My First Ag

[zephon]

What can go wrong, will go wrong.

How hard can it be?

After reading these forums for ages now, doing a couple of AG brews with friends and aquiring a tried and tested brewery (thanks Russ T!) I felt pretty confident about what was going on... that is until I started. Thought I'd post a summary of what went wrong (and some things that went right) so you can have a laugh:

• My pump wouldn't. Technically not it's fault I just couldn't get it primed properly. Seems I was 1 tap short. I did get this working sufficiently in the end and a trip to the hardware store today will fix this problem once and for all.
• Managed to hit mash in temp spot on (yay!) though unsure of how much water was in the mash tun (boo!).
• Stuck sparge - probably the worst problem of the day - could not get the wort flowing from the MT. Had to resort to a jug and a strainer to get it into the kettle. Big HSA worries here as there was lots of splashing.
• As a result of above, missed the expected SG by some distance as I had to top up with water to get the requried boil volume.
• Way miscalculated the requried boil volume, ended up with 25% less wort than intended. Possibly boiled it too vigourously? Topped up with water in fermemter.
• Only boiled for 60 minutes instead of 90 which is what the recipe was designed for.
• Forgot to whirlpool. Ended up with muddy looking wort in fermemter.
• Chilling actually worked (counter flow chiller), though I will seriously be thinking about no chilling in future.
• Started too late in the day, was still going at 10:00 last night after all the problems.

So, got it into the fermenter. Tastes overpoweringly like hops but not in a good way :icon_vomit: . I fear I may be flushing this one down the drain, but it was a learning experience.

I'll be back at it next weekend after some modifications to the plumbing and MT false bottom.

Thanks for listening, I have to smile even if last night I definitely wasn't.

 

[enoch]

$ock!

All good stuff. Now wait for the tasting!

 

[Frag_Dog]

Thats quite a list of stuff ups! :icon_chickcheers:

I found that my 2nd and 3rd AG brews (I've done 6 now) where the ones where i really stuffed up. It was more trying to cut corners and do 2 things at once so now when I brew, thats all I do.

Its all a learning process but. I now use a checksheet and put my gravities and that on there so I can punch it into Beersmith and find out whats going on.

Good luck with the next one!

 

[raven19]

There is a good chance it will still be a tasty beer. Gotta love AG brewing!

Well done on the brew! :icon_cheers:

 

[jonocarroll]

Ah, the fun of it all. Don't worry - when it all comes together it's a wonderful feeling, made all the better by having a stuff up to begin with (where's the fun if it's perfect from the start?).

Stuck sparge - probably the worst problem of the day - could not get the wort flowing from the MT. Had to resort to a jug and a strainer to get it into the kettle. Big HSA worries here as there was lots of splashing

I don't recall the MT setup exactly, but there's lots of ways this can happen. Also somewhat recipe/ingredient dependent - too fine a crush? too much wheat? too thick mash? too cool sparge? Rice hulls will get you a little leeway, but sometimes it's just a matter of using the equipment differently.

HSA is a dangerous term to use on this forum. Let's just say that early on I had a similar sparging problem, but instead of using a jug & strainer I just tipped the damn lot into the kettle (from a height no less) and scooped out as much grain as I could, splashing like mad. No signs of wet cardboard after 6 months in bottle. YMMV, mine was a dark, malty beer.

Only boiled for 60 minutes instead of 90 which is what the recipe was designed for

IIRC the main reason for a 90 minute boil is to drive off DMS, which is most likely to be found in a pale malt such as pilsner malt. In an ale, the roasted grains have very little of the DMS precursor SMM, and the vigorous ale fermentation takes care of the majority of whatever is left. Unless you did a lager for your first AG, you're probably safe on this one.

Forgot to whirlpool. Ended up with muddy looking wort in fermemter

Yeast like the protein to a degree. This is another contentious point. I sometimes get up to 1/3 of my no-chill cube looking muddy before pitching the entire lot into the fermenter.

