Yesterday’s wort, tomorrow’s beer (*) and so my Tiny Tim brew went into the fermentor today. As with my previous brew, I’m using the same 13l stock pot that I used to mash and boil in yesterday. It is an appropriate size and easy to clean. This time round I’ve got one of my two temperature probes inside the fermenting wort itself and one outside. The whole lot is sitting inside a dresser in the front room, the lower cabinet of which is now my homebrew cupboard, and it has stayed at a little over 20°C since I pitched the yeast and put it away early this afternoon, with just a small rise noted.
Original gravity was 1.042 at 21.5°C (which is corrected to 1.043 – my hydrometer is calibrated to 15°C), a touch over the target of 1.038. If I use the recipe again, I could probably afford a little more water to start with, although I’d rather be a bit high than drop too low.
Anyway, now to wait. I’ll be monitoring the temperature over the next few days and will also peek tomorrow morning to see if fermentation has kicked off. I’m using Safale S-04, regarded as a fast fermenter, so shouldn’t take too long.
(*) figuratively – “late October’s beer” doesn’t have the same ring although that is probably when it will be ready to drink.