Shouyld it look like this

It looks fine. There are a *lot* of hops in there tho'... I don't know what your instructions said, but usually most of the hops are left behind in the boiler (unless you "dry hop" in the secondary). No harm in having a lot of hops in the primary fermenter, just unusual.

You can dip it off with a SANITIZED spool or you can carefully syphon from underneath it (leaving it in the bucket).

Derric

Ummmm.... a couple of things...

Looks to me to be normal foam, though with a lot of residual from the hops pellets that disintegrated during the boil. Most of that should settle out as it finishes its primary fermentation. Did you run your wort through a sanitized strainer before topping up and adding the yeast? If not, try that next time to remove a good portion of any left over solids before starting fermentation.

Don't worry about scraping it off (though if you must, you can, just make sure that whatever you use is sanitized beforehand). When you rack to your keg, you should leave most of it behind since you draw from the bottom portion of the fermenter.

My biggest question though is to ask if you are fermenting in a closed container or not? Leaving the top open exposes the brew to whatever bacteria/natural yeasts/microoganisms/etc happen to be floating by at the time. You should have this covered/sealed with an airlock while it ferments. Some folks don't seal, but in any case, leaving it wide open (if you are) isn't a good thing. Anyway, don't know if you are or not, just thought I'd ask.

That's "spoon" of course... a sanitized spool would be kinda weird...

Thanks all,

I am relieved to know that this is looking normal.

jrprice, yes my container is covered.

The kit I used told me that I shouldn't boil. I started off with about

3 pints of boiling water which I poured over the hop pellets (which were in the fermienting bin). I then added the malt extract and spraymalt. To this I topped up to 5 gallons.

Of the 3 kits that I bought, this is the only one that contatined a packed of hop pellets, so I shouldn't have to worry about this next time.

Again, thanks :D

hops are like the flavour of your beer. add to your pleasure or displeasure. i am 2 blocks from a brewery, and i know when they are preparing hops. the scent to the air is like rotten soap, but the taste to palate is quite different. golden is a good finishing hops i add to my own brew.