Fermenting properly?

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Dann77

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Hi guys

I have two brews on the go, both the same beer - Evil Dog by Bulldog. I started one 16 days ago and the other a week ago. I started the second as I wasn't confident I'd done a good job on the first one (have previously posted about that one).

I have kegged the first one last night and don't think I need have worried. Plenty of action from the airlock and a very vigorous amount of action inside fermenter; thick krausen all the way to the top of the fermenter, a good 6 or 7 litres, even coating the underside of the lid (some even burst through the airlock). Subsided nicely in last few days for siphoning.

However, the second one only has krausen for 2 litres and is not very thick at all. I'm thinking past failures I've had where the end product has ended up going down the drain looked pretty similar. Comments from other people online who have used this beer kit have said that the fermentation is very vigorous, so am pretty confident there is something wrong with the second one (doing first one downstairs and second one up stairs where it is a couple of degrees warmer, but after two or three days I have been leaving window open upstairs and temp seems about the same. About 24c now and was about 26c, one downstairs was always about 24c. Instructions say ambient temp of 20-25, so not far off).

You could see the krausen on the first one within a day or two and it was thick, so don't think leaving second one without doing anything will achieve much? Could this all be normal and beer end up ok, or would it be best to do something like open up fermenter and give it a good stir, or add some more yeast, or something else?

Thoughts and advice will be great fully received.

Cheers
 
I would leave it if you mess with it you risk infection
And leave it in the fv for at least 2 weeks rushed beer is of poor quality
26c is a bit higher than I would aim for 18-20c is what I always ferment at
 
Lots of posts about fermentation being too quick or too slow. One reason might be...

Initial aeration and nutrients. The first thing yeast must do is build up its numbers. If lacking air (oxygen) or nutrients it'll make do with the numbers it can attain with what its got, and if those numbers are deficient fermentation will be slow.

But the important thing is this is the yeast's initial step. Do not try and add more air (or nutrients) at a later stage or your beer will go nasty. If its going slow you can try "rousing" (stirring up, but NOT stirring air in) or just let it be.

Taste will be different, but which you prefer is up to you.
 

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