tonyolympia
Well-Known Member
On Fathers' Day, for my fourth batch ever and my first all grain brew, I went BIAB. It was a little bit of a fiasco. My five-year old and 17-month old did not appreciate daddy's intense focus on brewing, and they made things hell for my wife. The 1 ounce bag of loose Simcoe I got from Brewcraft turned out to be .75 ounces. It was the only hops I had, and so will undoubtedly undermine my IBUs and possibly leave my beer imbalanced. The chickens got loose in our fruit and vegetable beds just as I was whirlpooling and getting ready to rack to my carboy, adding a lot of stress to an always stressful moment. My tubes got clogged with hops cones, and I had to break the racking system down and restart the siphon a few times. I would not be at all surprised if infection was introduced at that point. Swirling up my starter, I made the mistake of corking it tightly and shaking vigorously. The result was a yeast champagne-spray all over my face and the kitchen floor.
Still, I'm VERY excited about all the things that went RIGHT on this brew day. My brand-new immersion chiller brought 3 gallons from boiling to 68 F in 10 minutes. Mashing and rinsing with BIAB was an absolute dream. I hit my temps perfectly, and lost barely 1 degree in an hour with the mash kettle in the oven. And even though I checked the hydrometer 5 times, and I've run the calculations backwards and forwards, I still have trouble believing it: my mash efficiency was 97%. BIAB is everything they say it is!
It blows my mind that when planning malt quantities for my next batch, I get to plan on at least 90% efficiency. I will also use hops bags, keep more hops on hand, and I won't shake my yeast starter violently prior to pitching.
As a Fathers' Day gift, my wonderful, beautiful wife gave me a gift certificate to one of our two LHBS. Even better, she made two paintings for me, which will be the graphics for my six-pack cartons. When I brew an American style, it will be labeled under one brand, "Cygnet Ale." When I brew a European style (less often), it will be labeled under another brand, "Agnus Ale." The two brands are an homage to my daughters' nicknames.
Provided that this batch isn't infected, in a few weeks I may be bottling the first issue of Cygnet American Pale Ale. As I type this, the yeast is going nuts in the carboy next to me.
Cygnet American Pale Ale
2.5 Gallon batch (3.8 gallon pre-boil, 3 gallon post-boil)
OG 1.055
~27 IBU
~8 SRM
4lb 2-Row Malt
0.75lb Munich Malt (10 L)
0.25lb CaraPils
(All crushed for BIAB)
Mash at 154 F
.25 oz loose Simcoe - FWH
.25 Simcoe - 10 minutes
.25 Simcoe - 1 minute
Boil 60 minutes
Ferment at ~68 F with Wyeast 1272, American Ale II
(Sorry for the orientation of the photo... not sure how to rotate)
Still, I'm VERY excited about all the things that went RIGHT on this brew day. My brand-new immersion chiller brought 3 gallons from boiling to 68 F in 10 minutes. Mashing and rinsing with BIAB was an absolute dream. I hit my temps perfectly, and lost barely 1 degree in an hour with the mash kettle in the oven. And even though I checked the hydrometer 5 times, and I've run the calculations backwards and forwards, I still have trouble believing it: my mash efficiency was 97%. BIAB is everything they say it is!
It blows my mind that when planning malt quantities for my next batch, I get to plan on at least 90% efficiency. I will also use hops bags, keep more hops on hand, and I won't shake my yeast starter violently prior to pitching.
As a Fathers' Day gift, my wonderful, beautiful wife gave me a gift certificate to one of our two LHBS. Even better, she made two paintings for me, which will be the graphics for my six-pack cartons. When I brew an American style, it will be labeled under one brand, "Cygnet Ale." When I brew a European style (less often), it will be labeled under another brand, "Agnus Ale." The two brands are an homage to my daughters' nicknames.
Provided that this batch isn't infected, in a few weeks I may be bottling the first issue of Cygnet American Pale Ale. As I type this, the yeast is going nuts in the carboy next to me.
Cygnet American Pale Ale
2.5 Gallon batch (3.8 gallon pre-boil, 3 gallon post-boil)
OG 1.055
~27 IBU
~8 SRM
4lb 2-Row Malt
0.75lb Munich Malt (10 L)
0.25lb CaraPils
(All crushed for BIAB)
Mash at 154 F
.25 oz loose Simcoe - FWH
.25 Simcoe - 10 minutes
.25 Simcoe - 1 minute
Boil 60 minutes
Ferment at ~68 F with Wyeast 1272, American Ale II
(Sorry for the orientation of the photo... not sure how to rotate)
