1st batch, 1st AG in the works as you read this.

[Cakehole]

Well,

never being one to start slow, I jumped right into brewing by way of AG. I spent about 5 months reading this board and researching stuff on other sites, but decided to go all the way or go home.

I made a version of BM's Centennial Blonde. A lot less hoppy because I have come to the conclusion I like VERY lightly hopped beers.

I got the trusty Barley Crusher and milled my grains and dumped them into the MT.

About the only thing I see right now is I missed my target temp by a few degrees. I was aiming for 150 and hit 154. I don't really think it will be too much of a problem, but lesson learned, pay more attention to temps in the future.

I really like BeerSmith so far. I like the instruction sheet it prints that make brewing so simple a Cakehole can do it.

I will keep folks posted on how this turns out as we progress.

Cake

 

[Blackhawkbrew]

Cakehole,
I'm glad to hear that. I've been reading quite a bit about AG recently and am very aprehensive about jumping in. It seems easy enough from what I've seen on YouTube videos, but I'm worried about the temp schedules. I'm not very good at that sort of thing so I'm hesitant about AG. The more I read about first timers the more confident I get.

Thanks again, and good luck and keep us informed on how it's going.

Keith

 

[jds]

Congratulations.

A tip I learned when I started AG brewing: Grain temperature matters. If I tell beersmith my grain is 65F, where I've been storing it in the basement, but it's warmed to 75F outside while I was setting up my gear, I'll overshoot the strike temperature.

I now stick the thermometer into the bag of precrushed grain and re-do my strike temp calculation immediately before doughing-in.

 

[Saccharomyces]

Yeah. Grain temp does matter a lot because of the mass. +1

Also it helps if you determine your temp loss in the tun precisely. I use a cooler tun and don't preheat it, instead I adjust my strike water temp +9 degrees because I measured that much of a drop over 10 minutes adding a typical strike volume at 175 to my cooler for a couple of trial runs. I use a standard mash calc to calculate my strike temp, add 9 degrees to that, and wait for the strike water to hit the target dough-in temp in the cooler before I add the grain. I usually get within a degree or two of target, from there you can use a handful of ice cubes or a pint of boiling water to nail it right away.

 

[WBC]

Every time you brew you will learn something new. When I mash I add water first at a few degrees over the strike temperature and let it normalize temperature with the lid on. After 5 to 7 minutes I stir and take the temperature. Let's say it was now 2 degrees over the strike temp. I just stir and take the temp constantly with the lid off and when it is at strike temp I add the grains and stir in and put the lid on. Now I wait another 5 minutes and open it again and stir and take the temperature in several places and it is usually right on if I did everything correctly. Put on the lid. Now just wait an hour for conversion.

 

[Cakehole]

Well....

I think everything went very well. I did not blow up, boil over, spill Wort, or hurt myself. All good things.

Of course my efficiency was low, BeerSmith is telling me I am at 66% brewhouse efficiency. I estimated and adjusted my recipe for 70% so not too bad there.

My OG was 1.040 and BeerSmith said i should be at 1.042. I can live with that.

About the only thing I am not comfortable with is how the wort looks. It looks dirty brown to me. Not clear and golden at all, but I am guessing in a few days the little yeasties will magically transform this muddy liquid into beer.

Here is what I learned this evening:

1. Do everything outside. I spilled a drop or two and the kitchen floor took 6 moppings to not be sticky.
2. Watch those temps!!! JDS is absolutley on the ball and I will do exactly what he does next batch. Measure grain temps right before adding water and let beersmith adjust the temps.
3. I need to mark my brew pot. I have a 30 quart pot but it needs to be marked in 1/2 gallon increments. I have no idea what my pre-boil volume was, I am guessing about 6 to 6.5 gallons.
4. I really like 5 Star defoamer. 2 drops per gallon and I had zero issues with excessive foaming during boiling.
5. AG is not as hard as I made it out to be. If you can follow instructions and read a recipe, AG is for you. The hardest part is getting the equipment. It can be an expense, but hopefully it is worth it.
6. Most importantly, RDWHAHB ! ! or 3 or 4..... made the evening much better.

I will keep things updated as fermentation progresses.

cake

 

[WBC]

Now just ferment 14 days and keg or bottle. No secondary needed.

 

[Saccharomyces]

My OG was 1.040 and BeerSmith said i should be at 1.042. I can live with that.

Rock on! That's really good for your first AG. :rockin:

About the only thing I am not comfortable with is how the wort looks. It looks dirty brown to me. Not clear and golden at all, but I am guessing in a few days the little yeasties will magically transform this muddy liquid into beer.

If there are lots of small visible hunks floating around it's probably cold break, I always get a *lot* of it and it settles out after a few days in the fermenter leaving crystal clear wort. If the wort is still cloudy after fermentation then you may have had dough balls or something else which caused some unconverted starch to get into the kettle but it's too early to tell.

6. Most importantly, RDWHAHB ! ! or 3 or 4..... made the evening much better.

I see you have done your homework ..

 

[BrianP]

Congrats on your first AG!

Like you, I also started out going AG. It's not that hard if you do the research.

Unlike you, I did manage to hurt myself during my first batch. I tripped and severely twisted my ankle before mashing in. Needless to say it sucked. It sounds like you had a better day of it.

Welcome to the AG club and the obsession.

 

[Jeffro]

Welcome to the obssession!

As a wise man reciently told me.... "Give a man a beer and he'll waste an hour. Teach a man to brew and he'll waste a lifetime"

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Cake, welcome to homebrewing and AG.
It looks like you did prepare well, and the first couple of batches is a steep learning curve. I'm glad it went well.
I have a large plastic stir spoon which I marked 3,4,5,6,7 gallons when inserted into my boil pot, gives me a quick and easy way of checking my volumes.

 

[Cakehole]

Bubbling along quite nicely this morning.

I have a good fermentation going. The wort seems to be clearing up a bit as well. I guess I did have a good cold break. I used my hose to cool to about 90 degrees and then I had a tub of ice water and a recirculating pump set up to cool to about 75 degrees. I am feeling a bit more comfortable about the results so far.

The big test will be in about 5 weeks when I pour a glass and taste it.

Going to keg, so I need to work on my patience and not try to hurry and drink green beer.

Cake

 

[WBC]

Patience Grasshopper.........

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

The big test will be in about 5 weeks when I pour a glass and taste it.
Going to keg, so I need to work on my patience and not try to hurry and drink green beer.
Cake

My best answer to this is brew another batch so it is conditioning while your drinking green beer just because I can't help myself. A full pipeline with beers waiting for kegs solves this problem in time.