Canadian Blonde

[johnrm]

If you keep peeking you are going to depressurise the lid.

[Garry]

If you keep peeking you are going to depressurise the lid.

Ah leave him alone    Don't you remember the excitement of your first kit? Is it working? Is it working now? Oh look a bubble! Turn up the heating, it's only 22.5°C 

[Danny(00833827)]

twas only a sneak peak, i was gentle 

i guess i was expecting bubbles popping out the top but if ye think it good, then i trust ye.

as regards the yeast in the bottom, the bucket is not fully clear plastic but i can see "stuff" in the bottom. perhaps its yeast?

I will check again in the morning, just for the odd bubble, wont lift the lid.

[beerfly]

That was my first kit and was very drinkable.

I used to be terrible taking a quick peek/sniff. Once there is no draft and you hold your breath your mostly ok. But it could be like Russian roulette only the lucky ones talk about it.

[LordEoin]

Indeedy, best to restrain yoursel, be patint, and keep the FV sealed as much as possible.
Your first brew will taste amazing and you'll drink it all way too soon, provided you don't get an infection. 

[Danny(00833827)]

well it seems this morning there is a party in my bucket and everyone is invited - bubbles, krausen - its all happening! see pic--

[Bubbles]

Yep, that's what you want! 

[Chris]

Looks good and healthy

[LordEoin]

perfect

[Danny(00833827)]

So whens a good time to add my hops? Only put this together on Sunday at lunch time, so its probably still fermenting

[beerfly]

any time after the krausen starts to disappear should be fine.  probably better off figuring out when you plan to bottle it then add them about a week before then.

[Chris]

Have you got a bag for your hops. If not it might be worth investing. Otherwise when you go to rack the beer the hops will clog everything up. Remember once the beer has fermented you must be gentle with it to ensure it doesn't get oxidised. That means gentle racking and abottling wand. You won't be able to pour the beer through a strainer.

[LordEoin]

if you've not used hops before and have no bag etc, maybe try a hop teabag.
You just brew it up like a mug of tea, let it cool and dump the liquid and the bag directly into the FV.

[Danny(00833827)]

ok so i think fermentation is stopped (krausen has died off, no bubbles and not as much pressure on bucket lid.) so think i till stick some hops in there tonight.

Should i just add the hop pellets to the current vessel? Or should i move to a secondary vessel? I have no bag but will use tights. And i was thinking about a week with the hops before I bottle maybe next weekend - how does that sound?

[Chris]

Make sure you boil the tights first to sanitise. If you have a few marbles boil those also and pop into tights to help weigh it down. It is not necessary to rack into secondary but it could help with clarity and gett your beer off the yeast cake will prevent any off flavours. Just remember when racking into secondary, gently, gently don't allow beer to pour into bucket fill from the bottom up.