Newbie Questions

[Mr Bond]

and I think I actually did write that post sober.

[post="112102"][/post]​

there is your problem...... :lol: Drink more and post responsibly

 

[DrewCarey82]

Tacking this onto the end of an older thread.

This weekend made a partial Blenheim Pilsener.

Off the top of my head.
3.5kg Joe White Pilsener Malt.
500g Joe White Light Munich Malt.
100g Weyerman Carapilse
900g light malt(needed 100g for my yeast starter.)
15g Simco @ 60 mins, 25g Saaz @ 20mins, 10g Saaz @ 5 mins. (I actually had to cut the boil 12 mins short as had to leave to meet missus @ work and would have got shot if I had of been late.

Also I think that I may have mashed too low it was around 61-63 degrees for most of it.

Actually had a OG of 1.041 when I was aiming for 1.046, which of these factors would have stuffed me?

Cheers.

 

[DJR]

Tacking this onto the end of an older thread.

This weekend made a partial Blenheim Pilsener.

Off the top of my head.
3.5kg Joe White Pilsener Malt.
500g Joe White Light Munich Malt.
100g Weyerman Carapilse
900g light malt(needed 100g for my yeast starter.)
15g Simco @ 60 mins, 25g Saaz @ 20mins, 10g Saaz @ 5 mins. (I actually had to cut the boil 12 mins short as had to leave to meet missus @ work and would have got shot if I had of been late.

Also I think that I may have mashed too low it was around 61-63 degrees for most of it.

Actually had a OG of 1.041 when I was aiming for 1.046, which of these factors would have stuffed me?

Cheers.

62degrees should be fine, just a little dry if anything, shouldn't effect the OG at all. What is your lautering/sparging setup?

 

[DrewCarey82]

9 litres of boiling water leave for 20 mins and strain into wort. (giving a good stir when it initally goes in there)

 

[pint of lager]

Drew, as you start mashing more grain for your brews and decreasing your quantity of malt extract, it becomes more important to mash at the correct temperature.

Most of the conversion of starch to fermentables by enzymes happens in the first 30 minutes.

If the mash temp is around 65-67, you end up with the right balance of fermentables.

If the mash temp is around 60-64, you end up with a more fermentable brew, which in turn gives a dry beer.

If the mash temp is 68-70, you end up with a not very fermentable brew, which in turn means a higher fg and a sweeter beer.

If the mash temp is over 70, you end up destroying the enzymes that convert the starches, the wort is starchy with low fermentables and the beer will be hazy and sweet.

When doing small partial mashes, the malt extract provides most of the fermentables for the brew. When doing large partials like this recipe, most of the fermentables are coming from the grain.

It is easy to work out your system and strike temps on small partial mashes, take notes about what the strike water temp is and the mash temperature, then build up the quantity of grain, always aiming for 65-66.

When sparging, using boiling water will probably increase your mash to around 80, which is too high. You risk extracting tannins from the husks into your wort. You want your sparging mix to be 72-75. Once again, take temperature measurements so that for the next brew, you can hit the right temps.

Great to see you doing larger partials. Being able to mash 4kg of grain means you could do an all grain of a mild.

 

[DrewCarey82]

True, I've actually managed to get 1.052 and 1.048 in my first two respectively(Another pilsner & Porter)

Which is what I was aiming for to get around 5-5.5% alcohol.

But last one before this I stuffed up and forget to add the malt had to do it as a late addition, by boiling it(ended up with 24.5 litres after that and an OG of 1.035)

And this one @ 1.041, @ 22 litres, while the other 2 original ones were 23litres.

Got plenty of ingredients left for this one, so am going to chuck it on again this weekend.

I normally boil for 75 mins, did the fact that I boiled for around 45-50 mins effect my OG @ all do you reckon?

Also would a 100g missing of my light dried malt effect the OG much?

Thanks for the detailed answers DJR and POL, will come in handy in the future!

 

[DrewCarey82]

Bump b4 she disappears.

 

[DJR]

I normally boil for 75 mins, did the fact that I boiled for around 45-50 mins effect my OG @ all do you reckon?

Also would a 100g missing of my light dried malt effect the OG much?

Boiling longer won't affect the total OG that much, just the concentration. That is, the OG will be higher with less volume but you won't gain/lose any sugars in the boil. Last beer i did a 45min boil only, but still got good efficiency, as it doesn't affect effienciency. I'd say the weak link at the moment is lautering in your system, the old colander/strainer trick gets a bit tricky. Considering you're now mashing 4kg a grain in a go, you might as well go AG but i've already spoken to you about this

100g of LDME wouldn't do much , only about 1 point of OG (i.e. 1.001).

 

[DrewCarey82]

With my facilities, 4kg is struggling anymore particularly with the temp of the water is going to be pushing safety standards! - For partials I brought a 15 litre esky - rectangular.

In the next month or so particularly after your AG demo I'd daresay that I'll be investing in the necessary equipment to go AG.

And the esky will be retired to picnicing purposes and the pot for soup!

And yeah mate you've succesfully guessed my straining system! - I actually use a potato masher on the grain to get out as much juice as possible.

So you guys are saying that my temp and boil didnt affect my OG @ all is this correct?

And that I need to sparge at about 75 degrees - So make water around 82 degrees, when I do my sparge.

Thanks guys.