Speidels Braumeister
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The fermentation vessel or container should be significantly larger than the quantity of
wort to allow sufficient fermentation space and to prevent overflowing of the
fermentation foam. The last remains and the trub at the base of the Braumeister can be
disposed of. Please clean the Braumeister as quickly as possible after use so as to
avoid surface drying. This facilitates the cleaning process considerably.
In order to position the Braumeister for cleaning
purposes, fold down the rear bracket or turn the
winch to tilt the Braumeister. Connect the hose to
a drain pipe and position the valves as seen in the
illustration on the left-hand side. Now, the
Braumeister can be cleaned from the top, using
an appropriate brush and water. The dirty water
can be pumped (in ‘Manual’ mode) down the
sewer drain.
12.8
Main fermentation
Once the cooled wort has been filled into a fermentation vessel, add the yeast to the
wort. We recommend using dry yeast as it is easy to add to the vessel. This is the
phase in which you need to decide whether you would like to prepare bottom-
fermented or top-fermented beer. Top-fermented yeast requires 15 to 23°C for the
fermentation process, whereby bottom fermented yeast becomes active at 4 - 12°C.
The amount of yeast depends on the respective recipe and the desired type of beer.
Wheat beer and Kölsch are top-fermented beers. Märzen and Pils, however, are
bottom-fermented beers. Alcoholic fermentation of the beer is started by the activity of
beer yeast organisms, which causes the fermentable sugar to be converted into alcohol
and carbon dioxide. After adding the yeast, immediately seal the container with a lid
and fermentation lock. Disinfectant should be filled into the fermentation lock so as to
ensure that no foreign organisms enter the vessel. It is imperative that you perform this
work step in absolutely sterile conditions as well to prevent the beer from becoming
infected by foreign organisms. The vessel may never be completely sealed to allow the
CO2 resulting from the fermentation to escape. Place the vessel in a darkened room
that has the correct temperature for the yeast. A cooling tank can be used for
fermentation of bottom-fermented beer. Top-fermented beers can be fermented at
room temperature. Maintaining the temperature is extremely important. Temperatures
that are too low cause the yeast cells to become active too slowly or not at all.
Temperatures that are too high can lead to the yeast cells dying off. Fermentation
should be active 12 hours after the yeast has been added; you can determine this by
simply checking for escaping gas bubbles from the fermentation lock. Fermentation
takes 4-7 days. Dark yeast spots may occur on the fermentation foam during the
fermentation process. These can be removed by means of a sterile wooden spoon.
Should you remove wort via the drainage tap during the main fermentation period (e.g.
for measurements using the beer spindle), immediately clean the tap and disinfect
using a cotton-wool ball and disinfectant where necessary. This prevents surface
drying and subsequent infection by inherent bacteria during decanting.
