BeerBorg

So I brewed a batch of PacTiki Pale Ale on Sunday. Y'know, like ya do. I've made this recipe before, at least two times that I remember, maybe three. It's a nice beer, and the Pacific Jade hops give it an interesting tropical fruit/melon aspect that I like a lot.

But here's the thing....

I checked on it this morning, and the blow-off is bubbling regularly. Not going crazy, but just steady and nice-nice. I cover all my carboys with black kitchen-size garbage bags to keep the light out, and I lifted the bag to see what kind of action was going on. And it was churning, y'know, like it does. And there was krausen, not getting all that near the bung, but pretty thick and a good volume. But I've never seen krausen this color before. Usually it's a light brown, the color of caramel candy. This was kind of yellow, and it reminded me of that expanding foam insulation-in-a-can.

I'm not concerned at all, understand. I just don't remember the other batches of this beer looking like this. I've certainly never seen krausen this color before. Interesting.

Hops might be fresher then you usually get or otherwise more Lupulin packed. I've had a couple of beers with a bunch of really fresh Apollo hops get really yellow krausen and when cooling after the boil you could see the yellow "oil slick" on top.

Could be. In fact, my LHBS usually has its hops in small 1 ounce screw-top bottles. But these Pacific Jade hops were in the original Hop Union foil packet. So maybe that has something to do with it.

In your experience, will this make a significant difference in the final product, or is this just an interesting anomaly?

I've had krausens that range from pure white to caramel like you mentioned to dark brown and have never noticed a difference in the final product myself.
But, my pallette isn't the best either.

This is the problem that those of us that ferment in clear containers have to deal with!

FedoraDave wrote:In your experience, will this make a significant difference in the final product, or is this just an interesting anomaly?

I can only say that the beer I described came out awesome. But I can't say for sure that it wouldn't have been just as awesome with older hops.

mashani wrote:

FedoraDave wrote:In your experience, will this make a significant difference in the final product, or is this just an interesting anomaly?

I can only say that the beer I described came out awesome. But I can't say for sure that it wouldn't have been just as awesome with older hops.

I suppose pursuing this could turn into something like the Pellets vs. Leaf debate. As long as I get good beer out of it, I don't care if the krausen is purple with orange stripes.