Brew Day Finally

[Mercs Own]

Yep, I am finally brewing a beer :blink: I have been a little busy since I got the B3 but today is the day!! In fact I have been going for a couple of hours and whilst I would like to say things are going smoothly I have had a hitch with my mash temp. 24 litre of water at a strike temp of 75 degrees. 9 Kilo of grain went in and the MT temp went down to a smidge under 68 - all good and planned for. The MT actually held the temp quite well so I left it for a bit. I decided to start recirculating about half an hour into the mash at which point things went wrong. The MT temp started to drop, the hlt was at about 70 degrees but the mash kept dropping getting down to 60 on the MT probe. I lit the burner on the hlt and got that temp up to 74 whilst still recirulating and eventually after 30 minutes the mash is now back at 68. By the way my mash tun probe says it is at 65 whilst my thermometer pushed deep into the grain bed reads 68.

So I dont really know what mash temp I could say I was at???

It is time to sparge now so I guess I will keep on doing that.

The beer is supposed to be a Kolsch - pilsner malt/wheat malt, pearle and saaz kolsch yeast.

TBC

 

[Mercs Own]

Good lesson learnt is to not turn off your hlt when recirculating as the temp drops quite quickly and there by also the temp of your mash!! It is now back at 65 might wait for a while before sparging!

 

[jayse]

Hi merc,
I don't think you'll have any dramas with the mash temp falling down that low for a koelsch. Mashing in a couple points higher to start with (just above geletinazation point) then dropping the temp down lower seems to be a common method for making such a wort.
If you have time or interested theres a good read on that subject here.
http://hbd.org/hbd/archive/4755.html#4755-1

Got any pics of your b3 in action today?


Anyway hope the rest of the day goes well and your enjoying a couple of beers at the same time.

Whole lotta love.
Jayse

 

[Mercs Own]

Thanks Jayce - I will get the camera out now!

I am sparging at the moment - think I ran it a bit fast but have slowed it right down now. I cant seem to get the water through the pump and up to the sparge arm with any decent flow? Dont know if it is because there is not a lot of level in the hlt and therefore not much force going in to the pump? Well at least it is keeping things slow. Back to it.

 

[Justin]

Excellent to hear that it's fired up mate. Don't stress too much about it, the first brew on a new system rarely goes smoothly. Good luck with the rest of it and show us some pics.

Cheers, Justin

 

[warrenlw63]

Merc.

It's all a rite of passage. :lol: Take notes and you'll be amazed at how much easier your second brew will be. :beerbang:

Glad to hear you're getting there.

Warren -

 

[Weizguy]

Merc,

Congrats.
It's all about attuning yourself to the system.

If there was nothing in the literature that came with the system, (if you have time) you might wanna provide feedback to B3 so that they can include it for other purchasers.

Best of luck. Should be a great beer.

Seth

 

[Mercs Own]

Okay I am half way through the boil and that is at least going well!

Another lesson I have learnt is to actually fill up your hlt - that way you will not run out of sparge water :excl: Yes I did run out of sparge water and perhaps that is why the (low level or water) meant the pump didnt pump quite right? In my hot water test it did pump okay.

My sg of the last of my runnings was 1023 so I guess I left a bit of sugar behind.

I have just done a calculation for efficiency although I had to convert everything back to pounds for the calculation: total gravity of wort divided by total potential gravity or grains = efficiency My figure came out at 80% The sg of the wort prior to boil was 1051 measured at about 18 degrees c. Any one got an efficiency calculator in litres and kilos?

Taken a few photos so I will post them after I have cleaned up!

 

[warrenlw63]

Merc.

Nothing wrong with stopping the runnings high. As long as your SG doesn't suffer as a consequence. Stopping the sparge earlier will minimize the leaching of tannins and reduce the likelihood of astringency in your finished beer. :beerbang:

Speaking of beer. You got through your brewday... Go and have one!

Warren -

 

[Mercs Own]

Mistake number 352 - do not run hot wort through lovely counterflow chiller tooooooo fast result is a full fermenter at 27 degrees instead of around 18 degrees!

Losses: 600 ml in hoses and chiller
3.6 litres in boiler
total 4.4 litres loss after a 4 litre boil off loss
thus 33.6 litres in the fermenter.

Also I got a lot of hop residue in the fermenter so I will definately be racking this one into a secondary. That whole get a whirpool thing going didnt seem to work?

Also I put the issinglass in about five minutes before turn off - does that sound right?

 

[dreamboat]

How are those photo's coming along ????

