Second brewing ever-first attempt at full grain... any thoughts would be great

Hello everyone! This is what I have done so far!! any and all thoughts welcomed!!
2nd batch of beer
1st full grain attempt

Ingredients:
10lbs. Weyermann(R) Light Munich-2 Row Barley Malt-EBC 15/Lovibond 6.5
10lbs. Weyermann(R) Pilsner-2 Row Barley Malt-EBC 3/Lovibond 1.3
3.3lbs Amber Malt Extract
2oz Amarillo Hops(Pellets- Alpha 8.7%)
1oz Simcoe Hops(Pellets-Alpha 12%)
1oz Warrior Hops(Pellets- Alpha 15.8%)
1tsp Irish Moss
Yeast- White Labs- American Ale Yeast Blend- WLP060
After grinding the 20lbs of Barley Malt, I added all of it to my mash Tun with a total of seven gallons of water. I got the temperature to 152F, and let stand for one hour. The temperature was still 150F. I added boling water( gallons) to get the temperature to 168F for mash out. I was able to drain a total of 7 gallons of wort from the mash. I got the wort to a rolling boil then added the 3.3lbs Amber Malt extract. Once I got the wort to return to a boil, I started adding the hops. I added 1 oz amarillo, 1oz simcoe, and .5oz warrior hops a little at a time every 15 minutes for the next ninety minutes. The total boil time once the hops were added was 90 minutes. During the last fifteen minutes of the boil I added 1tsp of Irish Moss. Once I got the temperature down to 70F, i transfered to first fermenter, then added the yeast. I also dry hopped with 1oz amarilloand .5 oz warrior. I then sealed. I noticed CO2 was not being released until about 48 hours after being sealed. Still bubbling after three days

What are you trying to make with all that grain? How about posting the OG??

I would expect this to be in primary for at least a full month. I would also not plan on using a secondary unless there are additional flavor elements going into the brew. Even then, only when you want to halt the addition of one flavor before adding the next.

I thought that was a lot of grain. I found a recipe online from someone claiming this to be a dogfishhead 90 minute IPA, which is one of my favorite beers in the world. Did everything i do sound ok as far as procedure? thank you for replying!

The og was right about 1.100

Yeah that really is a big grain bill for a 5-6 gallon batch, then factor in the LME and all those hop additions with high AAs like simcoe and warrior and I'm pretty sure the recipe you are using is meant for a 10 gallon batch. I don't know the exact tolerence of that yeast, but I highly doubt it it will be able to fully ferment a beer that big. You will probably be adding some high alochol tolerent yeast to take it down low enough to bottle considering your potential ABV has to be in the 10-12% range.

Depending on the yeast, it might not ferment fully (as mentioned already)... With all that grain, for a 5 gallon batch, an OG of 1.100 means you hit all of 52.5% efficiency. Basically, you threw away at least 6 pounds of grain with that brew.

You're looking at almost 10% ABV with that recipe, and OG... Let it ride for 3-4 weeks, then check it's gravity to see where it's at... If it stalls out, you'll need to either add nutrient, or more yeast (or both)...

I would suggest some more modest brews for the first few AG batches. My first AG batch was an ESB (Extra Special Bitter/English Pale Ale) that missed the mark, but still came out good. Second was an Irish Red Ale, with an OG of 1.068 (almost ready for bottles)... Tomorrow's AG batch will be a Boddington's Pub Ale clone (turned up a bit for more kick)... OG on tomorrow's brew is estimated at 1.057... My grain bills are ranging from 10#'s to just over 12#'s right now... Figure out your system, and process on smaller brews, before trying one of the really big ones. That way you can dial in your system and not waste so much grain.

What kind of yeast do I need to add? I am going to supply store tomorrow, I should be able to get. Do I need to add now? The recipe says it is for 5 gallons, but like I said, I don't know much about this yet! Not sure what it means to add a nutrient? My og may be off slightly. I am using a floating hydrometer, and i was having a hard time getting an accurate reading. I hate feeling stupid, but Original gravity is the same thing as specific gravity? You just do one when you get liquid to 70F and then a second when fermentation ends?

Since I could only get this info on the yeast you used:

WLP060 American Ale Yeast Blend
Our most popular yeast strain is WLP001, California Ale Yeast. This blend celebrates the strengths of California- clean, neutral fermentation, versatile usage, and adds two other strains that belong to the same 'clean/neutral' flavor category. The additional strains create complexity to the finished beer. This blend tastes more lager like than WLP001. Hop flavors and bitterness are accentuated, but not to the extreme of California. Slight sulfur will be produced during fermentation.
Attenuation: 72-80%
Flocculation: Medium
Optimum Fermentation Temperature: 68-72°F
Alcohol Tolerance: Medium High

I really don't have info as to how high it will ferment (%ABV)... It COULD go high enough to finish the brew. You'll need to take hydrometer readings to see if it does, or not...

OG is the SG before pitching the yeast in... Hydrometers (new ones) are typically calibrated to 68F, so taking a reading at 70F would be fine. You should pull a sample of the brew, into a thin tube (often you can get tubes with bases for hydrometer readings), then put the hydrometer into that. Let it settle (I let the hydrometer dunk down into the wort, then come back up to give the reading, spinning it sometimes helps, especially if there are any bubbles in the wort)... Always take a temperature reading of the wort (either on the side of the primary, or of the sample) so you can adjust the reading if needed.

It might not be a bad idea to pick up a packet, or two, of Lalvin Labs EC-1118 or D47 to have on hand. I actually keep at least two packets of EC-1118 in the fridge at all times.

