ChewUrBrew
Member
So i brew my first Ag batch 4 days ago. I'm very new to brewing so i was hoping you could comment on anything i might have done wrong or that i could do better! There was a couple of questions i wanted to ask as well, but onto the brew
****WARNING**** This is going to be long, I apologize in advance.
Belgian wit ale
5 lbs. white wheat
4 lbs.Belgian pilsen
1 lbs. Belgian aromatic
2 lbs. flaked wheat
8 oz flaked oat
.5 oz coriander seed (crushed)
two whole peals from Clementine oranges
1oz. Kent Golding's
1oz. saaz (us)
WLP400
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Using a converted igloo ice chest I mashed the grains with 4 gallons @152 deg.for 60 Min's. Sparging w/ 2 gallons @ 160 deg (i was shooting for 170 but missed )
Taking us to the first question..... so i take a sg reading and BAM!! It's off the chart (at least my refractometer's chart)
OG @ 1.080-90 I couldn't tell because it dosent go above 1.075(well it dose but there are no lines or num's so you have to guess) so i poured 2 gallons into the pot to try and bring it down a bit. But i was still confused about my wort @ 1.080 ish...
So i called an lhbs and he said "sounds like you have a BIG beer" so feeling reassured that it wasn't to bad a thing i kept on with the brew...
Boiling the wort for an hour then adding the Kent hops(no hop sack)for 60 Min's. dropping the saaz(no hop sack), coriander seed and peels for 15 Min's.
Set the pot in an ice bath for 60-90 Min's till it hit 70 deg. Gave it a good 5 min shake. I noticed that it wasn't all the way full so i decided to top it off (this is where i made a mistake)I don't know if it was just to late or i need another cup of coffee but i toped my 70 deg batch off with a gallon of boiling water. I didn't think that doing this would raise it much , but it raised it up around 90 deg I waited a bit and pitched. SG 1.078
I brought the temp down to optimal fermentation range (70) and have been holding for 2 days
By morning it was bubbling away and started to get pretty wild. Till today (days) it has slowed to 1 bubble every 30 sec.
so my questions are....
1. Is an og of 1.085 or higher normal for this beer and what is it going to make my beer like?
2. Is it OK to just drop the hop pellets in at the right times and don't bother with the bags?
3. How is the gallon of boiling water going to effect my beer!!!! Will this cause the oxygen to give off flavors?
Well that's it for my first AG. As far as i can tell i achieved great efficiency(mostly due to the crushed grain, it was crushed well) BUT i might have screwed the whole thing at the end there....leason learned.
As for any helpfull advice to make my next batch even better, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks for taking the time!
****WARNING**** This is going to be long, I apologize in advance.
Belgian wit ale
5 lbs. white wheat
4 lbs.Belgian pilsen
1 lbs. Belgian aromatic
2 lbs. flaked wheat
8 oz flaked oat
.5 oz coriander seed (crushed)
two whole peals from Clementine oranges
1oz. Kent Golding's
1oz. saaz (us)
WLP400
------------------------------------------------------------------
Using a converted igloo ice chest I mashed the grains with 4 gallons @152 deg.for 60 Min's. Sparging w/ 2 gallons @ 160 deg (i was shooting for 170 but missed )
Taking us to the first question..... so i take a sg reading and BAM!! It's off the chart (at least my refractometer's chart)
OG @ 1.080-90 I couldn't tell because it dosent go above 1.075(well it dose but there are no lines or num's so you have to guess) so i poured 2 gallons into the pot to try and bring it down a bit. But i was still confused about my wort @ 1.080 ish...
So i called an lhbs and he said "sounds like you have a BIG beer" so feeling reassured that it wasn't to bad a thing i kept on with the brew...
Boiling the wort for an hour then adding the Kent hops(no hop sack)for 60 Min's. dropping the saaz(no hop sack), coriander seed and peels for 15 Min's.
Set the pot in an ice bath for 60-90 Min's till it hit 70 deg. Gave it a good 5 min shake. I noticed that it wasn't all the way full so i decided to top it off (this is where i made a mistake)I don't know if it was just to late or i need another cup of coffee but i toped my 70 deg batch off with a gallon of boiling water. I didn't think that doing this would raise it much , but it raised it up around 90 deg I waited a bit and pitched. SG 1.078
I brought the temp down to optimal fermentation range (70) and have been holding for 2 days
By morning it was bubbling away and started to get pretty wild. Till today (days) it has slowed to 1 bubble every 30 sec.
so my questions are....
1. Is an og of 1.085 or higher normal for this beer and what is it going to make my beer like?
2. Is it OK to just drop the hop pellets in at the right times and don't bother with the bags?
3. How is the gallon of boiling water going to effect my beer!!!! Will this cause the oxygen to give off flavors?
Well that's it for my first AG. As far as i can tell i achieved great efficiency(mostly due to the crushed grain, it was crushed well) BUT i might have screwed the whole thing at the end there....leason learned.
As for any helpfull advice to make my next batch even better, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks for taking the time!