Well, did my 2nd AG on Saturday, an APA style with Centennial and Cascade hops and Marris Otter as the main malt. Things ran more smoothly than my first effort (which wasn't too bad!) and I was within 250mls of my target into the fermenter and 2 points of my target gravity so I'm very happy.
I am still struggling with the 'recirculation' stage in terms of getting my wort really clear. Never having sat in on an experienced AGer's brew day I'm still a little unsure as to exactly how clear is clear enough, but I am worried I'm not quite there. Following advice from this forum after my first attempt I was more gentle with the ball valve, only opening it a little at a time and running it slowly. It was better than my first attempt but I did still get some very small particulant matter into the final boil, even after recirculating about 7 or 8 times, approx 700mls each time. Palmer says it should be cloudy (which it was) but to avoid grain particles. I got rid of most but not all the really tiny bits. Ended up skimming with a fine strainer.
What is everybody elses experience of this? I'm using a copper manifold with hacksaw slots (slots facing bottom of tun) and batch sparging. Am I worrying too much here? There wasn't heaps of grainy bits, but still some. Any tips?
Thanks in advance,
Shawn.
I am still struggling with the 'recirculation' stage in terms of getting my wort really clear. Never having sat in on an experienced AGer's brew day I'm still a little unsure as to exactly how clear is clear enough, but I am worried I'm not quite there. Following advice from this forum after my first attempt I was more gentle with the ball valve, only opening it a little at a time and running it slowly. It was better than my first attempt but I did still get some very small particulant matter into the final boil, even after recirculating about 7 or 8 times, approx 700mls each time. Palmer says it should be cloudy (which it was) but to avoid grain particles. I got rid of most but not all the really tiny bits. Ended up skimming with a fine strainer.
What is everybody elses experience of this? I'm using a copper manifold with hacksaw slots (slots facing bottom of tun) and batch sparging. Am I worrying too much here? There wasn't heaps of grainy bits, but still some. Any tips?
Thanks in advance,
Shawn.