bubble, bubble, toil and trouble

Fermenting update - Dave sent an update email on Thursday morning.

Well, to add to the Kolsch ferment overflow last night, there was another one this morning. The brewers are definitely right, the three piece gas valve is definitely better than the S-valve. There is a lot of funk in the S-valve. I washed it clean but it is much easier for the gas to force all of
the water out of the S-valve. Not so with the three piece. I think the S-valves are better for wine. I am not to concerned about contamination though. Each time I have removed the valve, there is a hiss of gas pressure. Therefore no outside gas is getting in of any quantity to be concerned about. I think I will just have to check each day before and after work to make sure the valve stays clean, clear, and full. One thing is for sure, the Kolsch is fermenting and has an excellent head. In the future we need to think about our primary fermenting bucket. We probably need at least a gallon free space at the top of the bucket. Probably we are going to have to use the six-gallon buckets. If not we need to have the big tube going into a water bucket that can handle foam overflow. There is some beer on top of the
fermentor and some drops on the floor. Not too much of a concern in the winter, summertime may lead to bugs.

A second email on Thursday night - 9:00. Kolsch alive and gas bubbling. Brown ale doing fair with little gas. Wheat beer dead, no gas

We exchanged a few emails about checking seals on fermenters and the possibility of inadvertently brewing a light beer and all seemed OK.

I spoke to the geologist's wife on Saturday. She said Dave was a little panicked about the wheat (Yea, Dave she gave you up), but it didn't stop him from skipping town for the weekend to be a manly man in the woods. AARGE! SPAARGE! May have been the nerd comment she dropped that chased him back to nature.

Today we talked of secondary fermentation and bottling. We're trying to match schedules for a bottling session. Depending on where Dave comes down on his secondary fermentation cycle and kegging vs. bottling we may have 10 gallons of beer to bottle very, very soon.

Still, at least three weeks to first taste. The brewers are getting restless.