first all grain session

dantodd · 09-13-2009, 09:30 PM

Well, it took way too long for me to try all grain brewing.

I was going to start a couple years ago but just as I was getting my 10gal round cooler MLT parts I ran out of time. Since then I've squeezed in a couple extract brews but nothing worth talking about.

Finally I decided to make the plunge and make time for brewing again.

I started out with a recipe derived from Ed's Haus Pale ale. Seems like a pretty simple single hops lowish gravity brew. (my LHBS doesn't have crystal 10L and my cascades were a little stronger than his but I didn't want to toss any.

Here's the recipe:

8 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
2 lbs Vienna Malt (3.5 SRM)
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 15L (15.0 SRM)
1.00 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (60 min) 24.7 IBU
0.50 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (30 min) 9.5 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (10 min) 2.2 IBU
0.25 oz Cascade [7.50 %] (0 min)

Well. I was going to buy a kettle in the morning yesterday and then start my session..... as luck would have it I couldn't find an acceptable kettle.

I am not handy with wood and metal but with all the guides here I was able to put together a plan for the old keg next to my house.

Off to harbor freight:
4 1/2" angle grinder: 19.95
10 pack assorted 4 1/2" discs: 9.95

This morning I started my brew session around 9:00 AM and had to make a kettle to start the session.

I was able to run the guide along the outer rim and use that to cut an acceptable hole. After cutting the hole I tried to dress it a little with a grinding disc. That was going nowhere and just making the hole more out of round than it already was. The disc pack came with not only the cut off and grinding disc but also flap discs. I used the 120 grit and that made a great edge. Good thing too, my 2 year old (notice the timing with my brewing break) came out to help and took my spoon and started stirring my new kettle. If I hadn't dressed the edges SWMBO would have been MAD.

(It ain't pretty but it ain't BierMuncher)

This took about an hour, including figuring out how to use the angle grinder and all the dressing etc. Could easily be done in 15 minutes by someone less likely to lose a body part when using power tools.

So, after the kettle was built I use it to make some pre-warming water for my MLT. As soon a the kettle was around 180 I picked it up to dump into the MLT. BAD MISTAKE. I picked the kettle up from the burner wearing welding gloves, one hand on the handle and one on the bottom to tip it out. The heat WAY over powered the welding gloves but they saved my hand! I dumped the water into the MLT and then checked the damage, none, just scary hot.

While the MLT preheated I grabbed my old 5 gallon stock pot to use as an HLT, I'm no dummy! It was much more manageable.

My first, of many, brewing mistake is that I used 16 qt instead of 14 qt for my infusion. (I had printed off the wrong brewing sheet)

Well, I was shooting for 152 and added a couple degrees to the water because my grain was in the fridge and had only warmed to 45 when I doughed in. The problem is that I had preheated the MLT with 180 degree water and my dough-in temp was based on 12 lbs of grain not 10. So I ended up at 156 and was able to stir it down to 155.

No big deal really. So far everything is kosher.

Mash for 1 hour (no iodine so I couldn't test) and then vorlauf and take first runnings. I only got 10 qts. in first runnings which means 10 lbs of grain plus dead space is 6 qts on this MLT.

Then I did 2 batch sparges of 9 qts each at 170 degrees. (added a qt each because I was only planning on 1 gallon of dead space/grain loss.

So, I ended up with the following:
1st runnings: 10qts @ 1.062 corrected
2nd runnings: 9 qts @ 1.035 corrected
3rd runnings: 9 qts @ 1.015 corrected

Pre-boil gravity: 7 gallons @ 1.038 corrected. (am I correct in thinking this is about 70% eff?)

I didn't seem to be getting quite a much boil off as I had assumed so I turned up the heat and got a stronger boil hoping to increase the evaporation rate and hit my target gravity.

After 60 minutes I was at almost exactly my target volume (according to my sharpie marks on the brewing spoon) so I popped in the sanitized immersion chiller. I have an IC designed for a 5 gallon pot so it didn't really fit the keg and I was afraid if I sanitized it in the keg the lines might melt.

