This wonderful fermenter has been sitting in my room for the last week bubbling away. I have to say it was pleasing to be greeted by this the morning after I had cooked it all up. By the end of the week it had quitened down a lot. As far as I understand at the moment the yeast produces a lot of carbon dioxide as a byproduct of converting the sugars in the wort to alcohol. I had expected the process to be a little stinky but the fermenter is well sealed it seems and nothing really escapes. In a tiny apartment it is a worry when something like this begins to reek. I also had to maintan it at a proper temperature which was actually easier than I though. The apartment is naturally about 19° which is perfect for ale yeast.
This picture shows the krausen remnants on the side of the fermenter. Basically when the yeasts start their work they are capable of churning the wort to such a degree that it forms a foamy head. This is often removed from the beer as it contains oils and such that contribute to off-flavours and a hangover. As I can't do this with a closed system I just had to leave it to eventually fall back into the beer. Its not too big a problem I am assured. The residue on the side of the fermenter is mainly remnants of the hops I used.
Yesterday I racked the beer, moving it from one fermenter to another to keep it away from the sediment now built up in the first one. As you can see it isn't very appetising stuff.
The white layer is yeast while below it is mainly hops adding a wonderful brown green colour! It is especially lovely when you mix it all up during the cleaning process. The beer is now sitting in a second fermenter where it will stay for another week or two. Once fermentation has stopped completely I can then begin bottling it all up. Sadly it will have to stay in the bottles at least another three weeks before I can really enjoy it. I should though be able to start a second brew so at least I will be building up a stockpile.
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