2nd*Brew day Saturday. First all-grain (BIAB).

[dawalkertiger]

Had a great time Saturday with my crew (SWMBO and my buddy Tommy D). Found the recipe for Reaper’s Mild from azscoob and like the reviews and it sounded like a nice session ale for summer coming up. Got the ingredients a week ago at a “local” HBS (the closer ones are not so impressive, this one was 2.5 hours away, but I was there for son’s basketball tourney anyway). Great place (www.homebrewery.com*if you’re interested).

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Tommy D laying it down while waiting for the strike water to come to temp.

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A watched brew pot never boils. Does anyone know if they still make that Rhinelander swill? Love the shirt though. I’ve had it for over 20 years.

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Mashing in. Strike a pose, Tom! We did a full-volume BIAB mash. May not do full volume next time.

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Sweet, sweet wort! Substituted Williamette (7.5%) for the Fuggles and adjusted the quantity down in Beersmith 2 to get into the style range.

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SWMBO and Tommy D enjoying a craft brew.

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SWMBO trying out the hydro sampler (I didn’t break my hydro this time).* Was trying to hit 1.038 and got 1.034. Gotta tinker with my boil off and grain absorption numbers, I think. Any suggestions here? Ended up with quite a bit more wort than expected (closer to 6 gal!).

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Pitched the rehydrated Nottingham and set her up. Very active airlock within 12 hours, still bubbling away this morning. The Kolsch on the left has another week of fermentation.

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[tmoney645]

If you are under gravity and over on volume, just boil a bit longer to even things out.

 

[dawalkertiger]

Thanks. It seems logical that the grind can affect water absorption into the grain. Is that actually true? Seems that finer grind could mean less absorption.

 

[tmoney645]

I am note sure about absorption, but a finer crush on the grain usually lends to a higher efficiency .