... and hopefully it wasn't a *total* disaster.
I've brewed quite a few extract and partial-mash brews, but this was my first all-grain. I've built a single-tier brewstand over the last 8 or 9 moths, and I was anxious to put it into use. It has two keggles and a 10-gal cooler with a flase bottom.
The recipe I was making was a Boddington's Pub Ale clone. It had 7.75 lb of grain. I added about 8 gallons of 160F water, and let it sit for about ten minutes to preheat. My MLT thermometer read 158G. I drained that out, and replaced it with about 4 gallons of 160F water, and added my grains, stirring. The temperature settled at 146.3F. I added some more 180F water, and the temperature stayed at 146.xF. I added some more 180F water - the cooler read about 7G total between water and grain - and the thermometer came up to 148. I was afraid to added more liquor, so I let that be the starting temp. After an hour, it had dropped to 146.1.
I started my vorlauf, and recirculated about 2 gallons - it was still hazy. I decided to go ahead and transfer to my kettle anyway. I got about 3.5 gallons moved to my kettle. I added more 160F water from the HLT, and drained off until I had about 7 gallons of wort in my kettle. After adjusting for temperature, my gravity at this point was 1.029. I added 1lb of Lyle's Golden Syrup and .5 lb of maltodextrin to my boil. After cooling to ~ 80F, my gravity (adjusted for temp) was 1.0448.
The gravities seem OK for the brew, but it is very hazy. I'm guessing that having too much sparge water had a lot to do with this. *Hopefully* that will clear up in primary.
It was a fun and frustrating day at the same time. Hopefully next time I brew, it will goo a lot smoother.
I've brewed quite a few extract and partial-mash brews, but this was my first all-grain. I've built a single-tier brewstand over the last 8 or 9 moths, and I was anxious to put it into use. It has two keggles and a 10-gal cooler with a flase bottom.
The recipe I was making was a Boddington's Pub Ale clone. It had 7.75 lb of grain. I added about 8 gallons of 160F water, and let it sit for about ten minutes to preheat. My MLT thermometer read 158G. I drained that out, and replaced it with about 4 gallons of 160F water, and added my grains, stirring. The temperature settled at 146.3F. I added some more 180F water, and the temperature stayed at 146.xF. I added some more 180F water - the cooler read about 7G total between water and grain - and the thermometer came up to 148. I was afraid to added more liquor, so I let that be the starting temp. After an hour, it had dropped to 146.1.
I started my vorlauf, and recirculated about 2 gallons - it was still hazy. I decided to go ahead and transfer to my kettle anyway. I got about 3.5 gallons moved to my kettle. I added more 160F water from the HLT, and drained off until I had about 7 gallons of wort in my kettle. After adjusting for temperature, my gravity at this point was 1.029. I added 1lb of Lyle's Golden Syrup and .5 lb of maltodextrin to my boil. After cooling to ~ 80F, my gravity (adjusted for temp) was 1.0448.
The gravities seem OK for the brew, but it is very hazy. I'm guessing that having too much sparge water had a lot to do with this. *Hopefully* that will clear up in primary.
It was a fun and frustrating day at the same time. Hopefully next time I brew, it will goo a lot smoother.