... I remember a frothy layer persisting on the brewing beer after several days. I've noticed this a few times since when using s-04 and the lager yeast, s-24.

after 8 days in the primary i thought this yeasty skin may have been an infection. my brewing notes for this now 9 month old beer suggest it was a bit gassy. it tasted terrible at 3 weeks (november last year). i knew i had bottled it early thinking a wild yeast had got in.

but today it's really good! i recently brewed a similar wort with T-58 and its taste (at 5 weeks) is also a bit mer. the saflager brews have been ok. anyone have opinions on these yeasts?

 

[GuyQLD]

Is this in addition to the normal krausen? I know I used a Us05 and a WB06 in my last two batches and I thought much the same thing at the time. The WB06 in particular I wasn't sure if it was even working (The trusty hydrometer assured me it was however).. It eventually cleared up and I realised it was krausen... just really really tiny krausen. I think it didn't really form anything until about day 3-4 from memory. The beer turned out fantastic though.

 

[cam89brewer]

I have never had any problems with fermentis yeast. Depending on the yeast strain the krausen may form differently (Darker/Lighter, Thicker/More fluffy etc) I have had a few that have a thick layer on top and generally dissipate after a couple of weeks but I find that more on slower fermenting lager yeasts.

Is there a certain strain that seems to stand out?

 

[ekul]

Does it look like this? Thats just the yeast floating on top.

If it looks like this its an infection. However if you are really careful you can get the beer from underneath and it might be ok, just don't reuase the yeast! Actually, if you're kegging it might be ok, i'm not sure how a lacto infection would go if you bottled it, because i've never done that.

 

[alimac23]

Hi Guys,

It's funny you should mention this, i'm having some issues after brewing a Hoegaarden clone from Brew Craft that came with the WB-06 yeast, it got off to a slow start and the Krausen is fairly small but what i am more worried about is the brown portion that started at the back of the fermenter, does this look like infection to anyone else or should i not worry about this?

 

[cam89brewer]

Hi Guys,

It's funny you should mention this, i'm having some issues after brewing a Hoegaarden clone from Brew Craft that came with the WB-06 yeast, it got off to a slow start and the Krausen is fairly small but what i am more worried about is the brown portion that started at the back of the fermenter, does this look like infection to anyone else or should i not worry about this?

View attachment 55296

That is just a build up of yeast and it is pretty common.

 

[cam89brewer]

If this ^^^ is all the original comment was about as well then you have nothing to worry about and it is just a common part of the fermentation process and usually dissipates and settles towards the end of the ferment and if not then a cold crash never hurts or secondary.

 

[wyane]

thanks for the replies - it hasn't looked like any of the pics. i've ordered some more us-05 and will give it another try and post photos if it happens again.

I should mention that, for my last three brews, i've begun rehydrating the yeast (twice) and using a starter (once). up until then i've always just pitched directly onto the surface of the (slightly warm) wort then stirred in after 15 minutes.

Each time i've noticed this "skin", it occurs after the krausn would normally begin to collapse. Maybe what i'm seeing is undissolved hops floating on the last remnants of the foam?

cheers

 

[wyane]

ok - i set down a brew with US-05 on 21/6 and a brew with W34/70 on 22/6.... the lager is progressing nicely at 10C. lovely frothy, white foam and hop-laced krausen.

but the US-05 (2nd time i've used this yeast) has creamy bubbles on the krausen, which last time around hung around and ended up ponging the way a beer shouldn't pong. i'll try to take a photo but it's really dark in the shed today - i don't want to open the thing and the flash will probably just bounce off the FV.

am i worrying over nothing? this is day 5 at 20C. i'd like to dry-hop in a couple of days and bottle at around day 12-14. if this creamy foam persists can i scoop it off? stir it in? what? help!

 

[Bribie G]

Ale yeasts used to actually rise to the surface of the brew and stay there after fermentation which is why they came to be called top fermenting - Wyeast 1469 West Yorkshire does this, and currently I've got a persistent yeast layer with my Wyeast American Ale 2. I guess that it's just reverting to type.



Nowadays, ale yeasts from commercial sources don't tend to do this as they have been "bred" to sink to the bottom so they can be drained from the bottom of the conical cylindrical fermenters that are fairly universal today. So it's unusual and a bit disconcerting when a yeast seems to act "strangely".


I'd do a quick hydro test on say day 10 and if it's finished, then bottle or keg.

 

[wyane]

...


I'd do a quick hydro test on say day 10 and if it's finished, then bottle or keg.

thanks for the info Bribie. I took some pics and cropped/optimised/etc then when i posted the pic was gone *duh*

so here's a pic on a hosting thingo:
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/59/photo0158g.jpg/

... what i'm referring to is the smeary, creamy bubbles -- never had this with any kit ale yeast (Coopers, Mangrove's, Muntons, etc)

cheers

 

[wyane]

FWIW - looks like this was a case of Brewer Panic. Usually solved by a worried post to a homebrew forum and a few days spent resisting the temptation to open, smell, sample, measure SG and repeat until brew is infected.

Left it alone until day 8. The yeasty skin was still there, SG was 1010, smell and taste were normal.
I tapped the side of the FV and clumps of yeast could be seen settling out. Day 9, much less on top, dry hopped with lashings of cascade and amarillo. Today is day 11, the surface is clean and clear aside from a little bit of foam.

Will bottle tomorrow ... and then the impatience and inexperience can get to work on other things

 

[wyane]

Not just to reply to meself, but after the early worry this beer turned out excellent. 50 days in the bottle today. Trying to resist the last few. Lucky there's plenty of others to choose from