CHAPTER 43: FERMENTATION

Wade yawned, stretching as he stood from his couch.

It had just been a half an hour nap, but it had been worth it.

The subtle tiredness he’d gotten from his journey to Crowhill was gone.

He looked around to see the whole room was dark.

"Where are the lanterns around here?"

Hee walked into the kitchen, looking around, then noticed that the red curtain was still on the window.

He sighed. That was something he had to change, or people would still think the apartment was up for rent.

Fortunately, James had left a new curtain behind for him. He walked to the window, reaching up and detaching the curtain rod from its brackets.

Outside, it was dusk. The sun had set over the horizon, the sky still holding hues of purple and orange as night approached.

The window was closed, but through the glass, he could see as someone walked out from the shop opposite his apartment building, hanging a lantern below their sign.

Wade turned away, changing the curtain, and hanging the rod back on its brackets.

With that done, he resumed his search for a lantern.

Luckily, he found two in a cupboard under the sink.

One was filled with oil, while the other only had little oil.

But this presented another problem.

"How do I light these things?"

Seeing nothing he could use, he went downstairs.

Luckily, James was in the shop, and was able to give him a box of matches.

He returned to his apartment, locking the door behind him.

After a few tries, he had both lanterns lit.

He moved the one with little oil to the area that was his bedroom, setting it on the nightstand.

Returning to the kitchen, he sat down at the kitchen table, planning his next step.

While his dungeon run was important, there was something he had to take care of first.

His honey mead.

He couldn’t just discard it. Not when he needed more trades to unlock more dungeon keys.

He stood, reaching towards the barrel on the table and pulling it towards himself. He opened it, pulling out its contents.

The bag of yeast, and the emberleaf.

He rummaged through the kitchen, thanking the stars it was fully stocked with the necessary items he needed.

Once everything was ready on the table before him, he began.

He was starting with trying to create just a gallon of honey mead.

First, was to clean the equipment.

He headed to the sink, washing them thoroughly, using the weird soap he’d found on it.

Either way, he knew he had to keep everything clean. Even the smallest of unneeded microbes could ruin the mead.

Then, he filled a pot with water, placing it on the stove.

Wade bent down, his brows rising as he noticed his stove was a coal stove.

Luckily, it was filled with coal, and the ash pan underneath it was empty.

Spraying just a tiny bit of oil from his lantern, he lit the stove.

Then he sat down at the table to wait.

Minutes later, the water was sufficiently warm.

He doused the stove with a sprinkle of water, moving the pot to the sink.

He then retrieved the jug he had chosen. The vessel was big, and looked like it could contain a gallon.

"Well, you’ll have to do." He chuckled to himself.

Pouring a bit of the warm water into it, he moved the jug to the table.

Then he reached into his inventory, materializing the barrel of honey on the table.

Cracking open the barrel, he measured the honey he needed, pouring it into the jug.

He took a ladle, stirring it till the honey dissolved. Then he topped it off with cool water, until he had approximately a gallon of liquid.

He spent a few minutes stirring vigorously, then poured the necessary yeast into the jug.

This time, he swirled the mixture gently.

Then, he took the mixture of emberleaf he’d ground into tiny flakes, pouring it into the jar.

When he was done, he picked up the jar’s wooden cork.

He’d chipped away at the side of the cork with a knife, creating enough space for the airlock he’d bought.

Corking the jar with the airlock, he added a bit of water in it, then set it on the table.

That way, the necessary gas would be able to escape the jar, but nothing would be able to enter.

"And now we wait."

He had no idea how fast the emberleaf would speed up the fermentation process, but there was only one way to tell.

When bubbles began escaping from the airlock, it meant fermentation had begun. And with that he would be able to calculate how long it would take to ferment.

Wade had been sitting there for a few minutes when his stomach growled.

"Damn." He muttered.

He hadn’t stuck the cupboards yet, which meant he had nothing to cook. If he wanted to eat, he’d have to leave the apartment.

But if he left, he might not be able to catch when the first bubbles came, and would not be able to estimate how fast the emberleaf works.

He had no option but to wait.

Fortunately for him, after an hour and half, the bubbles began emerging from the water in the airlock.

He sat up instantly, studying it. A grin appeared on his face.

"Yes! Finally!"

He quickly calculated it. Fermentation was supposed to begin within 24 to 48 hours.

For it to begin now, he could safely estimate that the emberleaf sped up the process by twenty times.

Quickly calculating it, he estimated that primary fermentation would end around 25 hours.

That meant it would be ready by this time tomorrow.

"Holy shit!" He stared at the jar, eyes wide.

The emberleaf was literally a force multiplier.

While he was sure he could begin selling the mead after two days, he wanted the same richer flavor that came with at least six months of aging.

That meant that after siphoning the mead to remove its sediments tomorrow, he’ll have to age it for at least 10 days.

"Sweet!" He grinned. He could almost count the profits he’d be making from the trade.

With that settled, he finally left his apartment, heading to a nearby tavern for dinner and some drinks.

After a well spent 30 coins, he returned to his apartment.

Cleaning away the items he didn’t use, he returned the remaining yeast and emberleaf into the empty barrel.

He moved the barrel into an inventory slot, adding the honey barrel into the same slot. The inventory could allow stacks of ten of the same item in a single slot.

With that done, he headed into the bathroom, took a bath, and went to bed.

The next morning, he woke up feeling refreshed.

Taking his bath and changing into his new clothes, he moved to the kitchen table.

He examined the jug with a smile then sat, pulling his boots on.

As he tied the final lace, there was a knock on his door.

Wade frowned. ’Is it James?’

Did the man want something?

He walked to the door, unlocked the deadbolt locks, and opened it.

Standing there, with an awkward look on his face, was Rowan.

"Hi."