Okay, I can FINALLY post in here! - 1st all grain

First all grain batch today, an ordinary bitter. My feet hurt so bad I can't concentrate to type! Never do a 7 hour brew session in flipflops.

Estimated OG 1.038, actual 1.041

0.50 lb Rice Hulls (0.0 SRM) Adjunct 6.3 %
6.00 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 75.0 %
1.00 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 12.5 %
0.50 lb Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 6.3 %
1.20 oz Goldings, East Kent [4.00%] (60 min) Hops 19.9 IBU
0.70 oz Fuggles [4.00%] (30 min) Hops 8.9 IBU
0.60 oz Fuggles [4.00%] (5 min) Hops 2.0 IBU
1 Pkgs SafAle English Ale (DCL Yeast #S-04) Yeast-Ale

I threw all the rice hulls in because I'd never used a corona mill before and wasn't sure if I was grinding too fine or not. Turns out I think it would have been fine without it.

I was pretty shocked when I was done grinding at the amount of grain I had. It definitely made lots of oatmeal. I didn't preheat the mashtun although I should have, and will next time. I just made sure my strike water was hotter than it had to be and added a little hot once it was mashing.

I was confused about how 'clear' the wort should get for the vorlauf. I just recycled the wort until there weren't chunks in it and went for it. It got clearer soon after and I probably should have been more patient but I wasn't 100% on that particular item.

All in all, it was pretty easy. I used 2 10 gallon rubbermaid coolers converted from morebeer with the stainless false bottom. I picked them up used, 100 for the pair. Worked great. It wasn't really much more work than extract and I enjoyed the time to get my stuff squared away while the mash was resting.

Already have the next 2 batches planned. We'll see how this one goes.

Thanks for listening.

Welcome to the club! 7 hours on your feet PERIOD is rough... my AG Heffe today took 6 hours, my legs ache!

http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u189/PolTavern/
Pol

I kegged a batch today and brewed another (using decoction), so I've been on my feet forever. I started around 2:30 today and just finished up about a half hour ago. AG is fun, but it takes a while and kills your feet after standing around that long.

I brewed yesterday (AG PORTER 12 gallons) didnt mash in till 3:30 done cleaning the brewery and kegging the MUNICH GOLD @11:00 Its sooooooo worth it!! BEST FREKEN HOBBIE ANYONE COULD ASK FOR
JJ

Congrats! Sounds like things went pretty well. One additional tool that may be helpful for those long AG sessions:

Bike N Brew said:

Congrats! Sounds like things went pretty well. One additional tool that may be helpful for those long AG sessions:

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LOL! That's using your noggin! I'm brewing 11 gallons of Kölsch tomorrow. The starter is cranking this morning on the stir plate. I'll be stepping it up this morning.

Bike n Brew - I DID sit for part of the day but mostly I was on my feet because I was pacing like an expectant father! I will put your suggestion to good use next time.

I went out this morning to check on it, it'd been 8 hours since I pitched, there was no activity (used dry yeast - I expected a faster start!) and I got paranoid and pitched another pack of S-04. Then I realized it was 64-66 all night and probably was off to a slow start. There's krausen on it now (12 hrs). Phew!

Bike N Brew - bicycles or motorcycles?

7 hrs!!! I could do one batch, clean and put everything away, get it all out, brew, clean up, and store everything and still probably have a few minutes to spare.

Once you get the hang of it, you'll be able to streamline your brew day and shave a few hours off.

Also, once you get past the expectant father stage, you'll be able to kick back w/ a cold homebrew and chill while there's nothing to do (which is usually about half of the time).

lol i brew bare foot

Heh, so do I blefferd

I made my first a/g last weekend, it was an brown ale recipe. I hope it turns out ok. I made a couple of mistakes but I took notes so Ill try to fix them on the next one.

blefferd said:

lol i brew bare foot

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I brew in the land of the flip-flop and thong and I make sure my legs and feet are covered. I have had too many spillovers that could have injured me were I unshod.

I had a tube come off the immersion chiller and the exiting hot water injured me seriously enough to make my label from it



yodar

Lol, yeah my arse hurts from watching movies with the wife while I brew. *grin* Don't worry. You will get there. Welcome to AG!!

yodar said:

I brew in the land of the flip-flop and thong and I make sure my legs and feet are covered. I have had too many spillovers that could have injured me were I unshod.

I had a tube come off the immersion chiller and the exiting hot water injured me seriously enough to make my label from it

yodar

Click to expand...

LOL i had a run in with my immersion chiller the first time i used it, i sat it in there went and turned the hose on kinked the line (i think there was water in the immersion chiller already) and when i hooked the hose to the immersion chiller it just sprayed all the hot water over my bare feet! lol let me say it was HOT to no serious burns or anything but i was hopping around the garage for a few mins lol. im a little more careful when i mess with it now. and i normally sit on a bar stool when im boiling wort and watch it very carefully so as to get no boil overs