Did I Butcher Dr Smurto?

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PranK

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Northern Beaches, Sydney
Hi Guys,

Did my 2nd AG last night. Took some advice from my last thread (First AG, Not Quite To Plan) - cooled my samples down before checking gravity was the biggie, but my 2 mistakes were;

1. Perhaps not sparging long enough. Last time I left the sparge in the tun for ~15mins, last night I left it in for maybe 5mins.
2. Didnt boil long enough!! Boiled for 60mins and not 90mins - I mis read the recipe and was working off a BIAB recipe also. I had a few extra litres at the end that I sadly turfed.

Pre boil gravity was 1.031 (20C) and post boil was 1.036 (20C) - that might make it a little 'light' and not too full bodied. Is that right?

Lessons learned this time;
1. I still need a nice burner, using the wok burner on my BBQ was still not enough and while the wort was 'turning' it was far from a rapid boil. (Was thinking this looked good?)
2. Because of the extended time to heat water, the whole process took ~5hrs which meant that I was finishing after midnight, which meant that I was not quite as careful toward the end as I'd like to have been. I just wanted to get to bed. Maybe no more night time brews. I was excited to start.
3. I want to read and re-read recipes and then jot a simple 'TODO' list down so its easy to follow and reference
4. I need to learn how to use BeerSmith2 properly, including setting up equipment and taking more measurements (eg, I have no idea how much wort I got out of the tun, but measuring that would be a *******, surely?)

Anyway, as usual, super keen on suggestions, advice, criticism, etc.

Thanks very much in advance.

Christian
 
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1. You could go for a 2 or 3-ring burner (I'd go 3 if you ever upgrade to a larger pot). The 3-ring with a normal bbq reg is ok, but a med pressure adjustable regulator really pumps out the heat. Plenty of people use and rate those rambo burners.
2. My brews always seem to take a hell of a lot longer than I'd like and usually leave the cleaning to the next day when doing it at night. Rushing a brew is hard not to do especially when it drags on, but gotta remind yourself that taking your time during the brew will limit the chance of making mistakes.
3. 4. Beersmith is a good tool and produces a brewsheet with step by step process which I use for each brew. The only way to know the measurements is either putting a calibrated sight glass on the side of the pot, or make a calibrated measuring stick with clear markings. I generally measure my water for the mash and sparge and that;s about it in terms of volume. Measure pre-boil and post boil gravities and they come out pretty spot on. But it takes a few consistent brews to be confident it's right.

Any reason for the 90min boil (pilsner malt maybe?)
 
Hi Guys,

Did my 2nd AG last night. Took some advice from my last thread (First AG, Not Quite To Plan) - cooled my samples down before checking gravity was the biggie, but my 2 mistakes were;

1. Perhaps not sparging long enough. Last time I left the sparge in the tun for ~15mins, last night I left it in for maybe 5mins.
2. Didnt boil long enough!! Boiled for 60mins and not 90mins - I mis read the recipe and was working off a BIAB recipe also. I had a few extra litres at the end that I sadly turfed.

Pre boil gravity was 1.031 (20C) and post boil was 1.036 (20C) - that might make it a little 'light' and not too full bodied. Is that right?

Lessons learned this time;
1. I still need a nice burner, using the wok burner on my BBQ was still not enough and while the wort was 'turning' it was far from a rapid boil. (Was thinking this looked good?)
2. Because of the extended time to heat water, the whole process took ~5hrs which meant that I was finishing after midnight, which meant that I was not quite as careful toward the end as I'd like to have been. I just wanted to get to bed. Maybe no more night time brews. I was excited to start.
3. I want to read and re-read recipes and then jot a simple 'TODO' list down so its easy to follow and reference
4. I need to learn how to use BeerSmith2 properly, including setting up equipment and taking more measurements (eg, I have no idea how much wort I got out of the tun, but measuring that would be a *******, surely?)

Anyway, as usual, super keen on suggestions, advice, criticism, etc.

Thanks very much in advance.

