First Two Fer

[mjdonnelly68]

Attempting my first two batch brew session tonight. Hopefully I have enough beer to make it to the finish!

Elapsed time: 0 hours, 3 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 0

Regular status updates to follow.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed time: 0 hours, 35 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 1

Wort: Hopbursted Imperial IPA

So far, so good. Water came to a boil quickly - hopefully saving me some time overall.

Soundtrack at this moment: Dirty Pool by Stevie Ray Vaughn

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 0 hours, 48 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 1

Start of the 60 minute boil: Added 2oz Cluster Hops

Almost constant hop additions for this brew, plus malt late in the boil. It's going to be hard to wait for this one.

Soundtrack at this moment: Polk Salad Annie by Clarence Reid

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 3

30 minutes left in boil: Added another 2oz Cluster Hops

Holy cow! This one is shaping up to be a monster. Already at risk of my first boil over - have to watch like a hawk and still have four adds to go. Mingia!

Soundtrack at this moment: Can't Get No Grindin' by Muddy Waters

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 1 hour, 46 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 4

5 minutes left in boil: Added 3oz Hopburst Hops

Adds almost done (15oz of Hops and counting). Things are happening fast and furiously now.

Soundtrack at this moment: Taxman by Junior Parker

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 1 hour, 51 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 4

End of boil and end of my No Boil-Over Streak. Turned away for an update at the worst possible moment (rookie mistake). Trying to do too many things at once. The wife is gonna kill me.

From here on in I'm focusing like a lazer on the beer in the kettle and the glass. Updates can wait...

Soundtrack at this moment: Midnight Hour by Nick Curran & The Nitelifes

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 2 hours, 23 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 6

Transfer to Primary: Ok - I guess I should have known that with a pound of hops, this one would be a strainer stressor. It's taking a very long time to fill the primary. Won't need to worry about aerating this one.

Soundtrack at this moment: Fine Cadillac by Guitar Shorty

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 2 hours, 46 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 7

Racked to Primary: Finally making some progress. Got the first batch racked to primary and took my OG reading. At 1.084 this monster is a little off the estimated OG of 1.087 but it's close enough for government work.

This big beer is going to be fun to drink. It's going to be a tough three months waiting for it.

Time to clean and re-sanitize and get ready for batch two.

Only casualty of batch one: boil over made me get wort on my kilt. Bummer...

Soundtrack at this moment: Down Into Mexico by Delbert McClinton

 

[Wolfhound180]

This is awesome.

 

[lumpher]

listening to blues, boiling an iipa, while wearing a kilt... different. i usually boil an apa wearing 5" stilettoes and an evening gown while listening to old country

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 3 hours, 53 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 9

Ready for Batch Two: Peat-Smoked Porter (partial mash)

Ok, I completely cleaned up after my sloppy first batch. The kitchen is returned to clean and ready for action.

2.5 gallons on the boil. What a great night.

Soundtrack at this moment: Mighty Mighty (Spade and Whitey) by The Impressions

 

[Northjerzyg]

Hahahahahhahahahah.......... Good luck with brew two, should be a good read!!

 

[bottlebomber]

Dude I could have made an AG batch in less time you're screwed. Btw out of curiosity is it the Northern Brewer 115th dream you just did?

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Dude I could have made an AG batch in less time you're screwed. Btw out of curiosity is it the Northern Brewer 115th dream you just did?

Screwed? Worst case scenario I'm up for another three hours drinking beer. I'm definitely built for comfort, not for speed.

It was the Northern 115th Dream. Have you made it before? Any advice if you have?

Sounds like a great beer - can't wait to get at it.

Slainte'!

 

[bottlebomber]

Screwed? Worst case scenario I'm up for another three hours drinking beer. I'm definitely built for comfort, not for speed.

It was the Northern 115th Dream. Have you made it before? Any advice if you have?

Sounds like a great beer - can't wait to get at it.

Slainte'!