Started too late in the day, was still going at 10:00 last night after all the problems.

Yeah, that's a fun one. Now you see why I start my brewdays in the morning?

So, got it into the fermenter. Tastes overpoweringly like hops but not in a good way :icon_vomit: . I fear I may be flushing this one down the drain, but it was a learning experience.

Remember - if you're tasting from the tap at the bottom of the fermenter, that's where most of that 'muddy' wort goes. If you used pellets, a lot of the bits will make their way into the hydrometer sample unless you wait for them to settle out in the trub - which they will - leaving you with a nice, clear beer. Ever tasted a hop pellet? Wait until the end of ferment before considering throwing anything out.

Glad to hear it's all up and going!

- Jono.

 

[cdbrown]

Yeast like the protein to a degree. This is another contentious point. I sometimes get up to 1/3 of my no-chill cube looking muddy before pitching the entire lot into the fermenter.

I think he means all the hops, hot break and everything. I normally try to leave all the muck behind in the kettle, then once the cube has cooled there's only an inch or three of cold break in the cube (which get's tipped into the fermenter).

I generally find that the first sample is always quite bitter and almost overpowering, but by the time the ferment has got through half way, that subsides and start to get some more malt and hop flavour coming through. So don't worry about that.

How long did it take you from start to finish? Mine is around 4 hours now after a few stuff ups trying to do things quicker. Now its a matter of taking the time to make sure the measurements, temps and timing is right.

 

[zephon]

HSA is a dangerous term to use on this forum. Let's just say that early on I had a similar sparging problem, but instead of using a jug & strainer I just tipped the damn lot into the kettle (from a height no less) and scooped out as much grain as I could, splashing like mad. No signs of wet cardboard after 6 months in bottle. YMMV, mine was a dark, malty beer.

If it's any good it won't last 6 months anyway so hopefully it's not a problem.

I don't recall the MT setup exactly, but there's lots of ways this can happen. Also somewhat recipe/ingredient dependent - too fine a crush? too much wheat? too thick mash? too cool sparge? Rice hulls will get you a little leeway, but sometimes it's just a matter of using the equipment differently.

I don't think I quite had it setup right. I probably needed to show a bit more care when attaching Russ's fly screen solution to a non-flat esky bottom. I have a couple of ideas for something a little more permanent that should help in the future.

Remember - if you're tasting from the tap at the bottom of the fermenter, that's where most of that 'muddy' wort goes. If you used pellets, a lot of the bits will make their way into the hydrometer sample unless you wait for them to settle out in the trub - which they will - leaving you with a nice, clear beer.

I think I was a bit harsh saying it will be thrown out. I'm pretty sure the sample I tasted was mostly mushed up hop pellets which are not the best flavour (I love a good hoppy APA but I wouldn't chew on the pellets!). At the very least it will be kegged to see if that setup is working or not.

Hmm, was just thinking. If it does actually taste alright once it's done my problem won't be all the mistakes I made, it will be the fact that I'll never be able to reproduce them to brew this beer again!

 

[zephon]

I think he means all the hops, hot break and everything. I normally try to leave all the muck behind in the kettle, then once the cube has cooled there's only an inch or three of cold break in the cube (which get's tipped into the fermenter).

That's right, it was the lot. Hopefully it will all settle out, I will be racking into a secondary container next weekend so with any luck I can leave the sludge behind then.

How long did it take you from start to finish? Mine is around 4 hours now after a few stuff ups trying to do things quicker. Now its a matter of taking the time to make sure the measurements, temps and timing is right.

Took me around 7 hours. At least 3 of those were spent mucking around getting things setup/working around mistakes so I would say 4 hours is a time I can realisitically aim for, with hopefully at least half of that time spent relaxing with a home brew while waiting for the mash or the boil.

 

[zephon]

For those of you following along at home, I put down my second AG today and it all went very smoothly. Started early, was done just after lunch, pump pumped, sparge sparged and levels levelled.

Was almost relaxing in comparison to the first one.

Cheers all!

Simon