Christian

the burner you have linked is a very good burner, and efficient too
 
Thanks guys,

My concern with that burner is the 3 points on the top. One of my pots is an awfully cheap stainless thing with a super thin bottom and it would get pretty hammered by those points. I'd probably need to put something between them.

cdbrown, thats a great idea about the stick or sight glass. I always measure mash and sparge as i pour it in the tun, but not after it comes out.

The 90m boil is just stated here; http://beersmithrecipes.com/viewrecipe/653...rtos-golden-ale

Is 1.036 uber low?

Thanks a lot guys, loving the help on these forums.
 
cdbrown, thats a great idea about the stick or sight glass. I always measure mash and sparge as i pour it in the tun, but not after it comes out.

The measuring stick mentioned by cdbrown can be calibrated for the kettle. That way, you get a measurement of the volumes you're getting from the mash tun into the kettle.
 
Hi Guys,

Did my 2nd AG last night. Took some advice from my last thread (First AG, Not Quite To Plan) - cooled my samples down before checking gravity was the biggie, but my 2 mistakes were;

1. Perhaps not sparging long enough. Last time I left the sparge in the tun for ~15mins, last night I left it in for maybe 5mins.
2. Didnt boil long enough!! Boiled for 60mins and not 90mins - I mis read the recipe and was working off a BIAB recipe also. I had a few extra litres at the end that I sadly turfed.

Pre boil gravity was 1.031 (20C) and post boil was 1.036 (20C) - that might make it a little 'light' and not too full bodied. Is that right?

...

3. I want to read and re-read recipes and then jot a simple 'TODO' list down so its easy to follow and reference

....

First off, don't worry too much, yeasties can sense this and get upset.

With regards to point 1 - sparging is just rinsing the wort off the grains, so unless you were performing a mash-out as part of the sparge (ie raising the mash temp to de-activate enzymes, to give a more predictable wort composition), time is not important. If you were performing a mash-out, as part of the sparge you may not have given enough time to de-activate the enzymes (but again don't worry, it is not long before it gets boiled, so no biggy) and you may have missed a few points which can often be liberated at higher temps associated with the mash-out.

Sounds like the difference between expected and realised OG is due to the lack of another 30mins boil and vigour of the boil. Again, don't worry, you can safely add some light dried malt extract or even some sugar to give a boost and get the balance back to what you expected. Just dissolve and boil for sanitation reasons, then cool and add to the fermenting wort. Your software of choice should be able to calculate the numbers for you if you are not comfortable estimating yourself.

So don't get too hung up on following things to the letter, rather try to understand the reasons for what you are doing, and you will soon be far more relaxed and enjoying your beer a lot more.

It sounds like you are well on your way to becoming an addict of this hobby.

Cheers

:beer:
 
1036 will give you something about the strength of Carlton mid. Which one of Dr Smurto's recipes was it? If it was a British one, then half a kilo of sugar into the fermenter wouldn't do too much harm and would up the strength nicely. If Golden ale, you could (on this occasion only) consider putting in 750g of LDME which again would yield a palatable beer without much unwanted twang.
 
Hi Guys,

Did my 2nd AG last night. Took some advice from my last thread (First AG, Not Quite To Plan) - cooled my samples down before checking gravity was the biggie, but my 2 mistakes were;

1. Perhaps not sparging long enough. Last time I left the sparge in the tun for ~15mins, last night I left it in for maybe 5mins.
2. Didnt boil long enough!! Boiled for 60mins and not 90mins - I mis read the recipe and was working off a BIAB recipe also. I had a few extra litres at the end that I sadly turfed.

Pre boil gravity was 1.031 (20C) and post boil was 1.036 (20C) - that might make it a little 'light' and not too full bodied. Is that right?

