Fermentation

Each day I gave the beer a good stir and took a hydrometer reading to check the gravity, to see what progress the beer was making. By day two a cake had formed on the surface of the beer. This is a thick mixture of sediment and yeast. The worst of the sediment should be removed. Once the gravity reading had fallen to 1010 it was time to re-rack the beer into an airtight container with an airlock.

Before I started this process I cleaned all the equipment again. To the new fermentation bin I added a little more golden syrup (about a table spoon full) and some gelatine (dissolved in a little warm water). The gelatine is used to clear the beer, so your beer will look as beautiful as it tastes! Once the beer was transferred I added the second 50 grams of hallertauer hops, this time using the herbruck variety. This is called dry hopping and is a way of imparting a strong hop aroma to the beer.

Once the airlock is fitted this can be left to mature for about a week.