I'm hoping some of you more expert brewers can help this 1st timer. I tried to stick as close to recipe as possible but ran into a few snags and am curious how this will impact the final product.
Mashed in 5.3 gals on 17.6 #s of grain @ 169*. Grain was 65* and cooler w/ false bottom @ 60*. It seemed very soupy? After 10 mins temp was 147*. Over the course of an hour I added varying amounts of increasingly hot water (about 1.5 qts all said and done) and got maybe a 1* raise. Fearing too much dilution I took off 1.5 gals from mash tun and heated it to 189.5*. I poured this back in and stirred and got to 154* in the mash tun. I let it sit for an hour (temp held steady) then drained. Like an noob I forgot to do an iodine test.
I then batch sparged using apprx 6 gals @ 175*. This took mash tun to 159*. I stirred and let sit for 10 mins then drained.
Collected apprx 8 gals in BK.
**Other changes to the recipe:
- Added the 90 min addition at flame-on. (FWH, right?)
- Added 1.25 oz Simcoe at 0 mins instead of 0.75 it called for.
- Added ~0.8 oz. Medium Toast Hungarian Oak Shavings (per LHBS)
-
my gravity reading was at 1.060 instead of the 1.076 beersmith2 predicted
Collected ~ 6 gals in a 6.5 gal bucket. Re-hydrated 1 packet of US-05. Didn't see much action in the jar. Pitched anyways. 24 hours later little to no action in bucket. See picture. I went ahead and bought another US-05 from a diff LHBS and pitched it tonight. It looked better in jar but still not amazing. Trying to ferment w/ blow-off tube in a chest freezer @ apprx 66*.
My main concerns are:
- what the hell will all this do to the flavor? I've had some bad luck with extract brews in the past.
- the taste concerns me a little. Smell is good. The sweetness is nice and I know that will ferment well. But the end/aftertaste is super bitter. like.. mouth puckering. I'm a hop-head and all but dayum. Any thoughts on how this will end up in 3 weeks after being dry hopped and kegged?
*I'm so thankful to anyone who can offer insight into this. I know I'm just a nervous nancy but I've had bad luck in the past and I'm worried I flubbed up again. What should I have done different (other than pre-heating mash tun)?