1st brew day

[StalkingWilbur]

So today we launched our first brew day. We had some hiccups along the road but hopefully we'll be fine. The one I'm most concerned about is that we lost power during our boil. I'm running two 10A 2400W elements that must have been on the same circuit and didn't short out while ramping up to strike temp, but ramping up to boil must have drawn more power and shut down the circuit.

We roughly estimated how long we were without boil before we noticed and then added half the time to total boil time because the temp didn't drop below the 90's, but we also didn't want to boil too long.

How much if any damage could we have done? Is what we did correct? Still happy with our first brew. Everything smelt good going into no chill cubes. I'll take a reading and have a taste test before I pitch yeast in a couple of days.

 

[Truman42]

No harm would have been done at all. If you had already added your 60 min hop additon before you ended up adding exra time then your IBus might be out sightly but nothing your probably going to notice.

Your evaporation rate might be out so just measure it again on your next brew to add to your software settings.

If your in Melbourne dont pitch your yeast over the next couple of days unless you get the wort temp down to 22C or less first. A week of near 40 and above will keep it quite warm so put it in your fem chamber first assuming you have one.

 

[pist]

Congrats on the first brew day man...well done. Wait till you crack the first one...youll wonder how the hell you ever drank kit beer and didnt just dive into all grain. Dont stress too much about the boil youll still end up with a very drinkable beer at the end

 

[StalkingWilbur]

That's awesome. Thanks, Truman.

I'm in perth, but the temperature has been just as hot. I left the cubes for a couple of hours then stuck them in the fermentation fridge set at 18 with the probe sitting in between the two cubes.

Thanks, Pist. We kind of have just jumped into all grain. I tried a kit many years ago and it was terrible, high ground water temps up north, no fermentation fridge, impatient and a lack of knowledge. A kind forum member ran me through a BIAB on his system and so I got some equipment and gave it a go with a friend. Pretty exciting!

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

Heatwaves in BNE, MEL and PER - I'm starting to think this idea of moving to Tassie wasn't bad.

The front page of the newspaper is complaining about a heatwave this week - of 28 degrees. He he he. I think I'll wear a jumper on that day just to irritate people.

On topic - well done on the new AG brew SW. You do wonder why you didn't jump in sooner. The best bit of AG, is that many roads lead to Rome equipment wise and the beer is fantastic.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

You know what SW a few minor stuff ups and a bit of experimenting it is quite hard to make a beer that's not drinkable, as long as you stick to sanitation and fermentation guidelines.

 

[damoninja]

You know what SW a few minor stuff ups and a bit of experimenting it is quite hard to make a beer that's not drinkable, as long as you stick to sanitation and fermentation guidelines.

This.

 

[fcmcg]

. I left the cubes for a couple of hours then stuck them in the fermentation fridge set at 18 with the probe sitting in between the two cubes.

No need to do this...it's called no chill for a reason ! Besides..your just making your fridge work harder...

 

[damoninja]

No need to do this...it's called no chill for a reason ! Besides..your just making your fridge work harder...

That will work the guts out of your fridge, just leave it 18-24 hours to get to room temp then if you really need you can put in the fermentation fridge to bring it to pitching temp.

Edit: Words and letters

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Yeah. That was the plan, but with the temp being 40deg+ in Perth lately I just figured that it couldn't hurt. I hadn't really considered the extra workload on the fridge to be honest, we had consumed a few tasty beverages by that point.

Newest problem is realizing I need a bigger fridge already. 30L FV fit no problems with heaps of spare room. 60L doesn't. So I bought another 30L assuming they would fit side by side and was in a rush so pitched yeast without actually checking first... They don't. So I have one one on top of another, but the hump in the bottom of the fridge means the bottom FV sits out a little further and the door doesn't close properly. Using ratchet straps now to keep it sealed. Haha... It made me feel like a bit of a Wally, but I guess some teething problems were to be expected!

 

[damoninja]

Yeah. That was the plan, but with the temp being 40deg+ in Perth lately I just figured that it couldn't hurt. I hadn't really considered the extra workload on the fridge to be honest, we had consumed a few tasty beverages by that point. Newest problem is realizing I need a bigger fridge already. 30L FV fit no problems with heaps of spare room. 60L doesn't. So I bought another 30L assuming they would fit side by side and was in a rush so pitched yeast without actually checking first... They don't. So I have one one on top of another, but the hump in the bottom of the fridge means the bottom FV sits out a little further and the door doesn't close properly. Using ratchet straps now to keep it sealed. Haha... It made me feel like a bit of a Wally, but I guess some teething problems were to be expected!

I know the feeling. Be careful opening that door D;

I ferment in a bar fridge due to space limitations, because of the compressor the 30L FV has to sit forward of the rear so I had to remove the plastic mold on the inside of the door and cut way the shelves. Next time I come across a piece of scrap steel / alum I'm going to replace the lining completely.

I can fit a 30L plus a 10L cube in there so I can have a small small batch and single batch on the go at the same time, I'm happy with that.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Nice work.
You now have a good name for your brewery " Ratchet Straps Brewery " - where the beer is bursting to get out and all over you.
Cheers
BBB

edit - Ratchet Straps Brewery - its so good we have to strap it in ........ I could go on and on

edit - pics????

 

[Linford]

Still on topic I guess so is it best to store cubes at current Vicco ambient temps until the heat passes, or put in the fridge at 3 degC until ready to ferment? 7th AG is in the cube and no ferment fridge. Yet!.

 

[StalkingWilbur]

My understanding was that as long as you have them adequate time to pasteurize at a high temp then you could start to chill them.

 

[damoninja]

strap it in

Strap-on brewhouse

 

[damoninja]

Still on topic I guess so is it best to store cubes at current Vicco ambient temps until the heat passes, or put in the fridge at 3 degC until ready to ferment? 7th AG is in the cube and no ferment fridge. Yet!.

Storage shouldn't matter, they keep them on the floor at many LHBS.

Just be mindful of where you store them, I put mine under my stairs as I don't want the pesky sun creeping in and killing my hops.

 

[Bada Bing Brewery]

Strap-on brewhouse

:icon_offtopic: Hmmm - dunno if I would try one from the "strap-on", each to their own ......
BBB

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Hahaha. Considering it's me and a mate brewing, I think my girlfriend would have some serious questions if I told her that's what it was called. I'll post some pics later!

 

[StalkingWilbur]

Haha. Whatever gets the job done!