Would love to see the B3 in action!


dreamboat

 

[NRB]

How long did you let it settle after whirlpooling? I've found I need at least 20 minutes for a nice hop cone to form (with pellets).

Well done on the first run.

 

[Mercs Own]

I didnt let it settle for 20 mins as I thought that once it stopped swirling it was done. It sounds like even if it has stopped swirling the hops are still settling to the bottom??

Something I dont quite understand is: I took an sg just before boil: 1051 and then did a calculation that finds your sg after boil taking into account the boil off loss therefore that is your final sg this came to 1059. My sg in the fermenter is 1051

I took the pre boil sg from the tap of the boiler without stirring the wort first, can the bottom part of the wort in the boiler have a higher sg than the top part of the wort? Could it be that much?

Is the loss to trub excessive or normal? How can I control my temperatures better aghaghagh I think I need another beer.

I have been getting into the Samuel Admas lately, a damn fine drop.

 

[Batz]

Mistake number 352

[post="82566"][/post]​

You have made it ! Well done , and I know you'll be wrapped with yuor result

Now

Relax , Don't worry, have , a , homebrew


Batz

 

[Jez]

Congrats Merc. Hanging out to see the B3 action pics.

And top stuff the other night on your show - for those that missed it:

* contestant: "What is your beer brand?"

* Merc: "I make my own."

* Jez sits back in armchair, cheshire grinning across at wife...

Cool as.....

Jez

 

[sosman]

Any one got an efficiency calculator in litres and kilos?

[post="82526"][/post]​

You could always download Brewsta
Even if you don't use it for recipes you can still do the efficiency calcs.

 

[jayse]

Merc,
The losses you posted look pretty spot on, It does look like your pre boil gravity reading was not correct. I take one after i have either stirred it up well or even better once its been boiling for a few minutes and take it from the top of the kettle.
Also the whirlpool once it stops everything is basically in the centre but it needs at least 15mins to fall to the bottom.
I'd get hold of some brew software to help you with your calculations, makes things simple.
Anyway it looks like everything did go reasonbly well and i bet your set to put what you learnt today into action for the next brew.

Jayse

 

[joecast]

Something I dont quite understand is: I took an sg just before boil: 1051 and then did a calculation that finds your sg after boil taking into account the boil off loss therefore that is your final sg this came to 1059. My sg in the fermenter is 1051

I took the pre boil sg from the tap of the boiler without stirring the wort first, can the bottom part of the wort in the boiler have a higher sg than the top part of the wort? Could it be that much?

[post="82587"][/post]​

could it have been due to a temp difference? were both samples cooled or was one still hot?
also, 0.008 doesnt seem all that high a difference in OG. prior to boil, its possible the sugars (if not completely mixed) may have "settled" to the bottom near the fermenter tap. that may have given you a slightly higher OG pre-boil. and at least your reading wasnt lower post-boil . thats the last thing you need on a brew day.

as for isinglass, the most i could come up wioth was this:
http://www.answers.com/topic/isinglass

-explaining the difference between it and irish moss:
The process differs, however: Isinglass is added at end of the brewing process, before bottling, whereas Irish Moss is added to the hot wort while it is being boiled, and primarily reduces hazes caused by proteins. Since the two agents act differently, some beers will make use of both fining agents.

joe

 

[kungy]

Something I dont quite understand is: I took an sg just before boil: 1051 and then did a calculation that finds your sg after boil taking into account the boil off loss therefore that is your final sg this came to 1059. My sg in the fermenter is 1051

I took the pre boil sg from the tap of the boiler without stirring the wort first, can the bottom part of the wort in the boiler have a higher sg than the top part of the wort? Could it be that much?

[post="82587"][/post]​

As identified by Joecast, that is definately a problem i faced with my first two AG batches, it confused the heck out of me until i figured it out. In terms of measuring variables during the process this is one thing i have never really heard as being a problem until i experienced it. The different measurement is due to the different densities of the wort and the fact the first runnings is the first thing to get trapped in the tap and copper siphon tubing.

I'm now in the habit of pouring about 500ml of wort pre boil from the tap and the copper siphon inside the boil kettle, pouring it back on top of the wort on the back of a spoon then gently swirling the kettle with a spoon, before measuring SG. Does the job well.

Also i'm another punter interested in seeing some pics. Please feel free to show me as well. Love the B3 rigs.

Cheers

Will

 

[Justin]

Just to tie you B3 envied guys over until Merc gets the photos on here, heres some good photos of a B3 1500 in action.

http://www.nhbrewers.com/mdf/brew/index.htm

I think we all wish we had one of these

Looks like some serious fun.

Cheers, Justin