Eastern Ale fermenting well, perhaps too well...

After cleaning the brewing bucket and lid yesterday, I had mishaped the lid by forcing it inside the bucket while it soaked. I therefore snapped the lid on tight with the intention of releasing it after an hour or so, once it had gone back into shape. However, one day later I realised I had forgotten when I opened the brewery door. There was a strong smell of beer, and I was surprised to find the towel I still throw over the bucket was soaked, as was the floor around the bucket. I don't know how much the closed lid was to blame, but it had definitely overflowed.



I'm afraid there isn't much mess to see in the photo (not least as I had done most of the clearing up before thinking to take a picture). However, you can see that the beer has an amazing head on it, which I know is from the fermentation as the original head had gone by the time I finally got the temperature down yesterday and pitched the yeast. This is definitely the first time I have had a fermenting head as big as this, perhaps because of the warmer temperature of the wort.

Hopefully the beer hasn't been contaminated from the spill, and judging by the head, it shouldn't be too long before the beer is ready for bottling. This was supposed to be my summer tipple, so it would be nice if it was drinkable before all trace of summer has gone.