Well I just finished my first all grain batch (a clone of Sierra Nevada Pale Ale from AHS) and wanted to make some notes and ask a few questions. If I get everything answered it might cut down on threads and who knows maybe this will help others.
Some questions on this saga include:
Well, sorry for the long winded post. It was a rough day. I hope this gives back to the community a little since I've learned so much from here.
- Started at 7:30am and didn't finish until 1:30pm. Ouch. I hope to improve on that.
- New banjo burner seemed to work well at first. No problems even with wind.
- I did screw one thing up and forgot to pre heat my cooler / mash tun before putting in grains.
- Recipe called for 150 mash so I heated 3g to 170. After it all went in it settled on 150. Checked again in 30 minutes and still 150. So far so good.
- Recipe calls for 5g for sparge. I screwed up here. I have an 8g and 5g kettle. How did I think I could boil my wort and the 5g sparge in the same 8g kettle? I don't know. I end up heating in the 8g then carefully filling the 5g. I then keep the 5g warm at 170.
- At this point I realize why people like to have a hot liquid tank (HLT). I could dump my water into that and leave it be.
- I now begin to have flame out issues. Badly. I eventually put two folding tables up to cover the wind. This barely works. I start to get upset.
- I start the sparge after 60 minutes. It's going slow which I think is good. But it's too slow. I start to panic on the time a bit.
- At some point I get so mad at the burner I switch to a full propane tank. This seems to fix things. Either I had it too low or the tank was too low. Something to consider next time.
- Seems like I can't get the 6.25g I need. I heat up another 1g of water to try and reach 6.25. I just about make it.
- Now start the boil. Cranked up the burner until finally got it all going.
- I remember something about a gravity measurement so I grab a sample for the new refractometer and jot it down. Not sure why.
- I now see where people say the paint comes off. Maybe the empty tank wasn't running that hot? The paint was fine up until now.
- I panic and throw some fermcap to avoid boilover. Note to self - next time get an extra spray bottle.
- Boil starts. Add hops to bag. Set timer.
- I make a sudden realization. A bad one. My new immersion chiller has pvc hoses connected to it. My plan was to put it in the boil with 15 minutes to go. I think I read that in a book and watched others do this. But that pvc hose will just burn up won't it?
- Quick call to AHS. They recommend I sanitize the chiller then put it in AFTER the boil. I see no other way.
- Kettle seems a bit oddly colored near the bottom. Probably from the burning paint. Oh well.
- Hop additions go well. I do get confused why the final hops are at 0 minutes but I put them in. Do they not expect me to use a hop sack?
- The ride gets bumpy. I'm not happy with chilling this way. Now that I'm outside and it's windy I'm fearful of all kinds of debris. I have no clean kitchen counters to work with either. I try to save or re-use the water from the chiller as best I can but most ends up down the driveway. I keep worry about the top to the kettle and things falling in the kettle. Cooling seems to go fast but I don't use a thermometer the entire time for fear of infection.
- After cooling I put the top on the kettle and get my carboy ready. A final shake with sanitizer and it's all foamed up. I put a funnel on it and get ready to pour. I use a big 1 liter measuring glass (sanitized) to scoop out of the 8g kettle. I'm a bit uncomfortable with this but it does cause areation. Foam quickly fills and spills on to garage floor.
- Somehow I'm short of 5g by maybe .25g. I panic and do nothing. Later I add water to go up to 5g.
- I add the starter, move the carboy, and wonder where I hurt my back.
- Clean up. Boy it's a mess.
Some questions on this saga include:
- How can you avoid the burner blowing out? I had brick pavers right on the burner where I thought the wind was coming and it didn't help. The folding tables just a few feet away also didn't help. I couldn't believe it. Maybe it was just the end of the propane?
- Is the only reason you drain slowly from the MLT so you avoid a stuck sparge? This took a very long time and I'd like to cut down on it if possible.
- Recirculating didn't seem to avoid many husks. Is it normal to have visible grains when starting the boil?
- Do most recipes call for 5g of sparge? If so then my 5g pot really has no use anymore.
- If I end up short of the 5g goal in the carboy, shouldn't I add water just like using an extract recipe?
Well, sorry for the long winded post. It was a rough day. I hope this gives back to the community a little since I've learned so much from here.