Brewtime!

Fermenting

When we left off, we were cooling the wort. Now it is time for the yeast to take over and finish the beer. Not only does yeast add alcohol and carbonation to the beer, it also adds extra flavor profiles to the overall taste.

Yeast is a living organism. Like all organisms, yeast need food and shelter. Well, we made them food (wort) and a place to live (fermentation bucket). To make it a total party, we even made the temperature sit around 70 deg F for ale yeast (50 deg F for lager yeast). So, don't the them wait, add the yeast!

You can get dry yeast or liquid yeast to ferment your beer. Dry yeast is slightly easier to add and takes a shorter amount of time. Just open the packet, poor in the yeast, and seal up the fermentation bucket. (fun side note, adding yeast is also know as 'pitching')

Liquid yeast is harder only because you need to keep it refrigerated until about 3 hours before pitching the yeast. Let the yeast warm to room temperature, then shake the vial. Once all the yeast has broken up, it is ready to pitch. Pour it in the fermentation bucket, then seal it up.

When the yeast get to eating, they will start producing CO2. After a few hours enough pressure will build up and the airlock will start to 'burp'. At full production, the burping will come at a regular interval. This primary fermentation will last a few days. Once the burping reduces to about once every 90 minutes, you are ready to transfer (rack) the beer to the secondary container. Make sure to sterilize your carboy, siphoning tube, stopper, and siphon.


Place the primary on a counter and remove the lid. The carboy will rest on the floor below (let gravity be your friend). Put the siphon halfway into the primary, attach the hose, and place the hose into the BOTTOM of the carboy. You don't want the siphon to touch the bottom of the primary bucket, because of all the sediment that has precipitated out of the first batch of fermentation. You want the hose to be in the bottom of the carboy to avoid splashing. Adding too much air to the brew will make the beer taste funky. Stop siphoning once you have about an inch of brew remaining in the primary. Go ahead and dump the sediment.



Place the airlock and stopper in the carboy. Put the carboy in a safe place, away from sunlight. This stage allows the beer to clarify and age. You will want to age the beer about 2 weeks for ales and about a month for lagers. The yeast will not be as active, but will produce enough CO2 for a few burps out of the airlock. After the allotted aging time, you will be ready to bottle.





to be continued ...

Update: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 4