I would also highly recommend using a starter for your yeast anytime you're going to pitch it into wort with an OG of over ~1.060... With the White Labs yeast, you should do it to ensure the yeast is actually still viable/good. Wyeast smack packs take the guesswork off your hands... Smack them, break the nutrient pack, they swell in a couple of hours, you know you have good yeast... I would also use a starter there for bigger brews (1.060-1.070 or above)...

Live and learn, brew again and keep improving as you go... As long as you learn from past missteps, you'll do fine.

Now that we know what you were shooting for I partially retract my previous post, but only partially.
I did some quick math, say you got your FG down to around 1.016, that would bring your ABV to 11%, 90 minute is 9%.
What I would like to know is your hop additions, how much, what and when to figure out your IBUs, 90 minutes is 90 IBUs. Also are the dry hops in addition to what you had in the recipe or including it. If it's including it, your IBUs wouldn't be so bad, but if it's not, oh man. I did some quick math with nothing to go on for times or amounts. I just hope your additions don't look anything like this:


Batch Volume (Gal) 5 Wort Gravity (O.G) 1.1
Weight (oz.) Alpha Acid (%) Boil Time (min) IBU
Addition 1 1 12 75 48.9
Addition 2 1 8.7 90 35.4
Addition 3 1 15.8 30 45.4
Addition 4 1 8.7 45 28.1
Addition 5 0 0 0 0
Total IBU: 157.8
http://www.rooftopbrew.net/ibu.php

The original recipe includes all of the hops used in the brew and the dry hopping. They were all pellets. I used 1.5 for dry hopping. The remaining hops were added at 15 minute intervals during the 90 minute boil, not measured amounts, just added a little every 15 minutes until they were gone.

I pretty much new to all grain, but shouldn't the final batch size you are going for matter? Did I miss it and assume you are making a 5 gallon batch?

For 5 gallons that sounds like a lot of grain -- most 5 gallon MT's can hold about 12 lbs of grain with water.

No sparging?

DanFoxwell said:

The original recipe includes all of the hops used in the brew and the dry hopping. They were all pellets. I used 1.5 for dry hopping. The remaining hops were added at 15 minute intervals during the 90 minute boil, not measured amounts, just added a little every 15 minutes until they were gone.

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Ok that helps drop the IBUs down a lot by removing the 1oz amarillo and .5 oz warrior, especially the warrior. Now as far as what you added and when, did you just add a little of each every 15 minutes or was there one particular hop and quantity you added at each interval? I know you said you didn't measure, do you have a rough idea, say around half or a quarter of each 1oz bag?

Maybe just under a quarter of each bag each addition except for the warrior(only added a halh ounce, other half was dry hopped). i added a little of each kind at every addition. I hate not knowing what I am doing! I got excited read a few things and assumed I knew what I was doing. I will get better. Do you think I need to add anything to this beer, I hope it is salvegable? How long should I let it ferment. It is in a plastic bucket with an airlock. I have a glass fermenter as well. Should I leave in plastic or transfer to glass. I have heard mixed things about transfering from primary to secondary.

Bryggehus said:

I pretty much new to all grain, but shouldn't the final batch size you are going for matter? Did I miss it and assume you are making a 5 gallon batch?

For 5 gallons that sounds like a lot of grain -- most 5 gallon MT's can hold about 12 lbs of grain with water.

No sparging?

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I am brand new to brewing. I found a recipe that claimed the twenty pounds was for a five gallon batch. The cooler I use to mash(48qt) was so filled with grain, by the time i added all the water I needed to cover the grain, i had added 7 gallons of water. after an hour, i added another 1.5 gallons to get temp to 168 F . When I mashed out i got all the wort I needed from the water I had added.

The beer will be salvegable, it will just be a BIG beer and probably need to be aged for a while to mellow, on the order of several months I would think. As far as the fermentor goes, plastic works just fine, although for the aging you will probably want to secondary the beer to a carboy and put it someplace cool and dark and just forget about it for a while.
Although we don't know the exact hop amount or at what times, I think that you shouldn't worry about the hop additions, 90 minute is a 90 IBU which is way up there anyway. Omitting the 1.5 oz for dry hop and probably more for finishing, I doubt you surpass the 90 IBU mark.
One last thing, hopefully someone chimes in about a secondary yeast addition because I'm not really familar with big beers, but I can't imagine you will get away without another yeast.
Just get that do, put it away and get your next batch started.

DanFoxwell said:

I am brand new to brewing. I found a recipe that claimed the twenty pounds was for a five gallon batch. The cooler I use to mash(48qt) was so filled with grain, by the time i added all the water I needed to cover the grain, i had added 7 gallons of water. after an hour, i added another 1.5 gallons to get temp to 168 F . When I mashed out i got all the wort I needed from the water I had added.

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Dude! You're my hero - taking on a beer like this for your first AG. If you've got the patience, my bet is you're going to end up with a great beer. The only negative I can think of is that you're not going to be drinking it anytime soon. So like someone else said - get it fermenting, then get it into secondary, or get another bucket so you can make something simpler to start drinking while you're waiting for your DANfish Head 90.

TxBigHops said:

Dude! You're my hero - taking on a beer like this for your first AG. If you've got the patience, my bet is you're going to end up with a great beer. The only negative I can think of is that you're not going to be drinking it anytime soon. So like someone else said - get it fermenting, then get it into secondary, or get another bucket so you can make something simpler to start drinking while you're waiting for your DANfish Head 90.

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LOL.... Thank you very much!! I love strong ales!! Danfishhead!!! LOVE IT!!