I got down to 80 degrees in 15 minutes using the IC like a cold stick to stir and whirlpool the wort. Then I gave the wort a good whirlpooling and put the lid on to let it settle. I didn't get a cone of break like some do, perhaps I needed to get it a bit colder with the IC. I transferred at 72 degrees (pretty much ambient) and had to leave a lot more in the kettle that I thought I would, I only got 4.5 gallons to the fermenter. (oh well, the gravity sample tasted good)

Post boil gravity: 4.5 gallons @ 1.051

So, I hit my gravity but missed my volume by a little. I will try to see what I can do to get more of the wort from the kettle. Hopefully the weldless fitting will help.

I'd also like to see a little better cold break so a little longer on the IC is probably in order.

All, this took about 4 hours not counting clean up. I would have done the clean up while I was waiting for the kettle to settle but I was writing this post instead.

The smell of fresh wort is significantly different than that made from LME/DME. It was particularly heady today because it was my first AG batch I'm sure.

Now I just have to get the wort down to 68 or so and pitch my nottingham.

Long post. I guess most of this should go in my new AG notebook....

HotbreakHotel · 09-13-2009, 10:21 PM

You may never get over the mash smell. I know I haven't.

It sounds like you had a great day! You results were great for your first time!! It might come out just a little sweeter from the higher temps but it will still be good!

Good job!!!

dantodd · 09-13-2009, 10:27 PM

I measured the dregs in my keggle and it was about 1 gallon in there so I guess I'll have to adjust my recipes a little bit for that.

**apparatus** · 09-13-2009, 11:10 PM

Cogratulations on your first AG.
Sounds like your brew day as a success. You can always add some cold water or ice to your mash to get it down to where you want. Much easier to bring down the temp than it is to raise it. Also sounds like you took some good detailed notes, which will only help you improve your processes.

dantodd · 09-15-2009, 12:21 AM

One small hitch in my giddyup.....

I pitched my re-hydrated Nottingham at around 68 degrees and dropped my bucket into my keezer turned up to 67. Unfortunately there was so much kegged beer in the keezer that the temp was still 58 this afternoon. I guess it will take a little while to get back up to active temp.

dantodd · 09-21-2009, 06:52 PM

Well, once the fermentation took off it seems to have done so with gusto. I am down to 1.006 which leaves me with a considerably dryer beer than I had planned.

The beer was considerably lighter in color than I am used to getting with extract and is pretty close to the 4.8 SRM sample in beersmith (on my monitor) and maybe a little lighter. I was also surprised at how cloudy the beer still is and that it tastes quite carbonated even though I don't use an airlock during primary so there was no pressure on the beer.

I am crashing my gravity sample now so hopefully I can get a picture of it clarified a little bit. There seems to be a considerable amount of yeast on the bottom of the fermenter but not too much other trub, I will definitely try to harvest the yeast just so I can practice, it's Nottingham so it would probably be cheaper to actually buy it.

I like the taste though it is still a little hot and understandably a little bit thin. It will be nice to see how it does over the next couple weeks until I keg it.

trashman · 09-21-2009, 07:15 PM

I did the same thing yesterday. I've been putting together the equipment for awhile and pulled the trigger yesterday. Same recipe too.

I came up a little short on my SG. 1.046 and my final volume was 4.5 gallons as well.
I think in hind sight that I mashed a little cooler than I should have, and needed to use more sparge water. And split into two sparges instead of one big addition.

I may boil up another gallon of water and a pound of DME and add it just to bring it more in line. I pitched it with NW ale yeast just to be different.

dantodd · 09-21-2009, 08:48 PM

I'd let it go as is, especially if this is your first AG like it is mine. I really want to know what the flavor difference is with an AG batch.

Benjibbad · 09-22-2009, 02:04 PM

if you are leaving close to a gallon in the bottom of your kettle try making a dip tube to pull the rest of the stuff out when you install the ball valve.

dantodd · 09-22-2009, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benjibbad

if you are leaving close to a gallon in the bottom of your kettle try making a dip tube to pull the rest of the stuff out when you install the ball valve.

I was using a racking cane and the only reason I left so much in the kettle was because the break didn't cone well. I wonder if the best way might be to use the dip tube once I put the valve on and then draw off the break material first and let it settle in another vessel while I draw off the majority of the wort into the fermentater.