Yes I do have advice! It was a great beer, the last extract beer I made. My advice is, don't wait 3 months. I know they tell you to, and I don't know why but its totally unnecessary. 3 weeks in the fermenter and you're golden. Secondly, and most importantly, you must, MUST pitch a little fresh yeast when you bottle. I don't know why, but this beer absolutely clobbered the yeast, and I couldn't get it to carb - had to shake the hell out of the bottles to rouse the yeast after 6 weeks of no carbonation. After doing this several times I finally coaxed them into lightly carbonating it, still a great beer regardless. I might even order an all grain batch. It tastes a lot like DFH 90, almost a clone but not quite as malty. If you look at the reviews on the website tons of people had the same problem with that beer.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 4 hours, 36 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 11

Mash is done - grains are steeped and temperature is reached. Time to make the donuts...

Soundtrack at this moment: Six Pack To Go by Hank Thompson (as a shout out to my prom date in Texas)

 

[bottlebomber]

Chance of me puking if I drank 11 beers - 100%

 

[mikeysab]

Haha, what a lightweight. I think if I was up at 11:15 after brewing for 4.5 hours while drinking 11 beers I wouldn't wanna continue. I hope they're session beers.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Chance of me puking if I drank 11 beers - 100%

I hope it doesn't come to that - would completely blow my sterilization routine.

 

[bottlebomber]

Haha, what a lightweight. I think if I was up at 11:15 after brewing for 4.5 hours while drinking 11 beers I wouldn't wanna continue. I hope they're session beers.

Yeah I could maybe do half a case of mild. I dunno why, I've never had a high alcohol tolerance unless its during the summer I build up a pretty good resistance to gin&tonic. Funny too, when I was younger I would do terrific and horrible amounts of hard drugs while people around me literally lost their minds, but I could never hold my booze.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Yes I do have advice! It was a great beer, the last extract beer I made. My advice is, don't wait 3 months. I know they tell you to, and I don't know why but its totally unnecessary. 3 weeks in the fermenter and you're golden. Secondly, and most importantly, you must, MUST pitch a little fresh yeast when you bottle. I don't know why, but this beer absolutely clobbered the yeast, and I couldn't get it to carb - had to shake the hell out of the bottles to rouse the yeast after 6 weeks of no carbonation. After doing this several times I finally coaxed them into lightly carbonating it, still a great beer regardless. I might even order an all grain batch. It tastes a lot like DFH 90, almost a clone but not quite as malty. If you look at the reviews on the website tons of people had the same problem with that beer.

Thanks for the advice - that's extremely helpful. I completely support anyone who tells me to drink beer sooner.

I'm on the cusp of making the switch to AG too. I've worked through all of the partial mash kits I can find and they aren't cutting it.

What did you do for a mash tun? Should I just plan on going the 10 gallon igloo route?

Sorry for treating you like a Magic Eight Ball - so many questions this one has.

 

[bottlebomber]

Its fine, I didn't get to 3500 posts from the hockey thread. I did the rubbermaid cooler with braided hose. It works great, I've done around a dozen batches so far with it. You don't need the three vessel system, just heat your sparge water in your BK, mash, heat your sparge water in your BK, drain the first runnings into a bucket, batch sparge, drain, boil. I've done decoction mashes using only this simple equipment.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Yeah I could maybe do half a case of mild. I dunno why, I've never had a high alcohol tolerance unless its during the summer I build up a pretty good resistance to gin&tonic. Funny too, when I was younger I would do terrific and horrible amounts of hard drugs while people around me literally lost their minds, but I could never hold my booze.

I am fortunate enough to be decedent from a long line of drunken tinkers (weighing in at 265 doesn't hurt either). As long as I stick to beer, how many doesn't seem to be an issue. Not that I'll be driving anytime soon - I'm safely ensconced for the night.

Now Whiskey is a whole different story. A teaspoon full of the brown stuff and I'm posting bail.

