I started a Muntons Gold IPA adding extra sugar to make it to 6.5% as described in a massive stainless pot with the lid not quite fully on. I'm getting a big head of foam (20% volume) but there's no sound of bubbles at all and I can't see any bubbles visiably rising to the surface. Is this normal - should I be worried?
Am I to scoop the foamy head off every now and then? I'm worried it will go off as the bubbles are full of air, then get mixed back up with the grog. What do people use to skim the foam? Also, are you supposed to stir the grog every now and then when its fermenting?
Trouble trouble - foam but no bubble
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Bru4u
Re: Trouble trouble - foam but no bubble
Put the lid on, so long as its not clamped down in any way, leave the foam cos it protects the beer for the first few days, leave it for a week to ten days and it should be done, the foam will subside after three days and the bubbles are full of CO2, take a hydrometer reading after a week, you'll know where you are after that.
Bru
Bru
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GabrielKnight
Re: Trouble trouble - foam but no bubble
OK thanks. I can hear bubbles now. Just to confirm, should I ever skim the foam? It has a funny sort of wet crust on top!
Re: Trouble trouble - foam but no bubble
Some people do skim, but it isn't strictly necessary, especially with kit beers. It just increases the risk of contaminating the beer.GabrielKnight wrote:OK thanks. I can hear bubbles now. Just to confirm, should I ever skim the foam? It has a funny sort of wet crust on top!
The same goes for stirring - unless you have a strain of yeast that is very flocculent (clumps together and falls to the bottom) - you won't find such a yeast supplied with a kit.
Sometimes the foamy head brings up trub and hop debris in grain brews, though I've never noticed any harm coming from leaving them in there.