Fermentation strong

Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Daniel, I'm 19 years old, I'm from Cape Town South Africa and I love beer.

So I bought a Coopers DIY Beer Kit yesterday, expecting it to come with a Lager, It actually came with a Draught (which is what I originally wanted).

So after setting everything up, sanitizing using unscented bleach at 7ml for each Litre, and letting the fermenter soak for a couple of hours. I was read to start.

So I mixed everything together as the instructions said, took a hydrometer reading which read 1.042, and moved the fermenter to a nice cool location (Its summer here in South Africa)

Now not even 24 hours later, I checked up on my beer, the temperature has been stable at 24 degrees Celsius, and all I can say is WOW, the fermentation is going strong, there is a fantastic hops smell coming from the fermenter, there is a ton of activity and im feeling great about this beer.

Just thought I should share my experience with everyone.

I will post some pictures.

Congrats on your good fermentation!


- ISM NRP

I'm glad you're having fun. That toilet paper in the shot is giving me all kinds of bad vibes though

Looks great! Is there an air lock on the fermentor? If not you are going to blow the lid off that puppy and have a delicious mess to clean up!

Teromous said:

I'm glad you're having fun. That toilet paper in the shot is giving me all kinds of bad vibes though

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Yes, the toilet paper had me backtracking a bit too. Kind of disturbing the things that come to mind.

Hahaha sorry about that. The fermenter is sitting in an old unused shower in a spare bedroom. The toilet paper is there for if I made any spills by accident.
According to coopers, the fermenter that Im using doesnt require an airlock due to how the fermenter is designed. The lid sits on loosely allowing the co2 to escape by keep oxygen and unwanted pests out

You may want to consider trying to ferment about 5-6*C cooler next time. 24*C is 75*F which is too warm for most ale yeasts and will produce some undesirable flavors.

Go Springboks!

Well after 4 days of fermentation, at 26 degrees Celsius (I know its way to high, but I cant find a cooler place considering the outside air temp is 35 degrees) I decided to take a hydrometer reading due to there not being any activity in the fermenter. The reading came out at 1.009 and I will be taking another reading tomorrow again to see if it stays the same so that I can bottle it.

When I did a hydrometer reading I also tasted the beer, and I have to say, what a wonderful tasting beer. I gave some to my father and older brother and they both say that this is a fantastic beer that they will choose over most commercial beers sold here.

I'm quite surprised in flavour, it doesnt taste fruity, it tastes like a proper draught.

Now for my next question, when will the cloudiness go away? Will it only go away after bottling and the secondary fermentation process is started?

There is probably going to be a little bit of cloudiness no matter what you do. There are clarifiers you can get to use on the beer.

That being said letting it sit 1-2 weeks will help with dropping out some sediment. If you have a refrigerator that could hold your fermenter cold crashing is an option too. Keep in mind though once you bottle the yeast is going to do its thing all over again in each bottle and you'll end up with some sediment in the bottles.

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Bl4d3 said:

Hahaha sorry about that. The fermenter is sitting in an old unused shower in a spare bedroom. The toilet paper is there for if I made any spills by accident.
According to coopers, the fermenter that Im using doesnt require an airlock due to how the fermenter is designed. The lid sits on loosely allowing the co2 to escape by keep oxygen and unwanted pests out

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Your fermentor is in an unused shower. That is perfect for using a swamp cooler.
Technique will depend on the temperature of your tap water. If the water is cold, set you fermentor in a tub in the shower. Add cold water and refresh when it begins to warms to 15°C to 16°C. You will only need to keep the water cool for three to four days. 18°C to 20° wort temperature would be ideal for ale yeasts.

If your tap water is warm an evaporative swamp cooler will work. Tape a towel around the fermentor starting just below the rim/lid. Set the fermentor is a tub with the water level up about one-third way so the towel will wick up the water. Point a fan at the towel to increase the evaporation rate.