Drsmurto's Golden Ale

[pomsdownunder]

Hi,

I have just ordered all of the ingredients for my first homebrew, and I have decided to go with DrSmurto's Golden Ale recipe: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=502. I have read through the notes on the RecipeDB page, but I wondered if anyone might be able to provide some more details, please...

1) What does 'mash in 66, mash out 78' mean?
2) Do I add all grain to my pot together, and into how much water?
3) How long should the grain remain in the water before adding my first hops, and at what temperature should the water/grain mix be?
4) Am I right in thinking I add my first hops 60 min before the end of the "boil", then at 10 min before the end, and at 5 min before, with final hops being dry hopped?
5) At what point do I kill the flame, and leave the contents to steep as opposed to "cook"?
6) I plan to use a 30lt stock pot that I have recently bought, but are there any other items that I might need to purchase before I can get started?

I'll be kegging this; not bottling.

Sorry for all of the questions; thanks for any input

 

[Tim F]

You may need to do a bit more research & reading before you get started. Heres a good resouce, sorry if you already know all this!
http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/index.html

 

[dj1984]

Not a fan of reading this is what i watched when i first started ,sound like you have a bit less equipment and are doing BIAB but still worth a watch.

 

[fcmcg]

Hi,

I have just ordered all of the ingredients for my first homebrew, and I have decided to go with DrSmurto's Golden Ale recipe: http://www.aussiehomebrewer.com/forum/inde...&recipe=502. I have read through the notes on the RecipeDB page, but I wondered if anyone might be able to provide some more details, please...

1) What does 'mash in 66, mash out 78' mean?
2) Do I add all grain to my pot together, and into how much water?
3) How long should the grain remain in the water before adding my first hops, and at what temperature should the water/grain mix be?
4) Am I right in thinking I add my first hops 60 min before the end of the "boil", then at 10 min before the end, and at 5 min before, with final hops being dry hopped?
5) At what point do I kill the flame, and leave the contents to steep as opposed to "cook"?
6) I plan to use a 30lt stock pot that I have recently bought, but are there any other items that I might need to purchase before I can get started?

I'll be kegging this; not bottling.

Sorry for all of the questions; thanks for any input

Mate,
Firstly , not having a crack but you may be in over your head ....
There are some things that we need to know before we can help you....
Are you planning on doing a BIAB ? Doesn't Sound like you have the gear for a 3V system...
Where abouts in Aust , are you ? Some locals may be able to let you see how they brew....
So some short answers....
1) What does 'mash in 66, mash out 78' mean? So when you add the grain to the water , your temp that you settle on , needs to be about 66 degrees...mash out refers to rasing the temp , usually after an hour , of your mash to 78 degrees. Some brewers skip this step..
2) Do I add all grain to my pot together, and into how much water? yes...but do you have a biab setup ?? In my 3 vessel system , the usual grain to water ratio is about 3 litres of water to a kilo of grain....
3) How long should the grain remain in the water before adding my first hops, and at what temperature should the water/grain mix be? Hops go in after you have removed your grain bag or after you have sparged...once this liquid has started to boil...usually for an hour...so first addition of hops is usually at 60 min...sounds like you need to read tim's link to how to brew...
4) Am I right in thinking I add my first hops 60 min before the end of the "boil", then at 10 min before the end, and at 5 min before, with final hops being dry hopped?That is correct....so when the boil starts , add your first lot of hops...then 10 min before the end , 5 min before the end of your hour boil and then , yes...dry hopped...that is...in the fermentor , after you have cooled the "wort" and it has had yeast piched and is usually at day 4 of fermentation , imho...
5) At what point do I kill the flame, and leave the contents to steep as opposed to "cook"? So no flame untill after you have mashed for an hour and completed your sparge or removed your bag....
The mash is basically a steep...the boil is , in your terms , when you "cook" the liquid....
There is also quite a few threads on here with pics too...do a search for nick's BIAB thread...might help make it all a bit clearer....
As i said , not having a crack but it is very ambitious to have ordered your grain before you know what gear you need and what processes you should be following...I just want you to make good beer and not get disheartened , if it goes pete tong...
This hobby can be a cracker....
Good luck.....

