clarkey7
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- 16/7/07
- Messages
- 730
- Reaction score
- 30
I had my first crack (pardon the pun) at AG yesterday......
I was/am a little nervous about stocking up on all the biggest equipment just in case I don't continue to brew using AG.
My theory was just to get an AG under my belt using whatever equipment that I already had (with the exception of a 36L cylindrical drink cooler mash tun which I happily purchased ) then go from there.
Then, depending on results and my "feel" for the process and time involved, scale up my brewery.
So off to purchase my ingredients and get some help with a recipe that could work with my small equipment.
A fellow AHBer is also a manager of a brewers choice store here in Brisbane. He assisted me with scaling down a recipe to suit my equipment (thanks Mothballs).
We decided my pot (15L) wasn't big enough to do a full size brew in one go, so aimed at a 12L "in fermentor" batch size just to get me started.
Heres what I found in my kitchen.
- 8L of strike water can't magically get to 77 deg quickly.
- My 1.5L kettle took quite a while to boil 8L of water just to start off the mash.
- Again - it takes a while for a 1.5L kettle to boil water for a 3.5L mash out and a 5L sparge.
- It really sux to find out that 4-5L of your wort has to go into a second pot because your 15L pot is really a 12L one.
- You have to watch 2 really full pots with lids on like a hawk for an entire hour to head off the boil-overs.
- It takes way to long for an electric stove top to get 12L to a rolling boil.
- Cooling becomes an issue if you want to ferment straight away.
Anyway, I woke up this morning to the lovely sound of my 1st AG - a stout - bubbling away happily and it made it all worthwhile.
What are the take home messages:
1) HLT, HLT, HLT....yes people a Hot Liquor Tun is essential for AG.
2) An appropriate sized brew kettle for whatever sized boil volume you have - don't overfill pot/kettle
3) Adequate heating for a large volume of liquid is essential - GAS baby.
4) Plan cooling method - no chill or gadget such as immersion chiller, ice bath etc...
AND the biggest lesson of all: :excl: Never make an AG half size batch as all the effort for 13-14 tallies is a huge waste.
I should have known better.
I've learned from my mistakes....I hope I can assist others with this little story..
Cheers :beer:
PB
I was/am a little nervous about stocking up on all the biggest equipment just in case I don't continue to brew using AG.
My theory was just to get an AG under my belt using whatever equipment that I already had (with the exception of a 36L cylindrical drink cooler mash tun which I happily purchased ) then go from there.
Then, depending on results and my "feel" for the process and time involved, scale up my brewery.
So off to purchase my ingredients and get some help with a recipe that could work with my small equipment.
A fellow AHBer is also a manager of a brewers choice store here in Brisbane. He assisted me with scaling down a recipe to suit my equipment (thanks Mothballs).
We decided my pot (15L) wasn't big enough to do a full size brew in one go, so aimed at a 12L "in fermentor" batch size just to get me started.
Heres what I found in my kitchen.
- 8L of strike water can't magically get to 77 deg quickly.
- My 1.5L kettle took quite a while to boil 8L of water just to start off the mash.
- Again - it takes a while for a 1.5L kettle to boil water for a 3.5L mash out and a 5L sparge.
- It really sux to find out that 4-5L of your wort has to go into a second pot because your 15L pot is really a 12L one.
- You have to watch 2 really full pots with lids on like a hawk for an entire hour to head off the boil-overs.
- It takes way to long for an electric stove top to get 12L to a rolling boil.
- Cooling becomes an issue if you want to ferment straight away.
Anyway, I woke up this morning to the lovely sound of my 1st AG - a stout - bubbling away happily and it made it all worthwhile.
What are the take home messages:
1) HLT, HLT, HLT....yes people a Hot Liquor Tun is essential for AG.
2) An appropriate sized brew kettle for whatever sized boil volume you have - don't overfill pot/kettle
3) Adequate heating for a large volume of liquid is essential - GAS baby.
4) Plan cooling method - no chill or gadget such as immersion chiller, ice bath etc...
AND the biggest lesson of all: :excl: Never make an AG half size batch as all the effort for 13-14 tallies is a huge waste.
I should have known better.
I've learned from my mistakes....I hope I can assist others with this little story..
Cheers :beer:
PB