1st AG disaster!!!

[nspaldi0]

So, I've had my AG system ready for a while but work got in the way of doing my first batch. Single tier, 3 keggles and one pump. Stainless false bottom.

The recipe was a simple SMaSH, 10 pounds Vienna and cascade hops.

I heated my strike water to 175 and then transferred to the mash tun to preheat. Then I transferred back to hlt and brought water to 175 again. I transferred 4 gallons back to mash tun for dough in. I used 1.5 qts/lb. I poured in grains and stirred. I forgot to mention that I have a barley crusher on factory setting for my crush. I was shooting for 154 and hit 154.5 after stirring in. I use a thermapen. After 30 minutes I had lost 2.5 degrees so I fired up the burner and began to recirq! Or atleast I was going to!! It was completely stuck! I stirred the grain and tried again but it was really stuck. I had to scoop the runnings and grains into a bucket and that I had my partial mash grain bag in. I then put the runnings (less than 3 gallons) into the boil kettle and kept the grains in he bag and put it back in the mash tun. I then sparged with 4 gallons of 170 degree water. I had six gallons in the bk.

Everything went smooth from there and ended up with only 4.5 gallons in fermentor. I guess I'll see how it turns out.

Preboil gravity was 1.040 and post-boil was 1.056. Does this seem off?

It was a beautiful day and I had a great time, so that's all that really matters, but the stuck mash was very frustrating!!! Any thoughts or suggestions for my next attempt?

 

[nspaldi0]

Woke up this morning to a happily fermenting beer! It was almost like my first brew. I couldn't wait to open the ferm fridge this morning to see it bubbling away. I think I need to whirlpool longer; quite a bit of hop material has settled already.

 

[ThePearsonFam]

I'd say that you made lemonade from your lemons. 1056 seems very reasonable for an OG of 10lbs of Vienna. You should be fine if you managed to keep your temperature reasonably stable.

I have a very similar setup (single tier, two burners, two pumps) and have been experimenting with recirculating my mash water and direct firing to maintain temperature. Here's what I've had for problems...

- I was having trouble with the mash water recirculating and discovered that it wasn't a stuck mash but simply bits of grain/husk stuck in the valve I use to throttle my flow rate. To fix the problem, I simply fully open and fully close the valve as quickly as I can. It seems to dislodge the chunks to promote flow. There should me enough liquid below your FB to accomodate doing this without causing more problems, just don't leave the valve fully open for very long.
- Regulating my temperature is a bit of a pain too. I've learned that I need to turn on my banjo buner (very low heat) for about 3-4 minutes every 10 minutes (or so) in order to maintain temperatures.
- I've also found that a water to grist ratio of about 1.5 works very well for this method.

 

[stubbornman]

If it makes you feel any better, the sight glass on my BK broke off just before the boil so I had to pump my wort over to my HLT and finish it there.... I saved mine too, but I'm sure a half gallon of mine was hop sludge from the bottom of my HLT... :cross:

 

[nspaldi0]

You are right. It could have been worse. I just wish I didn't have to work today, so I could brew again! Another beautiful day here in KY and stuck in the office. Also, I hate when something doesn't go as planned and I want to try again. Oh well,I guess I'll have to wait for the weekend. Going to be making another batch of the blood orange hefe.

 

[ThePearsonFam]

I completely understand... I work in an office without windows and it drives me to drink. Fortunately for me, my hobby supports my work habit.

 

[BendBrewer]

Preboil gravity was 1.040 and post-boil was 1.056. Does this seem off?

Not if you boiled it for 2 and half hours........

 

[nspaldi0]

I didn't boil that long! Haha. I boiled for a little over 60 minutes. I'm not confident in those numbers because I was a little flustered from the mishaps from the day. I need to purchase a hydrometer for sure.

 

[nspaldi0]

I meant to say refractometer.

 

[BendBrewer]

I use a refractometer on brew day. It's quick and easy. I don't think you gained 18 points in an hour. Good job on 1.056 though. I have an affinity for that number. It goes well with any ale.

 

[ThePearsonFam]

56 (post boil gravity) * 4.5 (post boil volume) = 252

252 / 40 (pre boil gravity) = 6.3 gal pre boil volume...

6.3 (pre) - 4.5 (post) = 1.8 gallons boiled off...

Seems like boiloff is a bit excessive but could be reasonable if you have a really strong boil.

 

[nspaldi0]

I boiled off probably around a gallon or less. I think one or both of those numbers are off. I'm going to purchase a refractometer for sure. I appreciate all the feedback. There is a definite learning curve to using this new single-tier system.

 

[ThePearsonFam]

There are pros and cons to hydrometers and refractometers. Just do some research to make sure that's the path you want to take.