 

[BlueSky]

Download BrewMate >>LINKY HERE<< ...and have a play, it's a good bit of free software.

 

[hoppinmad]

Not a fan of reading this is what i watched when i first started ,sound like you have a bit less equipment and are doing BIAB but still worth a watch.

+1

That was the first brewing video I watched and was what got me started

 

[hbnath]

+1 for Brewmate. As a newb I found it the easiest to use.

 

[kymba]

ok, i'll bite with a rough-as-guts rundown

to extract the sugars from the grain you need to soak them in water somewhere between 60 & 72 degrees, for an hour or so. the water / grain ratio will be dependent on the system you are using. the mashout figure of 78 degrees will denature the enzymes (responsible for earlier converting the starch in the grain into fermentable sugars), and make the sugars easier to extract from the grain. research mashing

next you need to remove the grain from the water, or the water from the grain. again, dependent on your setup. research sparging

now this sweet wort needs to be boiled. this will do a number of things...make it sterile, make proteins from the mash coagulate (hot break?), extract bitterness from the soon to be added hops, heaps of other things i've missed. with todays malts you can probably get away with a half hour boil, but a 60 - 90 minute boil is the norm (big assumption on my behalf). the hop times you have been given indicate the length they are required to be in the boil. this will impart bitterness (60 minute addition), flavour (10 minute), and aroma (0 minute / flameout).

pop the lid on when you have turned the heat source off. wait until the convection eddys have stopped and start a whirlpool with a minimum amount of splashing...this will concentrate hop debris and hot break into the middle of your pot. wait until the wp has stopped and syphon / drain into a fermenter or cube - or just leave it in the pot until it is cool and get it out the next day

then ferment

easy huh

**** i hope you are not speedie

 

[fcmcg]

ok, i'll bite with a rough-as-guts rundown

to extract the sugars from the grain you need to soak them in water somewhere between 60 & 72 degrees, for an hour or so. the water / grain ratio will be dependent on the system you are using. the mashout figure of 78 degrees will denature the enzymes (responsible for earlier converting the starch in the grain into fermentable sugars), and make the sugars easier to extract from the grain. research mashing

next you need to remove the grain from the water, or the water from the grain. again, dependent on your setup. research sparging

now this sweet wort needs to be boiled. this will do a number of things...make it sterile, make proteins from the mash coagulate (hot break?), extract bitterness from the soon to be added hops, heaps of other things i've missed. with todays malts you can probably get away with a half hour boil, but a 60 - 90 minute boil is the norm (big assumption on my behalf). the hop times you have been given indicate the length they are required to be in the boil. this will impart bitterness (60 minute addition), flavour (10 minute), and aroma (0 minute / flameout).

pop the lid on when you have turned the heat source off. wait until the convection eddys have stopped and start a whirlpool with a minimum amount of splashing...this will concentrate hop debris and hot break into the middle of your pot. wait until the wp has stopped and syphon / drain into a fermenter or cube - or just leave it in the pot until it is cool and get it out the next day

then ferment

easy huh

**** i hope you are not speedie

Whilst this is a good rough-t-mite of brewing , the OP has only one pot ( 30 litre from memory)...and not trying to be the doyen of bad news but in my opinion there are some suggestions above that CAN lead to an infection problem....certainly not best practice to just leave it in the pot.There is not enough information in this suggestion...you can leave it in the pot ( i wouldn't) ..but you must cover your pot with a lid...and may be even some glad wrap...once it's cool it can go lactic , if not covered and sealed properly....
I really think that the op should search BIAB and no-chill....
IMHO , it's better to try and do this right before doing it wrong , developing bad brewing habits and then having problems
I'd also suggest to the OP that you get some napisan ( or oxyper or pbw for cleaning) and some iodopher ( or starsan ) for sanitising...especially because you may actually make a beer on the brew day but manage to "infect" it with poor sanitry techniques....
Again...not trying to put the mozz on the OP but you need to be more informed than just from a few posts on a thread....
Cheers
Ferg

 

[kymba]

fk sorry ferg, didn't even see your first post - you are right about the pot lid & gladwrap. i didn't mention sanitation as he says he is kegging, which leads me to assume he has been doing kits and should have that down pat...what experience do you have, OP?

oh, and i forgot to mention that the grain needs to be crushed before you add it into the water

 

[pomsdownunder]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the info. As suggested, I may be in over my head but I do want to give this a bash.

