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Articles To help Project Leaders |  |
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It has been a busy 48 hours. Fermentation started on Friday night, and this morning the bubbles had stopped in the airlock. The hydrometer showed 1.020 and 1.016 this evening which means that fermentation is still going on, even though there are no more bubbles coming through the airlock. I have since learned that pitching yeast at 88 degrees, and then watching the fermenter stay around 78 degrees, leads to an accelerated fermentation.
After much reading on the Internet (thanks to very generous home brewers around the world who post so much information), I know that patience is a virtue. There is seldom a need to rush when brewing beer. I will wait a day before taking another specific gravity reading.
Yesterday, I researched and priced out immersion chillers. Then I decided (with input from Rich at www.brew-wine.com) to purchase the copper tubing and ancillary parts at Home Depot and build my own. About 2 hours later, I become the proud owner of a new immersion chiller. I am now on the lookout for some hot wort to try it on.
I am looking forward to the next phase - probably in a day or so - bottling my first batch of partial extract Amber ale.
I tasted the brew this morning - while measuring the specific gravity. Very bitter, but smells great and tastes fresh. These are good signs, apparently, according to all the reading I absorbed from Internet sites. I am worried about contamination (after reading the doom and gloom warnings on internet brewing sites), but don't see or smell any signs of it.
With my new found education on brew fragrances, I have a new appreciation for my favorite store brand - Sam Adams Boston Lager. I have also discovered that I will consider becoming a beer judge to learn more about the hobby and improve my own brews.
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