Hi all - I am attempting to brew my first batch of beer - Brown Ale from the Brooklyn Brew Shop. I have had the beer in the carboy for 2 weeks now sitting in the basement closet (the basement is set to 60 degrees). I noticed that there is still a lot particles floating around. Is this normal? Also, I wrapped a towel around the carboy to raise the temperature for the last week in the carboy. Good idea?
The floating particles are probably just the krausen. This will mostly get left behind when you transfer the beer out of the carboy and is not a problem. The temps really depend on the yeast strain you're using. For this type of beer, you probably need the fermentation temps to be in the range 64-74 degrees.
No worries about the floaties. Gravity will take'em out by the time it's time to drink up. Basement temp may be less than ideal depending on the (unspecified) yeast. Was krausen observed?
