Hagen
Well-Known Member
I've been steeping grains for some 13 years, and have been pleased with my results. But I decided that it was time to take a step up. My kitchen is small, so for now I am going to do partial mashes.
It's a small setup, and I'm sorry for not taking pics, was too excited to get going. I installed a valve in my old 16qt pot as an HLT, and use a 3gal Rubbermaid cooler with a false bottom I made out of an unused pot lid. It all fits quite nicely on the stove, chair and floor. It seems to handle 7lbs of grain well enough.
So here's what I started with:
5 lb. American 2-row
8 oz. British Munich
8 oz. American crystal 20L
8 oz. American crystal 60L
4 oz. Belgian Special B
4 lb. Light dry malt extract
1 oz. Cluster (7.9% AA, 60 min.)
1 oz. Challenger (6.3% AA, 30 min.)
1 oz. Hallertauer (aroma)
I calculated my strike temp at 167*F and after dough in was at 155*F, 1* above target, not too bad. From eyeballing it, I'd say I got a ratio of 1.3qt/lb. I let it go for 45 minutes, stirring it up every 15 min. After 45 min, the iodine showed complete conversion, and I commenced with the sparge. Sparge water 170*F
Apparently, the holes I drilled in my false bottom are a little on the large side and it took recirculating a little more than 3 qts before I was clear enough to sparge. I decided to go with a fly sparge. The sparge went without a hitch. My last hydro reading as I reached my boil limit of 4.5 gallons was 1.002 before adjusting for the 163*F temp. So my last runnings were around 1.016. So, I didn't get all I could, but OK for the first time.
Here's where the misadventure comes into play. Not paying attention, I dropped the hydrometer into the empty glass test jar. It went right through the bottom of the test jar and broke in half on the floor. So here I am with this 4.5 gal of wort, and no way of checking its gravity to see what my efficiency was.
Only slightly ruffled, I pressed on with the boil. In the process, I totally forgot to add the irish moss, no biggie, I still have gelatin for the transfer to secondary. My double coil chiller works phenomenally. It took my boiling wort down to 65*F in 10-12 minutes.:rockin:
I siphoned that sweet hoppy goodness into the primary, added the 1.5qt starter of Nottingham that had been feeding and growing for some 30 hours, topped off to 5.5gallons (only had to add 3 qts going full boil when bigger pot arrives this week).
At this very moment, the airlock is rattling away and the smells emanating from it are tasty.
LESSON LEARNED: Be nice to the hydrometer, and avoid glass test jars.
I'm not pleased that I couldn't calculate my efficiency this time. But then again, I doubt they worried too much about it for the thousands of years since brewing began.
It's a small setup, and I'm sorry for not taking pics, was too excited to get going. I installed a valve in my old 16qt pot as an HLT, and use a 3gal Rubbermaid cooler with a false bottom I made out of an unused pot lid. It all fits quite nicely on the stove, chair and floor. It seems to handle 7lbs of grain well enough.
So here's what I started with:
5 lb. American 2-row
8 oz. British Munich
8 oz. American crystal 20L
8 oz. American crystal 60L
4 oz. Belgian Special B
4 lb. Light dry malt extract
1 oz. Cluster (7.9% AA, 60 min.)
1 oz. Challenger (6.3% AA, 30 min.)
1 oz. Hallertauer (aroma)
I calculated my strike temp at 167*F and after dough in was at 155*F, 1* above target, not too bad. From eyeballing it, I'd say I got a ratio of 1.3qt/lb. I let it go for 45 minutes, stirring it up every 15 min. After 45 min, the iodine showed complete conversion, and I commenced with the sparge. Sparge water 170*F
Apparently, the holes I drilled in my false bottom are a little on the large side and it took recirculating a little more than 3 qts before I was clear enough to sparge. I decided to go with a fly sparge. The sparge went without a hitch. My last hydro reading as I reached my boil limit of 4.5 gallons was 1.002 before adjusting for the 163*F temp. So my last runnings were around 1.016. So, I didn't get all I could, but OK for the first time.
Here's where the misadventure comes into play. Not paying attention, I dropped the hydrometer into the empty glass test jar. It went right through the bottom of the test jar and broke in half on the floor. So here I am with this 4.5 gal of wort, and no way of checking its gravity to see what my efficiency was.
Only slightly ruffled, I pressed on with the boil. In the process, I totally forgot to add the irish moss, no biggie, I still have gelatin for the transfer to secondary. My double coil chiller works phenomenally. It took my boiling wort down to 65*F in 10-12 minutes.:rockin:
I siphoned that sweet hoppy goodness into the primary, added the 1.5qt starter of Nottingham that had been feeding and growing for some 30 hours, topped off to 5.5gallons (only had to add 3 qts going full boil when bigger pot arrives this week).
At this very moment, the airlock is rattling away and the smells emanating from it are tasty.
LESSON LEARNED: Be nice to the hydrometer, and avoid glass test jars.
I'm not pleased that I couldn't calculate my efficiency this time. But then again, I doubt they worried too much about it for the thousands of years since brewing began.
