Ag#2

[lobo]

hi all,

well my 2nd ag has just been put in the brewing fridge.
5kg JW pils.
nelson sauvin to 34ibu
25l batch.
promash says og should be 1046. i got 1048 obviously have to be happy with that.
but i had a 90min boil and was supposed to have 4l losses to my kettle etc, so i didnt take in the hot break, but i must have boiled too vigoursly as i had to drain the WHOLE kettle. i mashed in with 13.5l, and mashed out with 10l near boiling, then i got a stuck sparge, grain into my tap. i had to get the g/f to help tip the mash into the kettle and then back to the tun again.
then i acidently left the tap on flat out and drained the tun in a couple of mins, is that ok?

then i put in 17.5l mixed, recirced, then drained again, this time more slowly. checked my og in the kettle before the boil 1037(adjusted) punched that into promash and got 82%

boiled the 90mins (half way through i ran out of gas, and had to swap bottles, which i knew was goin to happen, just wasnt around when it did. bugger)
and as i said i should have had 4l loss to the kettle, with a fermenter vol of 22l. i had to eek out almost every drop to get that.

is that the only thing wrong with my brewday? too much of a boil?

also, i have aerated my wort using an aquerium pump and airstone for 30mins, while rehydrating us-05. that was the first time i have done that, is 30mins long enough or too long etc?

cheers,

Lobo

 

[jlm]

relax man, it'll take a few more brews before you'll get a good feel for your set up. Sounds like what I went through on my first. Did my 14th AG today, and it gets easier and easier with each one. Just keep brewing. The best bit is in the drinking.

 

[warra48]

Your experience with your 2nd AG is probably better than most.
It took me until my 4th to come to grips with the mash, mashout, and sparge volumes to achieve my anticipated volume into the kettle. Even now, a year later, with my latest brew, last week, I came up 4 litres short and had to add water to the kettle pre-boil to achieve my volume. It didn't effect my efficiency, and you seem to be on top of yours.
My evaporation loss varies from 4 to 5 litres, depending on ambient temperature, humidity etc.
I think a lot of this stuff is pretty fluid (no pun intended) in terms of volumes etc, so I wouldn't sweat the small details.
Make the beer you want to make, relax and enjoy.

 

[white.grant]

Hi Lobo,

Did my second Ag today as well, though mines hot packed in a cube waiting for me to get the yeast thing happening. I brewed an IPA, but didn't have your efficiency, mine was slightly under on the preboil gravity but I nailed the volume so was happy with that.

The advice I've gotten (and taken) is not to sweat too much about the first few, relax, enjoy and learn. I've had a ball this weekend and I will certainly enjoy drinking this one in about 6 weeks.

cheers

Grant

 

[lobo]

hey grant,

yeah, i had a ball too mate. i enjoy brewing as much as i do drinking the stuff.

maybe my 1st post seemed a little stressed. it wasnt supposed to be.
i would just really like to nail everthing about my brewday, so i can improve/create better beers in the future.

Lobo

 

[mje1980]

Lobo, it took me around 4 or 5 to finally get things sorted. You've done very well. Grant is right, just try to learn the way your system works for the first few. If you have to make small changes, so be it. You're obviously getting good efficiency. I drain my mash tun as fast as i can, no worries. A few gravity points, or litres either way is no big deal.

 

[haysie]

Hi Lobo,
Sounds like you had a ball, my 2 bobs worth would be, using dry yeast do rehydrate as you are but no need for aeration, save that for new liquid yeasts. I have an aquarium pump in my brewery that is full of dust and spiders. Useless.
Big boils are good, bigger sparges combine for better eff.
Haysie