My First Ag Is Now Finished

[Stoodoo]

Started my first ever ag yesterday at around 6pm. I couldn't start any earlier coz I had other things to do, and I was so hyped up, I couldn't wait untill today to do it. I had 5kg of joe white pilsner malt in my tun, with ~12.5 litres of water. I found it hard to get a "true" temperature reading of the mash, since temp readings were different depending on where I stuck the thermometer. I think the average temp was somewhere around 67c maybe dropping down to 65c at the end of the 90 min mash. I added another 10 litres of water to increase the mash temp to around 75c for a few minutes, before draining/recirculating the sweet wort.

After a bit of mucking around, adding some more water and draining etc, I had a boil volume of around 26/27 litres. I absolutely love my pilseners, so only used czech saaz hops for this on. 60gms pellets for 90min, 20gm pellets for 45min and 59 gms plugs for 20min. I have no chiller yet, so swirled the boiled wort, then siphoned it straight into my fermentor (around 11pm). This morning when I got up, I checked the temp - 17c, and pitched my recultured budvar yeast. Total volume in the fermentor 19.5. Hydrometer reading was 1.052. Taste...........amazing, in an excellent way Can't wait to do my next one, next weekend. It will be similar to this one, but with Weyermann pilsner malt. Any ideas or hints you guys could give me for my next batch? Oh, and a big thanks to everyone here who post informative threads. I've been reading through many of them, gaining a slightly better understanding of the process, but also not quite understanding a fair few of them. Also the following site helped break down my train of thought that it may all just be a little too hard.

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/

Cheers

 

[Ross]

Well done Stoodoo, it's a great feeling isn't it? Only surpassed by the pleasure you'll get when drinking it.

That's also a great thread for guiding the newbie, I used it myself.

Cheers & welcome to the world of AG :beer:

Ross

 

[Stoodoo]

Thanks Ross. One thing that stood out in my view was both the aroma and the flavour of the boiled wort. The easiest way to describe it when comparing it with my kit and kiloing, is you could say that the wort made up with cans tastes one dimensional. Whereas the wort made up from grain and hops tastes multidimensional, if that makes sense. the flavour is complex, coming at your taste buds from all angles. I can't wait to taste the final product, and I can't believe it's taken me this long to get into ag.

Cheers

 

[tangent]

you'll be blown away by mouthfeel as well. Waaaaay better than a can.
Top work!

 

[Mr Bond]

you'll be blown away by mouthfeel as well. Waaaaay better than a can.
Top work!

[post="126292"][/post]​

Couldn't agree more!

good on ya Stoodoo. :beerbang:

And yes that link is absolutely a must read for any one interested in AG,easy to follow and simplistic.

 

[pint of lager]

Welcome to the ranks of all grain. Those first few brews are so exciting. Only problem with doing a lager is they take more time than an ale to be drinking.

Your pils recipe looks great, 100% pilsner grain and all saaz hops. For your next one, since you have changed brands of base grain, maybe use a different hops, hallertauer or tettnang.

With the temperature reading, when you mash in, stir and stir for a few minutes, making sure, if there are any dough balls, they all get broken up, wait another five minutes, then take your reading. This lets the temp stabilise. Also, many thermometers need 30 - 60 seconds to stabilise.

You may also like to up your mashwater ratio to about 3 litres per kilo.

....I've been reading through many of them, gaining a slightly better understanding of the process, but also not quite understanding a fair few of them.

When you come across something that someone has posted and you don't understand, ask for further clarification. Most people are happy to clear things up or tell you where to get further information. That means you have a thorough understanding of the process and can in turn, help someone else down the track.

 

[PistolPatch]

Looks like you managed to find the SS braid alright at Bunnings! My goodness Stoodoo, it sounds as though you taught yourself AG. You have to really admire that. (I had Ross and Beersmith to babysit me and would have really struggled without them.)

I know what you mean about the wort taste. The wort from my first AG last week was the first that tasted any good.

I'll look forward to reading your link above. Sorry I can't offer you any advice - it's all a little new to me but I must say that, thanks to Ross, I am no longer daunted by AG.

Really well done Stu!

All the best
PP

 

[wee stu]

I have no chiller yet, so swirled the boiled wort

[post="126264"][/post]​

Jeez stoo, I hope you mean whirlpooled (ie gently stirred to help separate the wort from the hop trub).

The thought of 27 litres of recently boiled wort swirling around gives me occupational health and safety nightmares - not to mention my own sad memories of hot side aeration from maltreated hot wort

Seriously though, welcome to the mildly manic, lunatic fringe of home brewing. Life will never be the same again.

Also good to see another stu in the hobby, there seems to be a fair few of us about B)


PS .... Pint of Lager is right, that is a great recipe for a bohemian pilsner (what yeast, btw?). If you want some objective feedback on your beer, I would seriously encourage you to enter a reputable competition.

I am involved in ANAWBS, which happens to have a class devoted exclusively to Bohemian Pilsners, so obviously I favour that comp. But any well run comp, and especially the Victorian state comp for you, would be well worth entering.

Don't be shy about entering a beer because it is your first all grain, it is amazing how often the brew gods shine on virgin brews. And lets face it, every all grainer is essentially a beer nerd - we have thought about it so much, when it finally happens our technique is flawless :lol: (at least for the first time h34r: ).

 

[Stoodoo]

Thanks for the comments guys.

wee stu, yes - I meant whirlpooled, and was careful not to get any airation. The yeast I used was a recultured Wyeast Budvar yeast. It's currently fermenting at a temp of ~ 10c. I will look into the possibility of entering my brew into competitions. I'm sure I'll get my fair share of critisism, however it should lead me into brewing better beers.

PistolPatch, though I had no-one physically teaching me how to go through the ag process, I certainly found the link I mentioned very helpful indeed. I know improvements can and will be made to my process. Also a big thankyou for the message you sent about sparging. I think my sparging process was not quite what it should have been.

Cheers