1st AG going great

Just put my first AG batch on to boil - AHS Pale Rye. According to the Brewheads.com calculator, I got 81% efficiency with this rig:



Rubbermaid 10gal w/SS braid.

3.5 gallons 170F strike water into MLT, pour cool grains (1 hour out of fridge) at 165, rest 50 minutes at 150, stirred in .5gal boiling water, rest 10 minutes. Batch sparge twice with 2gal at 175. Came out with 6.25g of wort at 1.051 from 11lbs of grain.

Kinda flying seat-of-pants, just happy it's working so well!

Awesome good luck with the boil!

Hey looks good, vice-grips are real handy, your just missing the duct tape.
Welcome to AG, it should be a nice clean and smooth beer.

Crap. I knew it couldn't have been so easy.

Looks like the SG I took before the boil, which I took from the spigot of the bottling bucket, was mostly heavier first runnings. I should have stirred it....

The OG after boil is 1.050, recipe target 1.054. Should be, uh, "refreshing."

I know it can feel crappy to come out under your target gravity but almost all of my beers are less than 1050. It'll be plenty potent and plenty tasty. Congrats on a successful 1st ag!

Congrats on the first AG!

Congrats on a job well done, Im sure it will be a great beer, brew on bro

Kewl-o. Being within 3-4 points of target OG is as good as I think you should shoot for. You can top off or boil off more if you measure the pre-boil gravity. Otherwise 3-4 points makes no noticeable difference in the finished product. It's really not worth stressing over a few points!!

I'm impressed with your rig. It looks better than mine.

EDIT: the pale rye is a *&%@ good beer, one of my favorites. I am sure you won't be disappointed.

elowe said:

I'm impressed with your rig. It looks better than mine.

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It only looks this good because it's three batches old... just one on the MLT!

EDIT: the pale rye is a *&%@ good beer, one of my favorites. I am sure you won't be disappointed.

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I won't be disappointed if it tastes anything like Real Ale Full Moon like they say. Love that stuff, but a six pack is $8.99. This is only going to cost me... uh, carry the two... is grain taxable...?... Like, $50 a six pack! :cross::cross:

How long did it take for you to make the hot break on the stove?

My stove is pretty powerful... at least the "POWER BURNER" corner is. Probably took, oh, 15-20 minutes to go from ~140 to boiling.

Ahh... I'm tucking into my very first FULL glass of homebrew:



Bottled three days ago. Fermented way too hot. Yet totally awesome.