Now that my nut brown ale is finishing fermenting in its primary the foam on top is totally gone. I guess there is still a layer of co2 protecting my beer in there as the lid bulges slightly and the airlock bubbles occasionaly so i know it is being produced. I was just wondering about this. Is it normal for the foam to go or does it depend what your brewing? I pitched my (S-04) yeast early on saturday with sg 1045 and it is now 1008. Probably going to keg this one, should i keg at 1006 or should i keg after a certain amount of time and will my beer be okay in its primary for a few more days without a protective foam?
Appologies for all the questions but i am new to this and keen to learn.
foam and co2
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Madbrewer
Re: foam and co2
The dissappearing foam is quite normal and usually happens after around 4 days. I have even had successful (kit) brews that didn't foam at all (lagers maybe) - so don't get overly concerned about appearance.
Fermentation is over when you take successive readings over a 48 hour period and the Gravity stays the same (i.e. 1.008) if it changes it's still fermenting. You can also consider kegging bottling when the co2 bubbles once every 2 mins or less - but this is less scientific. (i.e. Also if it's ALOT higher than the assumed Final Gravity should be (i.e. 1.020) it could be a sign that the yeast needs rousing, not that's it's fully fermented).
cheers
Fermentation is over when you take successive readings over a 48 hour period and the Gravity stays the same (i.e. 1.008) if it changes it's still fermenting. You can also consider kegging bottling when the co2 bubbles once every 2 mins or less - but this is less scientific. (i.e. Also if it's ALOT higher than the assumed Final Gravity should be (i.e. 1.020) it could be a sign that the yeast needs rousing, not that's it's fully fermented).
cheers
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Carpking
Re: foam and co2
Thanks MB. I started to keep a note of the readings in a nerdy book with my recipe and brewday notes and look for consecutive readings. And it was pretty much 4 days when it disappeared too.
Cheers.
Cheers.
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Northern Brewer
Re: foam and co2
I get the impression that you are using a bucket type fermenter with a snap-on lid. If that is the case, then I'd leave well alone, because moving that lid on and off will not necessarily help retain the protective CO2. Trust your SO4 would be my advice. It's usually pretty much done its business and dropped to the bottom within 4 days. However, it then goes on to tidy-up after itself for a few days, and your hydrometer will be unlikely to measure this. Many SO4 users work on 10 days in the primary then into the keg. It's a good concept, because the more you mess around, the greater the risk for things going wrong.