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DanteHicks

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Hi all,

I am about 1/2 way through my first AG. It is a BIAB 3 Shades of Stout and all seems to be going well.

Lost about 3.5 degrees in a 90 min mash, not sure if this is ok or not.

Will let you know how things go.

P.S. Anyone have any tips for siphoning near boiling wort? I am going to cube it and ferment tomorrow.
 
Sounds like it's going well. I lost 1.9C yesterday on a 90min mash. The only advice i'd have for the wort is be very carefull and next time, work out a tap of some sort.

It's not the kind of thing you want going wrong.
 
Sounds like it's going well. I lost 1.9C yesterday on a 90min mash. The only advice i'd have for the wort is be very carefull and next time, work out a tap of some sort.

It's not the kind of thing you want going wrong.

I have been told that I should get a new tap for it, but the urn has a molded plastic tap. I would need to cut this off to fit a ball lock tap. Not sure if I should or not.
 
I used to siphon with a silicon hose and a leather glove to hold onto the hose and pinch it a bit as to restrict the flow, Now looking back on it for a $25 ball valve and a few fittings dont know why I bothered burning myself and standing there holding a hose lol
 
3 piece ball valve and silicon hose is the only way to go.
 
So it is cubed and cooling in a sink full of water. According to Beersmith I got 85% efficiency, so I am well happy with that. I guess now it is just wait and see. Everything went so smoothly, and with a 90 min mash and a 60 min boil, including cleanup the brew took just under 5 1/2 hours. I cant wait to taste the results. Thanks for everyone's help in getting me to this stage, if not for this forum, I would be still doing K&K.
 
So it is cubed and cooling in a sink full of water. According to Beersmith I got 85% efficiency, so I am well happy with that. I guess now it is just wait and see. Everything went so smoothly, and with a 90 min mash and a 60 min boil, including cleanup the brew took just under 5 1/2 hours. I cant wait to taste the results. Thanks for everyone's help in getting me to this stage, if not for this forum, I would be still doing K&K.

Congrats mate,
Let us all know when you sample it.
Cheers
 
I have been told that I should get a new tap for it, but the urn has a molded plastic tap. I would need to cut this off to fit a ball lock tap. Not sure if I should or not.

Got a pic? What type of urn?
 
So it is cubed and cooling in a sink full of water. According to Beersmith I got 85% efficiency, so I am well happy with that. I guess now it is just wait and see. Everything went so smoothly, and with a 90 min mash and a 60 min boil, including cleanup the brew took just under 5 1/2 hours. I cant wait to taste the results. Thanks for everyone's help in getting me to this stage, if not for this forum, I would be still doing K&K.

Awesome, it'll be the best beer you ever taste! Well done. I'm on my first brew for about 6 months today - 46L of APA to get back in the swing of it. Feels good to be back.

Cheers - Mike
 
P.S. Anyone have any tips for siphoning near boiling wort? I am going to cube it and ferment tomorrow.


Not a fun job, and still the most annoying part of my brew day, but here's how I do it:

Get an empty bucket, and a jug with about a litre of starsan in it (use the same star san to sanitise the cube, gloves and hose and anything else).

Hold the tube with both ends pointing upwards, and the rest dangling straight down. Pour starsan into the tube, filling it with liquid.

Block one end with a (gloved) thumb, put the other into the bucket. Then immerse your whole hand into the kettle, release the thumb, and wait until the tube is filled with wort. Then put your thumb back over, move the hose from bucket to cube, and release again.

I've done this 4 times now, and i've never done it perfectly - I usually end up lifting the kettle end out of the water while trying to move the other end... but it does work eventually - and there's absolutely no possibility of a mouthful of boiling wort... decent gloves are essential though

I definitely need to look at the tap option...

edit: quote fail
 
3 piece ball valve and silicon hose is the only way to go.
Definitely the easiest way. Ball valve and silicon hose. Use whirlflok or whatever its called lol. While it's whirlpooling attach ya silcone hose. I usually have it dangling in my bucket of sanitizer ( starsan) then when ready just move it to the no chill cube and open the valve.
To easy ay.
P.s my first time I siphoned with silicone hose and me sucking on it lol.
 
Hi Wimmig, have a look at my post here. It has photos and the details on where I got it. It is just a cheapie I got on ebay for about $130. Let me know if you want some more info on it.

I would be fairly confident you could replace that with a ball valve unit. It's likely that the existing bulkhead (the plastic zone mount for the original tap) won't hold the tension needed for a SS unit. Though, if you can remove some of that extra material (a dremel makes mince meat of it) then you shoul have a good mount senction. Use one of the no weld bulkhead ones, they work a treat.

Siphone off boilding hot wort time and time again is just opening yourself to serious harm.
 
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