DonRikkles
Well-Known Member
Ugh...
I had the day off today so I thought I'd brew up a hefeweizen I've had in the lineup for a while. It's also my birthday so my lovely wife made me a nice breakfast and I was responding to texts and calls all day. That, really, explains everything.
First, I couldn't hit my mash temps. This is never a problem for me. Today, I didn't account for the pound of rice hulls (I know they don't absorb water) and how they would push the top portion of the grain bed above the water line. Plus, the temp was well below the intended 152. I added water to submerge the grains, but the temp was still too cool. I added more boiling water, and it didn't adjust the temp as needed. Then I performed a mashout thick decoction before batch sparging. Thankfully, my pre-boil OG was right on.
Then the boil. I was getting a LOT of foam during the boil. I never get foam during the boil. Afterward, I lost about a gallon more than I had intended. The OG confirmed it. I was aiming for 1.52 and I got 1.070. I added 16 cups of water (per beersmith) to get my intended volume and OG.
Then, the color was way off. It's sitting in the fermenter (pitched at 62, thankfully that went right) but it looks like it veered into dunkleweizen territory. I added .5 oz of carafa Speical I for a slight color adjustment, but I think it was too much ( or perhaps the 90 min boil).
Oh well, I think it'll be tasty after all. A day brewing, even one that goes slightly awry, is better than being in the office.
Just wanted to vent. That is all.
I had the day off today so I thought I'd brew up a hefeweizen I've had in the lineup for a while. It's also my birthday so my lovely wife made me a nice breakfast and I was responding to texts and calls all day. That, really, explains everything.
First, I couldn't hit my mash temps. This is never a problem for me. Today, I didn't account for the pound of rice hulls (I know they don't absorb water) and how they would push the top portion of the grain bed above the water line. Plus, the temp was well below the intended 152. I added water to submerge the grains, but the temp was still too cool. I added more boiling water, and it didn't adjust the temp as needed. Then I performed a mashout thick decoction before batch sparging. Thankfully, my pre-boil OG was right on.
Then the boil. I was getting a LOT of foam during the boil. I never get foam during the boil. Afterward, I lost about a gallon more than I had intended. The OG confirmed it. I was aiming for 1.52 and I got 1.070. I added 16 cups of water (per beersmith) to get my intended volume and OG.
Then, the color was way off. It's sitting in the fermenter (pitched at 62, thankfully that went right) but it looks like it veered into dunkleweizen territory. I added .5 oz of carafa Speical I for a slight color adjustment, but I think it was too much ( or perhaps the 90 min boil).
Oh well, I think it'll be tasty after all. A day brewing, even one that goes slightly awry, is better than being in the office.
Just wanted to vent. That is all.