First AG Under the Belt

Well, I did it. This was my first AG, brewed yesterday at 60% eff (EdWort's Hause Pale). I have to admit, it was kind of a pain in the buttocks. I also did not calculate for loosing 1/2 a gallon to cooling and trub. We'll see how it comes out, fermentation started overnight, so hopefully that's a good sign. Smelled good! Looking forward to getting it done more efficiently in the future, having the process down, and not running around like a mad-man double checking all my steps. Thanks for all the help!

Good job, and welcome to the ranks, you will find that they get easier, and easier, and more enjoyable rather than work.
Efficieny will come with dialing in your sysyem.

Congratulation on your first AG! I’ve only done a half dozen or so, but (as said) it does get easier. The trouble with this hobby is that we keep stumbling along fixing what we think will help improve the process well before getting to sample the fruits of our labor.

I’m still not that happy with my efficiency either, 70% on yesterdays brew. Hopefully, we’ll both improve on that.

From your picture I see that you have the same Rubbermaid MLT as me. It is suppose to be 48 quarts. I haven’t checked, but it might not hold that much. Mine has been looking pretty full with much less in it. Are you using a stainless braided manifold?

Yesterday I brewed a Pale Ale similar to EdWort’s Haus and needed 7+ gallons from the mash to get 5 ½ into the fermenter. It looks like you have a 30 quart pot, so you may have trouble with that. A bigger pot so that you can draw more wort should help get your efficiency up.

Home Depot gave me a 44 quart pot because they didn’t have the 30 quart setup in stock. Borderline boil overs have made me happy for that screw-up every time I brew.

Start planning your next brew yet? Best luck.

AnOldUR said:

Start planning your next brew yet? Best luck.

Click to expand...

Of course! Lil' Sparky's Nut Brown. And yes, I use a braided manifold. I got my conversion from here.
As per recommendations, I split my boil. I boil my first run in a 14 qt pot while I'm sparging, and then boil the sparge in my 30 qt.
Happy brewing.

Congratulations! After another batch or two, you'll be in the groove so much, you'll start looking for ways to complicate things (like adding rests and doing decoctions)


TL

The mash run off was very cloudy, even after a vorlauf. It's still looking pretty dingy in the carboy. Is that something to be concerned about?
EDIT: or should that clear up in a 2ndary?

jacksonbrown said:

The mash run off was very cloudy, even after a vorlauf. It's still looking pretty dingy in the carboy. Is that something to be concerned about?
EDIT: or should that clear up in a 2ndary?

Click to expand...

Vorlaufing will just eliminate the larger particles of grain/husk, so don't worry about the cloudy runnings. The hot/cold breaks will eliminate a lot more solid material, and most everything else should eventually drop out in the primary, as well as the secondary, should you use one.

Remember, worrying will ruin your beer faster than anything. Relax, and trust the yeast to do their job, it's the one thing they are really good at!