YellowRiver
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 14, 2014
- Messages
- 84
- Reaction score
- 6
Brewed my 6th 5 gallon batch yesterday. First all grain. looking for help, support, or kudos but I don't have any real specific questions, yet.
I can say that I spent too much time trying to find a cheap way to move the wort from the cooler to the brewpot in the mash and lautering stage.
I only got 65% efficiency,batch sparging, I'm blaming that on not having my sparge water hot enough, fast enough. I thought the initial drain time would take longer then it did. Still finished with 1.046 in the fermenter so it'll be okay, I thought of adding some DME but thought I'd just see what happens, maybe learn something.
I had cold crashed my previous batch, all told it spent 4 weeks in the primary, for a week, life got in the way of the bottling process, so I did it as the new brew cooled.
Threw the new batch on the old yeast cake which sat in the winefridge for about 3 hours. So cake at about 64 and wort about the same. Previous batch was supposed to be a blonde ale, not lawnmower. LHBS gave me some dark extract so it was a bit more of a redhead. OG on the previous was 1.054 and a FG of 1.011, used Safale05. Current batch is a yellow/cream color, color being my reason for going all-grain. A bit lighter on the OG, not intended but...
I now have vigorous fermentation. I have misgiving about throwing onto the yeast cake, remorse if you will. That's a ton of effort that gets dice rolled just to save a few bucks on yeast and avoid washing a carboy. I aerated well( shook the hell out of it method) and the cake probably didn't need that much.
I admit I threw too many variables into my first all-grain. I afterwards did relax and drink a couple from batch #4 and a couple of Widmer Upheavals too.
Biggest problem is I am overthinking this and yet the outcome looks promising.
I can say that I spent too much time trying to find a cheap way to move the wort from the cooler to the brewpot in the mash and lautering stage.
I only got 65% efficiency,batch sparging, I'm blaming that on not having my sparge water hot enough, fast enough. I thought the initial drain time would take longer then it did. Still finished with 1.046 in the fermenter so it'll be okay, I thought of adding some DME but thought I'd just see what happens, maybe learn something.
I had cold crashed my previous batch, all told it spent 4 weeks in the primary, for a week, life got in the way of the bottling process, so I did it as the new brew cooled.
Threw the new batch on the old yeast cake which sat in the winefridge for about 3 hours. So cake at about 64 and wort about the same. Previous batch was supposed to be a blonde ale, not lawnmower. LHBS gave me some dark extract so it was a bit more of a redhead. OG on the previous was 1.054 and a FG of 1.011, used Safale05. Current batch is a yellow/cream color, color being my reason for going all-grain. A bit lighter on the OG, not intended but...
I now have vigorous fermentation. I have misgiving about throwing onto the yeast cake, remorse if you will. That's a ton of effort that gets dice rolled just to save a few bucks on yeast and avoid washing a carboy. I aerated well( shook the hell out of it method) and the cake probably didn't need that much.
I admit I threw too many variables into my first all-grain. I afterwards did relax and drink a couple from batch #4 and a couple of Widmer Upheavals too.
Biggest problem is I am overthinking this and yet the outcome looks promising.
