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HOMEBREWING

Managing fermentation

This section provides information that applies to all three of our basic recipes -- as well as most homebrewed beers. It begins with preparation and pitching of dry yeast and then continues with a discussion on fermentation itself.

After the fermentation is over, youâll be ready for Bottling.

Pitching the yeast

When the temperature of the wort drops to less than 80 deg F, you are ready to prepare and add the yeast.

Run warm (body temperature or about 98-100 deg F) water into a clean cup, bowl or measuring cup. Open the yeast packet and pour it on to the warm water without stirring. Allow the yeast to dissolve in the warm water for about 10 minutes then stir any remaining chunks with a clean spoon.

If your kit included a hydrometer and you want to take a measurement, pour a small quantity of the wort out to fill the hydrometer jar, or set the clean, sanitized hydrometer in the wort. One you have made your reading, remove both the hydrometer and the thermometer from the fermenter.

Pour the yeast mixture into the fermenter. Attach the lid and fermentation lock. Store the fermenter some place where the temperature will stay around 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. (The cooler end of this range is better than the warmer end.)

Fermentation

During fermentation, check the brew every 12 to 24 hours for activity. If all goes well, you should see vigorous activity within the first day. This will be indicated by rapid bubbling of carbon dioxide out of the fermentation lock and also by the development of a ring of gunk around the edge of the fermenter.

Once this has happened, you know that everything will be OK. In a week or so, your beer will be ready to bottle.

If you donât see any signs of fermentation activity within the first 48 hours, there may be trouble. Often times, the best approach is to wait it out. If youâve been away for a couple of days or forgot to check for activity during the first 24 to 36 hours, it may have done its thing while you were away.

If you are certain there has been no fermentation activity after 48 hours, you might try re-pitching the yeast. This requires that you have -- or quickly get -- an extra packet of yeast. Follow the directions given above for mixing up the yeast, then take the lid off the fermenter and pour it in. Reaffix the lid and fermentation lock and wait for results. With any luck, this second packet of yeast will get things going within 24 hours of when it is added. If it doesnât, wait it out. It may be that the first yeast did its job and you just missed it.

If you get a quick initial fermentation (within 24 hours), youâll be ready to bottle five to seven days after the brew day. Follow the Instructions for Bottling.

If your fermentation starts more slowly, you must wait until all activity has ceased before you think about bottling. Check the fermentation lock every day or so and when you can see no more visible bubbling, wait another three to five days and then follow the Instructions for Bottling.

-- Ray Daniels

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