First Ag Is Mashing As We Speak....

[PistolPatch]

Looks as though you went pretty well Mike. Myself and another AHB'er (he was experienced) were talking on the phone last night for an hour and a half following your progress - thanks for my hangover this morning - lol!

Interesting your comment about the penny dropping. The advice on AHB can be very confusing for us new AG'ers when people talk of sparging as no one specifies whether they are talking batch or fly. From my limited experience they are two totally different beasts. Ended up making some notes on this and will forward them to you on the weekend.

Would love to hear what equipment you used.

Cheers
PP

 

[MVZOOM]

Looks as though you went pretty well Mike. Myself and another AHB'er (he was experienced) were talking on the phone last night for an hour and a half following your progress - thanks for my hangover this morning - lol!

Interesting your comment about the penny dropping. The advice on AHB can be very confusing for us new AG'ers when people talk of sparging as no one specifies whether they are talking batch or fly. From my limited experience they are two totally different beasts. Ended up making some notes on this and will forward them to you on the weekend.

Would love to hear what equipment you used.

Cheers
PP

Thanks PP - need to finish my bloody sparge plate and get some pics up for you guys. AG for under $150, at my place! :super:

I'm still a bit confusd about why that mash stuck. Adding more water wouldn't have helped, as there was about 1.5" of liquid above the grain bed. So I'm thinking that the crush may have been too fine, however this was done by a very experianced HB supplier - so I'm not confident that this is the case either.

Cheers- Mike

 

[MVZOOM]

Hi Guys ,

Thought I'd give you an update on this one!

After a good ferment, this batch got down to 1007, but tasted reeaaally bitter from the fermenter. I then realised that I'd added about 30% more hops through the boil as I should have - didn't take into account that I'd not hit the wort quantity preboil.

So, I'd read somewhere that bitterness can fade with age - so I put the wort into a steralised cube and stored in a cool, dark place for 5 months.....

Kegged on the weekend and have just had my first taste!

Smell is freakin' awesome! That Amarillo is beautiful and pungent, it smells just brilliant. Bitterness has mellowed too, it's now really nice and well rounded. It's murkey as creek mud, given the fact that I couldn't seperate the hot and cold break etc.. Objectively, it's also a little weak at the after-taste, kinda like a lite beer (although it should be around 5%) - I don't know why that is.

Do I like it - absolutely. I thought I'd lost it and really didn't care if it worked or not, but am just so happy with the taste now, can't believe it.

Have nearly finished my kettle, so more AG to come after the house move. Thanks for all your advice along the way.

Cheers - Mike

 

[PistolPatch]

Crikey Mike!

No way I could have waited that long! Am wrapped that you are revelling in your first AG.

It's been a long time so any more thoughts on the stuck sparge?

:beer:
Pat

 

[MVZOOM]

Crikey Mike!

No way I could have waited that long! Am wrapped that you are revelling in your first AG.

It's been a long time so any more thoughts on the stuck sparge?

:beer:
Pat

Hey Pat,

Yeah, I actually forgot that the wort was 'ageing' in the cupboard, to be fair I'd written it off and had 200L of beer in various stages, so didn't attend to it now. I think it certainly helped mellow though - even with a pretty big headspace within the cube.

Stuck sparge I put down to not having a hot enough first sparge and a little too much water in the mash. I believe it didn't dissolve the sugars which then created the issue. Next time I'll sparge at 80degC and not be afraid to mix a bit to get flow. The second sparge ran off perfectly!

Just checked my notes, it's 4.7% ABV, so don't know why the 'thin' taste?

Cheers - Mike

 

[PistolPatch]

Just checked my notes, it's 4.7% ABV, so don't know why the 'thin' taste?

I may have an answer to this but it requires a story first - lol!

My van has been running rough for about 5 months. In past days, I'd do all the mechanical side myself including changing engines, head gaskets etc, etc. Now, it's not worth my while or so I thought...

I'll cut this story short but I just spent about $1500 at two different mechanics trying to solve this 'problem.' The other day, after another major part swap (gas converter) I thought, "Surely they have checked the spark plugs?" The answer, "No." The van runs now runs perfectly. (Oh, and you should have seen the air filter. Grrrr!)

The point I'm trying to make is we often over-look the basics.

One basic instrument of brewing that I think is often missed is the thermometer. People assume that a thermometer is accurate. They rarely are. Firstly, your thermometer needs to 'prove' itself accurate by comparing it to other thermometers. Calibrating it at freezing and boiling does not necessarily mean it is accurate at mash temperature. (It only takes a slight flaw half way up the themometer to create a significant discrepancy.)

The other thing is that you must make sure your mash is well-stirred before relying on a reading. Mash temperatures vary hugely around the tun. I've seen 9 degrees variance in the last week in an esky batch-sparge.

Sorry to write so much on this but I know 2 brewers that brewed undrinkable beer when they were starting out from dodgy thermometers. EVERY thermometer is dodgy to some extent.

Stuck sparge I put down to not having a hot enough first sparge and a little too much water in the mash. I believe it didn't dissolve the sugars which then created the issue. Next time I'll sparge at 80degC and not be afraid to mix a bit to get flow. The second sparge ran off perfectly!

Maybe next time try a 'Mash Out.' This will help in getting your first sparge up to temp.

vjval1974 (Brad) and I were brewing side by side the other day and needed to get some gas and parts while mashing. This took longer than thought so Brad's mash temp had dropped a fair whack. We had a chat on the way back about this and Brad ended up doing a mash out (draining the mash water from the esky adding the first sparge water.) Furthermore, I think he just kept adding the first sparge water until it hit about 76 degrees. Perfect!

Batch-sparging can be very flexible. I wrote some sort of guide to it the other day but I think it already needs updating!

Excuse the long post Mike but I'm unwinding after a long day in the sun followed by starting a brew at 5pm.

Hope some of the above is of help towards your next AG.

Spot ya,
Pat