I am a relatively new brewer with about 10 batches under my belt and had a question in regard to fermentation of a wheat ale extract I brewed yesterday. After it was placed in the carboy and yeast were added I noticed very distinct layers forming that I had not seen previously in other batches. At the very base of the carboy there is some normal trub, just above it, however, the wort is very dark in color and about halfway up the carboy it turns to a lighter amber color. Today, fermentation seems a bit more sluggish than normal. Obviously there is a difference in densities causing this phenomenon, but could anyone explain the reason why I have not seen this in any of my previous batches or if this spells doom for this batch? If so, is there anything that can be done to fix this?
Really there is nothing to fix, every beer, depending on ingredients and process will do different things, layering to some degree is normal as the density of materials/ingredients settle out. RDWHAHB:)
+1
Beer IME is a living thing and will do all sorts of things. I’ve seen what you describe, and the next time you look at it, it’ll look different. It’ll probably be fine.
+2. Give it plenty of time in primary to finish/ clean up and when you go to rack, the layers of ‘stuff’ will be in a nice single layer on the bottom. No worries.