Finally it all comes together..

[welly2]

Currently boiling the first batch in my mini-rig. The numbers were pretty much dead on - estimated pre-boil gravity was 1.044, got 1.042. Mash tun kept its temperature and was pretty much dead on with the wort into the boil kettle - 13L which is just shy of the estimated 13.2L. Efficiency is just over 70% which is about 70% more efficient than I've been previously! Pretty chuffed! Was my first batch sparge and that was fine and easy. It seems the key is to go steady and not rush it and panic, as I have a tendency to do. A few more batches to go and then I'll know if it's all keyed in.

 

[ian_2005]

Congrats, nice work

Any photos?

 

[welly2]

Here's a few. The Lamington ale is interesting.

 

[welly2]

Hmm... Houston, we have a problem. Up until the boil, everything was right. And some how during the boil I lost 5 and a half feckin litres. So 7 litres went into the fermenter. The OG into the fermenter was 1.065 where it should have been 1.055. Topped up with water to the 10L mark as was the calculated amount, ended up with an OG of 1.045. Oh well, it's still beer. I guess I'll have to have another brew evening in a week or so when my fermentation fridge is empty. Got to get it dialled in.

 

[welly2]

Just thinking, is it possible the 2400w heating element is too much for the small pot and amount of wort I'm boiling? Hence the massive loss of wort and high gravity?

 

[Camo6]

Estimating boil off rates is one of the main reasons I miss my targets. Be sure to accurately measure pre and post volumes and gravities to help you dial in your system.
You could rig up a simple voltage controller (pretty sure Still Dragon sold one in kit form) to produce a less vigorous boil which will reduce your losses.
I use gas with a MP regulator and maintaining the same boil off rate from brew to brew is a bit hit and miss sometimes.

 

[welly2]

I should just fill it up and boil some water for an hour and see what happens. I guess that'll give me some indication of the boil off rate. That'll be something for tomorrow/the weekend. I'll checkout Still Dragon, thanks!

 

[Camo6]

You'll probably get a different results between wort and water but I may be wrong.
If you haven't done so already, fill the kettle with an accurate jug (or use scales) to mark up a simple dipstick with 1 or .5 litre increments. Or use a steel rule and a cylinder volume calculator.
Makes it easy to check volumes on the fly in case you need to reduce or extend your boil length.
Dialling in your system is a good excuse to brew more beer! Congrats and enjoy.

 

[welly2]

Yeah, made myself a dip stick with marks on it, I just assumed that it would boil away as expected for 60 minutes and I'd get the calculated amount of wort. Oh well, next time then. Could always make up a batch next week in a no chill cube and keep it until the fridge is empty. Ah well, we'll see!

 

[Matplat]

Sounds like a nice problem to have

 

[welly2]

Sounds like a nice problem to have

To paraphrase someone, "It ain't going to brew itself".

 

[TheWiggman]

Regarding your OG in your fermenter, ideally you'll have two approaches: target volume or target gravity. I prefer to achieve a gravity so I have more consistency with my beer. If you overshoot your OG post-boil, use an online dilution calculator to determine how much water to add to achieve your target OG.

 

[welly2]

Regarding your OG in your fermenter, ideally you'll have two approaches: target volume or target gravity. I prefer to achieve a gravity so I have more consistency with my beer. If you overshoot your OG post-boil, use an online dilution calculator to determine how much water to add to achieve your target OG.

That makes sense to me. So would you potentially boil until you reach that target gravity? So if your boil takes 50 minutes rather than the usual 60, you'd do that? And of course, if it takes 70 minutes rather than the 60 then you'd continue to boil?

Edit. Actually, thinking about it, it probably isn't that easy to take a gravity measurement while your wort is boiling away.

 

[danestead]

Yes 2400w is probably a lot of power for your size. My 20L Braumeister has a 2000w element and my boil sizes start at 28L although it is more of a simmer than a boil. I get 11% evaporation.

 

[TheWiggman]

Typically I will boil for 75 mins (excluding high gravity beers). I'll normally be 1 or 2 points over, then water down accordingly if required. Nearing the end of the boil at about 10 min, I'll check the gravity and if I'm off by a few points I might boil a bit extra. I don't need to now except today, for example, I realised DURING the boil that I'd used AndrewQld's recipe in Brewsmith. He used a 60 min boil. At 5 mins I was 3 points off target so I left it an extra 10 min to boil.
You can get around this by using DME or similar but I'd rather not. If however you have an interesting hop schedule you can stuff up your bitterness if you're not careful.

 

[droid]

wise man once said "begin with the end in mind"

 

[Camo6]

wise man once said "begin with the end in mind"

Said no wise woman ever...

 

[troopa]

Did you calculate for Trub? This may account for a few litres lost.