Lessons learned this time;
1. I still need a nice burner, using the wok burner on my BBQ was still not enough and while the wort was 'turning' it was far from a rapid boil. (Was thinking this looked good?)
2. Because of the extended time to heat water, the whole process took ~5hrs which meant that I was finishing after midnight, which meant that I was not quite as careful toward the end as I'd like to have been. I just wanted to get to bed. Maybe no more night time brews. I was excited to start.
3. I want to read and re-read recipes and then jot a simple 'TODO' list down so its easy to follow and reference
4. I need to learn how to use BeerSmith2 properly, including setting up equipment and taking more measurements (eg, I have no idea how much wort I got out of the tun, but measuring that would be a *******, surely?)

Anyway, as usual, super keen on suggestions, advice, criticism, etc.

Thanks very much in advance.

Christian

I 'measure' the volume of wort pre-boil by sparging into 9L plastic buckets (<$1 from hardware stores) and then tipping them into the keggle. This way i know my total volume. I use the same buckets all the time hence my volume measurement is 'calibrated'.

I do 90 min boils for a number of reasons that i won't go into here but the reality is that it is not necessary. A 60 min boil will suffice provided it is vigorous enough and you have already discovered your wok burner doesn't cut it. Camping stores often sell 2 and 3 ring burners.

Using beersmith i print out the brewing steps sheet and take it with me to the shed when brewing so i know what i am doing.

I'd add 500g-750g of dry extract (boiled for 5-10 mins then cooled) to your fermenter to help balance the beer. With the lower SG of the boil you'll have a higher IBU and your beer will be very bitter and out of whack.
 
Wow, some awesome help in here. Thanks guys!

malt_shovel, great post - thank you! I left my sparge water in the tun for 15m during the first brew because I was doing the brew John Palmer had as 'your first all grain mash' and he suggested to do that. I'm not totally up on processes (if you hadn't noticed ;)) so still unsure why we do certain things. Yes I am very much addicted already. :) Thanks again for a great post!

Bribie_G, thanks for that, it was this one. How long can I leave it before adding the LDME ? I wont have time to get to a brew shop till the weekend.

Stux, Nice thread! Now I'm wondering if an immersion heater is better because I don't have any concrete to put the burner on and i'm assuming the mack-daddy burners will just burn through my balcony. I could probably put the burner on my bbq hot plate or something... ??

DrSmurto himself! Its good to see you are using some high-tech gadgetry like 9L buckets! Ok great, I'll get some dry extract but how soon do I need to add it? Will I need to add more yeast? Whats the best volume for a single batch? 27L?

Thanks again all, very much appreciated!! Argh, I need more bottles so I can get another brew going right away!! :)

Christian
 
If adding extract i would be adding it soon after pitching the yeast if not before.

Nothing high tech about my brewery, the HLT is on milk crates and the keggle sits on a stack of bricks :D
 
If adding extract i would be adding it soon after pitching the yeast if not before.

Ok, so the yeast was pitched last night. :( Have I missed my shot?

Nothing high tech about my brewery, the HLT is on milk crates and the keggle sits on a stack of bricks :D

Haha! Nice one! Sounds as high tech as mine! Good to know its not the gear that makes a good brew.
 
Always remember, while you might not have made the beer you originally set out to, the worst thing that can happen is you make a beer that isn't what you thought it would be. Its all about learning.
 
Ok, so, one final question....

I have no dried malt on hand, but I *do* have a Country Brewer Brew Booster (500g Dextrose, 250g Light Malt, 250g Maltodextrin) - will that do?

Thanks again.
 
Hi Christian,

My first Ag brew was Dr. Smurto's Golden Ale and I made some similar mistakes. I wasn't paying attention and only realised at the end of the boil that I'd only boiled a couple of litres off instead of the calculated ten. I chose not to add any LDM as I was worried about the 'twang' (which was one of the reasons I moved to Ag). All I did was ferment at 18 degrees Celsius, dry hopped some Amarillo and kegged. Long story short the beer ended up around 3.5% but tasted great, far better than any of the K&K jobs that I had done previously. I had a group of friends decide to drop in for 'a quick drink' a couple of months later and they all were happy to hang around for a session (better than I achieved with any of the kits I brewed up).

Some food for thought. Best of luck with your future brews.

Cheers,

Nigel
 
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