Perhaps I should have mentioned that whilst I am new to a/g homebrewing, I have been brewing kits for some time, and have a decent amount of "basic" homebrew gear - fermenters, sanitisation equipment, kegging equipment and a kegerator.

I need to check out all of the links that you have provided but, by the sound of it, I will be going the BIAB line, as opposed to 3v at this stage, and will be adding the wort to a fermenter. I then usually rack into a cube to get the beer off the trub, before transferring to a keg when a spare one becomes available

Thanks again

 

[fcmcg]

Hey guys, thanks for all of the info. As suggested, I may be in over my head but I do want to give this a bash.

Perhaps I should have mentioned that whilst I am new to a/g homebrewing, I have been brewing kits for some time, and have a decent amount of "basic" homebrew gear - fermenters, sanitisation equipment, kegging equipment and a kegerator.

I need to check out all of the links that you have provided but, by the sound of it, I will be going the BIAB line, as opposed to 3v at this stage, and will be adding the wort to a fermenter. I then usually rack into a cube to get the beer off the trub, before transferring to a keg when a spare one becomes available

Thanks again

Mate,
Not a problem....
Yes , you will be going the BIAB line....
Here is a link to nickjd's thread on BIAB ( one of them , anyway )
AHB Biab link ( one of them)
Making the jump shouldn't be that hard , given you already have some gear and some basic principles....
To go with your pot , all you need is a swiss voile bag and a 23 litre plastic jerry can from the green shed ( if your going to no-chill)
Some of the sponsors above can help with the bag !
I don't worry about racking into a cube...i usually ferment ( in a temp controlled fridge ) andd then keg....icbf'd cold conditioning and i reckon by transfering to a secondary , your just increasing the potential to spoil the beer....this is of course in my opinion
As said , good luck...
BTW...
Where abouts are you ? Thought about joinig a brew club ? They are a good source of info too , imho...
Cheers
Ferg

 

[pomsdownunder]

Mate,
Not a problem....
Yes , you will be going the BIAB line....
Here is a link to nickjd's thread on BIAB ( one of them , anyway )
AHB Biab link ( one of them)
Making the jump shouldn't be that hard , given you already have some gear and some basic principles....
To go with your pot , all you need is a swiss voile bag and a 23 litre plastic jerry can from the green shed ( if your going to no-chill)
Some of the sponsors above can help with the bag !
I don't worry about racking into a cube...i usually ferment ( in a temp controlled fridge ) andd then keg....icbf'd cold conditioning and i reckon by transfering to a secondary , your just increasing the potential to spoil the beer....this is of course in my opinion
As said , good luck...
BTW...
Where abouts are you ? Thought about joinig a brew club ? They are a good source of info too , imho...
Cheers
Ferg

Thanks Ferg.

Good call about the brew club; hadn't even thought about it. I'm in Perth.

 

[Superoo]

check out TWOC, at the stock Rd markets, Roy does grain brewing demo's there, that will ease your mind once you see how simple it is.

his website lists when the next brew demo is on...

just phone him and ask if he can do a biab demo, and you will be amazed at the simplicity of it.

 

[warra48]

check out TWOC, at the stock Rd markets, Roy does grain brewing demo's there, that will ease your mind once you see how simple it is.

his website lists when the next brew demo is on...

just phone him and ask if he can do a biab demo, and you will be amazed at the simplicity of it.

All good advice so far, but I think this is the best.
Once you see a brew done, you'll realise it's really quite easy, and you will avoid a lot of common beginner's mistakes.

 

[pomsdownunder]

Just checked out BrewMate, but it's only compatible with Windows. Anyone know of a Mac alternative?

Thanks

 

[dkaos]

Beersmith. It's about $26 but worth it! I'm still on the demo atm.

Alternatively, get virtual box and run Windows XP inside a virtual machine.

 

[pomsdownunder]

Beersmith. It's about $26 but worth it! I'm still on the demo atm.

Alternatively, get virtual box and run Windows XP inside a virtual machine.

Thanks