Slow Fermentation

[Weizenberg]

An o2 meter was the best investment me and my friends did. It impossible without one. They are a bit pricey but worth every penny.

You really want to have a grip on o2 when fermenting. Adequate cell count and a known o2 level at 6-8ppm are a must.

[Brody]

[Roachbrau]

I read an article somewhere about that, don't remember where exactly. Basically, there's a ton of different compounds that form the foam, but a portion of those can only foam once and they're used up.

I got by with just shaking for a long time, and generally had acceptable head retention, but it was never phenomenal. Anecdotal evidence, but less foaming throughout = better, in theory.

[Owenbräu]

Yeah, I heard the foam theory from Jamil. He claimed the compounds get consumed and foam retention is lost. So, I set out a 1L bottle half full of freshly fermented beer in my kitchen. Every time I walked by it, I shook the crap out of it and timed how long it took the foam to fall. There was never enough of a difference to support that the foam stabilizing compounds are destroyed.

[Bryan R]

[Bryan R]

[Brody]

That's some fine looking foam - any tips?

Long Alpha rest, cara/chit malts, solid fermentation, have your beer lines clean and system balanced, proper carbonation (I"m shooting for 2.5vol). Think I've also read settling out more trub/break material helps?

[Brody]

Glasswear and faucet as well I suppose (just picked up a Perlick 690)

[Weizenberg]

These things are indeed quite expensive since the diode has to be in pure gold. I found instruments from Extech amazingly good value for money. Many people here use this one

http://www.extech.com/instruments/produ ... prodid=427