 

[bottlebomber]

Huh... I'm not a little guy myself at 6'6" and 250 but I still can't put away brews like that. But I can do some whisky... go figure.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

It's definitely a hereditary thing for me. My father couldn't give me a trust fund, but 'Sober' Joe Donnelly bequeathed upon his sons the ability to stay standing long enough to see everyone else safely off to dreamland.

I can't trade on it for food, but it's come in handy now and again.

Wish I had your tolerance for whiskey though. I love the stuff but it's poison for me.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Time Elapsed: 5 hours, 34 minutes
Beers Elapsed: 12

Start of the 60 Minute Boil: Just added 2oz of Cluster Hops.

Maybe I'm just drunk, but it seemed like it took a looong time to return to boil just now. If I didn't know better I'd think that I just pulled a Whitley Streiber between beers 11 and 12. Anyone know if aliens prefer porter?

Soundtrack at the moment: Texas Flood by Melvin Taylor & The Slack Band

 

[mikeysab]

I'm glad i'm not the only one that magically grows handcuffs when they drink whiskey. I can drink a whole lot of beer, but throw in some hard alcohol, and i'm cooked. In my younger days, i'd mix all kinds of drugs with beer, but never handled hard alcohol well, unless it was alone.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 5 hours, 59 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 13

Second Hop addition at 20 Minutes: Added 1oz Willamette hops

This is fun, but I'm looking forward to putting this second batch to bed (and myself too).

Soundtrack at this moment: Whiskey and Women by Muddy Waters

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 6 hours, 41 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 14
Elapsed Waters: 2

60 Minute Boil Complete: Racing to 100f.

Glad to be able to use my new immersion chiller. Gets me that much closer to bed.

Peat-Smoked Porters looks tasty. If it was any darker, I'd need my hi-beams on.

Soundtrack at this moment: Keep Your Hands Out Of My Pocket by Sonny Boy Williamson

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Elapsed Time: 7 hours, 35 minutes
Elapsed Beers: 14
Elapsed Waters: 4

Victory! Completed both batches in less than a full days work. The Hopbursted Imperial IPA and Peat-Smoked Porter are bubbling away in the basement.

Soundtrack at this moment: It's Sure Been Fun by Waylon Jennings

G'Night all.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

LESSONS LEARNED FROM MY FIRST TWO FER

1. Brewing beer is fun! Brewing two beers in the same session is 1.75 times as much fun.

2. It's not an efficiency thing - little or no time is saved by doing two batches at once.

3. Watch your boil! Not standing on the neck of your boil in the last 10 minutes is bad for your kilt.

4. Start early in the day if you plan to pull a full shift of brewing.

5. 14 beers is the wrong number of beers for a brew session. The right number may be 13 or 15 (further experimentation required), but 14 is definitely wrong.

6. Posting too many pictures too frequently will bring down the HBT servers - pace yourself.

7. Never attempt to brew without a dog present. They provide a constant reminder of the importance of sanitizing ("Get your damn nose out of there!").

8. A long night of brewing is still better than a short day of (INSERT OTHER THING HERE).

 

[Joe13]

Congrats! this is a very impressive run. I have to admit, If i was 14 deep in less then 7 hours i would'nt be brewing or taking photos. I'd be passed out.

 

[mikeysab]

Just out of curiosity, what were you drinking?

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Just out of curiosity, what were you drinking?

Started with a growler of Pale Ale from Brown's Brewing in Troy, NY. Once that was exhausted I had two bottles of Brown's IPA and then my own Homebrew IPA (from my first batch).

It was a Hops festival at my house last night.

 

[bottlebomber]

So your the one that knocked the server out last night... bastard ;l
Have to admit admiration that your even coherent so soon.

 

[mjdonnelly68]

Last night was just a good stretch of the legs.

Tongue was a little furry this morning but two cups of joe and I'm right as rain. The key is to close with water. If you end your session by drinking water until you've pissed twice - all will be forgiven. Hydrate or die...

Had so much fun last night I'm just about to tear into a Racer 5 clone kit I've been meaning to try.

Pipeline suffered a bit in the run up to Christmas. Come the end of February I'm going to be lousy with choices.