Chalk up another First AG endeavor!

Long time coming, but I finally brewed an all-grain batch yesterday!

Things that went right:
1. Immersion Chiller worked like a champ.
2. I maximized downtime with cleaning and clean-up at the end was a snap.
3. MLT held together, nothing exploded.
4. Got my mash temp within a couple degrees. Was shooting for 150d, ended up with 152d. I'll call that close enough.

Things that didn't go so well:
1. Windy day, can't fight the weather.
2. The defoaming agent didn't work for poop. Had multiple boilovers. Alas.
3. My new wine thief couldn't collect a large enough sample for my hydrometer. Still, since it bottomed out, I can tell the OG was no higher than 1.030, which was light for the recipe.

But, the sample tasted great. It was a hell of a lot of fun, and I've got a list of things to tweak by my next brewday. So, I'm stoked.

Incidentally, the recipe I went for was a variation of Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde, but with Simcoe hops. I'm interested in seeing how that flavor comes through.

Congrats! Finishing that first AG feels great! Of course, I imagine finishing the 500th is gonna feel pretty good too...

Get planning that next brew!

My new wine thief couldn't collect a large enough sample for my hydrometer.

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I don't understand this. You mean the beer did not come up high enough in the carboy?

Otherwise - CONGRATS! I recently had my first AG brewday too.

Hooray, Beer! I've only gone through 4 AG's but they've definitely gotten easier as they go. Keep brewing and you'll keep learning. I know I am. Cheers!

brrman said:

I don't understand this. You mean the beer did not come up high enough in the carboy?

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I'm having trouble understanding it, myself. The level of beer in the kettle appeared sufficient to take a sample (I mean, I took a sample pre-boil). But when I dipped the sucker in there, it only drew about two inches or so. I gave it another stab, and I really only got enough fluid to make it to the 1.030 mark, but the hydrometer was still bottomed-out at the bottom of the thief. I figure, if it was a higher gravity, it'd float by that point, so I marked 1.030 as the "no higher than" point.

I also couldn't get it to drain back into the kettle, which makes me think that some hops or irish moss or something was clogging the valve at the bottom.

how large of a batch?

Hoosierbrewer said:

how large of a batch?

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6.5 Gallons pre-boil, 5 Gallons post-boil.

Congrats! Glad to hear that your first AG went so well!

congrats. Ive been doing the AG thing for about a year now and it still doesnt go flawlessly. As long as it tastes good at the end its fine with me.

Your first all grain is to test the waters. There is no reason to get upset over anything. You will get beer regardless of the difficulties. You just do the best you can and learn from your mistakes and do better next time. You will get good beer unless you infect it.

I was actually surprised at how much went right. It's more work, but it certainly is a very enjoyable process. I haven't been this enthused since my first extract brew.

Taste being my ultimate (and really... the only) criterion, I'm not too worried. This was my first experience with several things all at once, including doing a full boil, using an IC, and sanitizing with iodophor... not to mention mashing and sparging. I also downloaded the trial period of Brewsmith, and I'm very satisfied with it so far. I'll probably end up buying it by the next brewday.

I bottled this batch last night after two weeks in the primary. What a great batch of beer this is turning out to be!

There was more hop aroma than I have achieved before. The color was spot on. When I opened the bucket, I was surprised at how clear it was... I could practically see the trub from the top!

The sample I tasted had a really fine balance between the maltiness and the hoppiness already. Certainly excited! We'll see how the carbonation goes, and whether I get chill haze, but I have a feeling this batch is going to disappear rapidly once it's ready to drink!:rockin:

Wait at least 2 weeks before sampling. Most new brewers try to drink their ale too young and it is not finished conditioning. It seems too sweet but is alcoholic so they start drinking. It is really amaizing how time changes the beer.

My plan was to let these guys carb and condition for three weeks, and pop it open on the 4th of July. Ought to be about ready by then!

Should be.

Regarding the wine thief:

I had the same problem. You need to jiggle it to get more fluid in the thief. The fluid has to be forced into the thief to get a level high enough for a sample. Fill it to about four inches from the top and slide the hydro in. If you fill it to the top, you will get beer overflowing from the top. As far as getting the beer back in, I usually drink the sample. However, there is an art to getting the fluid to drain out if you don't plan on drinking it. Practice with water on a glass and you'll get it.

Hope this helps.

Eric