Making Beer - Part3
When the wort is cooled down, add 2.5 gallons of water to the wort:
At this point, there is the original 2 gallons of water, plus the malt, plus the added 2.5 gallons in the bucket. Measure the temperature of the wort. It should be around 70 degrees. Too cool, and the yeast won't grow. Too hot, and you will kill the yeast. We have really pushed the tempurature quite a bit higher, but remember, you will risk killing the yeast. Put a tight lid on the top of the bucket, and install an airlock half full with water:
You should see some bubbling action after a day or two. Here is a movie of the bubbling airlock on the primary fermenter:
Bubbling.mpg
When the bubbling slows down, we like to use a secondary fermenter using a 5 gallon carboy. This forms a better seal, and reduces flavors seeping in from the plastic, and has a lower chance of contamination. True, there is more exposure during the transfer to the carboy, but we think it is worth the risk. Use some plastic tubing with a rigid piece of plastic on the end so you can siphon from the plastic bucket directly in to the carboy:
There are 4 parts to this article:
Making Beer - Part1
Making Beer - Part2
Making Beer - Part3
Making Beer - Part4
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