Krausen Size

[Bigjas]

I have completed 14 AG brews now and I am very happy with the beer I am brewing. I have often seen brewers talking about massive Krausens and having to use blow off tubes going in to bottles etc. This has never happened to any of my brews and I was wondering why? I reckon the Krausen on my brews gets no higher than about half an inch. What is it that makes a brew blow its top for some people. Is it the type of Yeast used? I have only been using dried yeast, sometimes re-hydrating it and was wondering if using a liquid yeast would create a bigger Krausen? I'm not trying to create a bigger Krausen, I was just wondering why they can be so different.

Jas

 

[MrN]

Yeast is the main factor. It'll vary from strain to strain but some proper top cropping strains will have very large krausens (wyeast 1469 and the hefeweizen strain come to mind in particular).

I've found batch size also has an impact and headspace will affect whether you need a blow off tube or not.

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Covrich]

I have completed 14 AG brews now and I am very happy with the beer I am brewing. I have often seen brewers talking about massive Krausens and having to use blow off tubes going in to bottles etc. This has never happened to any of my brews and I was wondering why? I reckon the Krausen on my brews gets no higher than about half an inch. What is it that makes a brew blow its top for some people. Is it the type of Yeast used? I have only been using dried yeast, sometimes re-hydrating it and was wondering if using a liquid yeast would create a bigger Krausen? I'm not trying to create a bigger Krausen, I was just wondering why they can be so different.

Jas

A lot can depend on yeast strain

Never ever used a blow off myself although I have quite a tall fermentor.

A lot of yeasts say us05 nottingham ect for me have been a consistent 1 - 2 " although I have had some monster 6" krausens with Wit yeast and the harvested yeast from Shepherds neame

 

[foxbat]

Fermenting vessel shape is a big factor. The US guys seem to have most of the volcano problems and they tend to ferment in an oversized demijohn shaped at the top like, errm, a volcano.

 

[IainM]

It depends on a bunch of factors and the most important is how that particular strain of yeast sticks to itself. Wyeast 1272 is a notorious top-croppers which forms loose clumps that can be puffed up with CO2 at the surface, and for which it is recommended to shake the fv every couple of days to get the yeast back into the wort. At the other end of the scale are things like WLP002, which forms dense clumps in the wort and compacts firmly to the bottom.

Also important are pitching rate, temperature and the gravity, fermentability and composition of the wort, as well as batch size and the geometry of the fermentation vessel. Worts that are more nutritious, have higher gravity, are more fermentable or are fermented at a higher temperature, tend to have large krausens as the fermentation is more active, producing more turbulence to bring yeast to the surface and produce more CO2 bubble to push the yeast up into the growing krausen and provide the gaseous phase of the foam. The deeper and narrower the fv, or the larger the batch in the same fv, the more these factors are concentrated onto the available surface. While these factors affect the rate of krausen growth, they are counterbalanced by the rate of dissipation, which can be slowed by things which stabilise the foam such as the proteins in wheat beers (I suspect that some of the top-croppyness reported from from hefe strains like WLP300 is actually due to this). The krausen is also stabilised by the walls of the fv, so narrower fvs and the necks of DJs keep the krausen hanging around for longer.

Some styles are more prone to having bigger krausens than others, with the most notorious being the Imperial stout. The heafty pitching rate of vigorous yeast and the large highly fermentable sugar content coming from the low temperature mash gives a massive initial rate of fermentation, which can increase the temperature and increase fermentation rate even further. Add to this all the foam stabilising material that comes from a large grain bill with a good dose of speciality malt, and you'll want to give yourself plenty of head space. Otherwise:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgfubawsrcM[/ame]

 

[Clint]

Mine vary...stouts,wheat and in particular the youngs aipa have been bucket busters. I have a youngs aipa going now in the garage it's into week 2,last night saw a huge blow of gunk through the tube with a slow train of foam and bits this morning. It's calmed a bit now with a good bubble every 4 seconds. You can't beat a good mucky blow off!

Cheers

Clint

 

[MickDundee]

The only mammoth krausen I've had was with Mangrove Jack's M44. Verythung else has been 2" max.

 

[Gunge]

I always get massive krausens regardless of recipe, with either Notty or Crossmyloof yeast... but I've yet to see one which destroys half the kitchen. Sometimes a blow-off tube ain't enough so I leave the lid off for a day or two and expect lots of constant mopping up. A diminutive krausen means you're doing summat wrong.

 

[Leon103]

My krausen is bigger than yours.

 

[MickDundee]

My krausen is bigger than yours.

It's not about the size, it's what you do with it that counts!

 

[Clint]

Yeah but as Gunge says...if it's small you can only be doing wrong things with it.....

 

[Gunge]

Yeah but as Gunge says...if it's small you can only be doing wrong things with it.....

A small one is no good for anyone, no matter what some might say, and they're always accompanied by excuses and imagined benefits.

 

[Tanzanite]

I always get massive krausens regardless of recipe, with either Notty or Crossmyloof yeast... but I've yet to see one which destroys half the kitchen. Sometimes a blow-off tube ain't enough so I leave the lid off for a day or two and expect lots of constant mopping up. A diminutive krausen means you're doing summat wrong.

Gunge i have found that a couple of squirts of fairy liquid goes along way to improving krausen size and mouthfeel:lol:

 

[Leon103]

It's not about the size, it's what you do with it that counts!

I know how to use :thumb:

 

[BeerCat]

It depends on a bunch of factors and the most important is how that particular strain of yeast sticks to itself. Wyeast 1272 is a notorious top-croppers which forms loose clumps that can be puffed up with CO2 at the surface, and for which it is recommended to shake the fv every couple of days to get the yeast back into the wort. At the other end of the scale are things like WLP002, which forms dense clumps in the wort and compacts firmly to the bottom.

Also important are pitching rate, temperature and the gravity, fermentability and composition of the wort, as well as batch size and the geometry of the fermentation vessel. Worts that are more nutritious, have higher gravity, are more fermentable or are fermented at a higher temperature, tend to have large krausens as the fermentation is more active, producing more turbulence to bring yeast to the surface and produce more CO2 bubble to push the yeast up into the growing krausen and provide the gaseous phase of the foam. The deeper and narrower the fv, or the larger the batch in the same fv, the more these factors are concentrated onto the available surface. While these factors affect the rate of krausen growth, they are counterbalanced by the rate of dissipation, which can be slowed by things which stabilise the foam such as the proteins in wheat beers (I suspect that some of the top-croppyness reported from from hefe strains like WLP300 is actually due to this). The krausen is also stabilised by the walls of the fv, so narrower fvs and the necks of DJs keep the krausen hanging around for longer.

Some styles are more prone to having bigger krausens than others, with the most notorious being the Imperial stout. The heafty pitching rate of vigorous yeast and the large highly fermentable sugar content coming from the low temperature mash gives a massive initial rate of fermentation, which can increase the temperature and increase fermentation rate even further. Add to this all the foam stabilising material that comes from a large grain bill with a good dose of speciality malt, and you'll want to give yourself plenty of head space. Otherwise:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgfubawsrcM

That's really quite something. I wonder how close to the top he was. Cracked up when i saw the lid on the other side of the room.

 

[serum]

I've had yeast explosions with certain types but on the whole I get an inch or two of foam.

 

[chub1]

My krausen is bigger than yours.

How do you know
you aint see the size of my one:mrgreen:

Have used quite a few different yeast's and to date have not had anything like a big un:lol: