Airlock: Take Two

Now it is really time to put the regular airlock on top of the carboy.


A couple things to notice: first, the temp is at 70' which is the ide temp for an ale yeast to work at. Second, check out the sediment buildup at the bottom, looking like some Martian landscape. No worries though since we will filter that out prior to bottling. And now it's time to empty the overflow bucket and clean the blowout tube.




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Airlock time!

A short 48 hours after the brewing was done, the carboy is ready for a standard airlock. Foam is no longer getting to the blowoff tube so I can now remove it.


While ambient temp for the room is 69', the combination of a heating pad (on low for every other hour or so), two blankets, and the fermentation process itself, the bubbling wort is actually at 76'



which is the high side of where the yeast likes to be at. I will let it come down some to room temp, and that should work fine.



On second thought I think I will wait until the morning to trade airlocks...the foam wasn't quite done so better safe than sorry.



And so until tomorrow, I leave you with a picture of the Christmas present from my mom-inlaw.


Can't wait to use em all...

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It's Alive!

As advertised, the fermentation process is going strong. Less than 24 hours after the yeast was pitched, the blowoff tube is put to use with foam and spent yeast ending up in the bucket. Inside the carboy, the brew is actively foaming up as if it were a rootbeer being poured into a glass.

I will check on it periodically and switch over to a standard airlock when the blowoff tube is no longer needed.

As a side note, Friday is a big day here in Oregon and in Ohio. The Grandaddy of 'em all, the Rose Bowl will be played in Pasadena, CA between #8 Ohio State (good defense, okay offense) and #7 Oregon (decent defense, great offense) in a clash of playing styles, sweater vest vs visor. OSU boasts a defense vs the run that is top 10 nationally, however the teams that UO has come up against this year with tough run defenses have been run all over by the ducks (USC-391 yds, Ariz-175, Ore St.-288, Cal-236) and in the head-to-head mathhups, the Ducks beat Purdue and USC, the 2 teams that Ohio St. lost to. It promises to be a good game, and Go Ducks!

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Magic!

The yeast is now becoming active and feeding on the sugars in the wort. The byproducts of this feeding are alcohol and carbon dioxide. So in essence, alcohol is yeast poop. Truely magic!

Something in the mail

A package


came in the mail today...wonder what it is and who it's from.





Really, Dan? Really? That mystery solved, I move in to see what is inside this Canadian package.



Huzzah!!! Corner Gas DVD!!! Donkey shorts and grassy ass Kender!!! Merry Christmas indeed!

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Beans and Yeast

Now it is time to split and add the vanilla bean and then pitch the yeast.



Once that is in, I pitch the yeast.







And now it's time to shake it up!

Shaking, or aerating, the wort basically mixes the yeast into the beer. And since the yeast will be very active for the first day, I will install a blowoff tube with the other end in a bucket of chlorine water.


The blowoff tube allows excess foam to exit the airlock I created without blocking it up. The chlorine in the water prevents any bacteria from ruining the beer. At this point I just wait for a couple days, and once the blowoff tube is no longer needed I will replace it with a standard airlock. Until later, Huzzah Beer!



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...And welcome back.

As you can see we are at a perfect 66' F which means it's time to take our first readings. Using a hydrometer, I can measure the sugars in the beer and a second reading after fermentation will tell me how much sugar was turned into alcohol.


Using a turkey baster of all things, I transfer some wort into a flask and drop in the hydrometer.





These two sides are most important for our readings, potential alcohol and specific gravity. The third side is sugar percentage, or 'balling'.


The potential alcohol reads at just over 8%, I'd call it 8.1%. Notice the beautiful color!


Balling at 15.5% sugar.



And last but not least, a specific (or starting) gravity of 1.062. I will need to adjust for the temperature since it is most accurate at 60, and the wort is at 73', I will get online and let the internets do my math. And voilà the Internet strikes again. According to http://leebrewery.com/beermath.htm my corrected specific gravity is 1.063526088...we'll just keep it at 1.0635. Next up, adding the bean and the yeast!