4th Batch Made, 1st AG

[CypressTop]

Made my first AG yesterday

Dunkelweizen

1.70 lbs. Pilsener Germany
5.80 lbs. Wheat Malt America
2.60 lbs. Munich Malt(light) America
4 oz.. Special B Malt Belgian
4 oz Crystal 40L America
2 oz. Carafa Special Germany

1oz Hallertau

White Labs WLP300

Performed MASH with grain bag, as I did not have a MASH TUN.
3.5 Gal water brought up to 164 degrees, Inserted large grain bag, added all grains slowly while stirring. Once all grain was added, temp was at target 152 degrees. Placed lid on pot, wrapped pot in large towels. Let MASH remain for 60 min. Lost 1 degree over 60 min, I was impressed.
In second pot, heated 2.5 Gallons water to 172 Degrees.

After primary MASH, lifted grain bag and allowed to drain for 10 min. Placed grain bag in second water for a poor mans SPARGE for 15 minutes. Removed bag and allowed to drain for 10 min.

Combined Sparge to MASH wort, total pre-boil volume was 4.8 Gallons. Brought wort to boil, added hops, boiled for 60 min.

Cooled wort in ice bath in large cooler. Cooled to 62 Degrees in 42 min.
Put cooled wort into 6.5 Carboy. Volume after boil was 4.1 Gallons. Checked gravity of wort, 1.72. Added 1.25 Gallons chilled water to wort to bring volume to 5.3 Gallons. Shook carboy to mix and aerate wort. Took gravity reading after shaking and mixing for 5 min. Gravity 1.043. A bit lower than I wanted, was looking for 1.048 - 1.050.

Pitched yeast, placed carboy in home made swamp cooler. Used Blow off tube as I gather Weizens tend to ferment agressively.

14 hours later, fermentation beginning.

Ferment temp holding at 66 degrees. PLanning on primary for 21 days.

Thoughts?

 

[jfr1111]

Seems textbook to me, I hope my first AG goes as well as yours.

Did you calculate your efficiency ?

 

[wacko]

I think you'll find that biab needs a little extra ingredients because the efficiency is lower. They're cheap at least.

 

[Rover]

I think you'll find that biab needs a little extra ingredients because the efficiency is lower. They're cheap at least.

That's not necessarily true. Most AG recipes are gauged for 75% efficiency. Ive been getting 80% and my last one was 83% with the exact technique described above. I use 3.5 gal to mash with and 3.5 gal to sparge with.

I am going to have to start scaling back on grain to hit proper gravity.

 

[CypressTop]

How would one go abount calculating the effeciency?

 

[Rover]

I use beersmith. After I finish brewing I take my gravity reading for my OG, and I have my post boil volume which I usually it's at 5.5 gal. I start adjusting the efficiency to mach my SG reading of the wort, and when it matches the SG I got, that's my efficiency.

I know that's the lazy way of getting it but I don't know the formula and I don't really need to with beersmith. There's a free trial available, for I think 30 days. I used it and was hooked.

 

[CypressTop]

Day 3 in primary, still has Krausen and actively fermenting. Fermentation temp right at 64 degrees and holding. Per a Jamil Show episode, he recommended fermenting Dunkel at 62 ish to keep the banana and clove balanced, to replicate a true imported one. I assume that by fermenting at a lower temp such as this, is what is causing a slower fermentation than I have had before. Being a weitzen I was expecting an agressive fermentation, but, here, Krasen one got about 2 in thick at peak, about 1 in now, and is steadily bubbling away. Gonna just leave it alone for 3 weeks and let it run its course. Can't wait to taste the end result. For my first AG, so far, it has proceeded better than I expected.

 

[jfr1111]

Higher fermentation temps usually mean faster fermentation. Usually. It isn't unusual for a beer to take its time fermenting. A friend and I had one ferment for 3 weeks, no krausen, no infection. Bland due to attenuation and low SG, but beer nonetheless. At least it was crisp. But 3 days isn't much.

I wouldn't fret about a 2 degree difference meaning less or more fruit/clove. We're talking about pros who taste beer like pros. I used to be a huge Belgian beer nut in my early twenties and I've read some people reviews and sometime beer tasting is like watching clouds. People see and make out what they want to see in it. Mythbusters had an episode where they filtered cheap vodka numerous times and asked the hosts to guess wich vodkas had been the most filtered. None arrived to the same conclusions and some even prefered the cheap, unfiltered stuff over the pricy test vodka. Only the invited expert was able to tell every shotglass apart...