My first AG brew

[Suddy]

so I decided to make the move to all grain.

I got a Coleman 70 qt cooler and did the conversion. Tested for leaks, none found.

I decided to go with Edwort's Pale Ale. Simple grain bill and simple hop additions. The LHBS didnt have cascade so I went with Amarillo.

So I started heating my strike water (3.5 gallons) got it to 160 and added it to the preheated MLT. I then doughed in and broke up all the balls. I checked the temp before closing the lid and it was 144 FRICK! I quickly heated up some water (1 gallon) to 160 and added it to the MLT. The temp was 149 DOUBLE FRICK!!! So at this point I decided to let it be and hope for the best. I let the hour go by and collected my first runnings and vorlaufed. Drained my first runnings and added sparge water (174 degrees). Then I tried to vorlauf....Stuck sparge TRIPLE FRICK!!!!!. I massaged my braid like a oriental masseuse.....out came the wort...yay. I added all the running to the boil kettle and started the boil, added my hops, and Irish moss at 10 min left in boil. Cooled to 70, shook the devil out of the carboy and pitched the nottingham. Then I placed the carboy in the swamp cooler and waited. I have yet to see any action in the carboy (after 48 hours)....I am getting a little worried.....

Is missing the mash temp going to ruin this brew?

Did I get starch to sugar conversion at 149 degrees?

That was a stressful brew day....hope its not this hard next time arround.

Suddy

 

[davesrose]

Well your worries about fermentation are not from mashing. And mashing at 149 degrees is fine....it will change the flavor of your beer slightly (since it's different enzymes at work)....but you should have still gotten a decent effeciency. Though if you get a stuck sparge....sometimes that can mess up your effeciency.

With the fermentation, usual suspects are aeration, temperature, and yeast cell count.

I think the best advice right now, though is RDWHAHB!!! You just finished doing the hardest brew of your life: cause the other AG brews just get easier since you'll have experience on your side

 

[Suddy]

I think the aeration was pretty solid....however I am keeping the brew in a swamp cooler at 65 degrees. Should I take it out of the cooler until the process really kicks off?

 

[beerkrump]

Leave it there and check your SG in a week. As many will tell you, the airlock and krausen formation are not indicators of fermentation. Sometimes the yeast just works a little more quitely.

+1 for RDWHAHB

 

[davesrose]

With optimal temperature, I always check with the yeast manufacturer. Since every yeast is different, I don't think you can say X temp is the temp for any lager or ale. I always just try to hit the middle of the stated range for that particular strain.

Give it some more time....if after 72 hours from pitching....if there's still no activity, take a gravity reading. If it's still pretty high, swirl the fermenter to pick up any yeast and maybe look into pitching some fresh yeast as well.

 

[Yooper]

I think the aeration was pretty solid....however I am keeping the brew in a swamp cooler at 65 degrees. Should I take it out of the cooler until the process really kicks off?

No. Nottingham tastes nasty higher than about 70-72 degrees, with lots of esters. Nottingham easily works down to 59 degrees, so at 65 you're right in the ballpark.

I don't know why you're not seeing activity, unless your yeast was really old. But, it'll get going soon and give you a good beer. Notty attenuates really well, and with a mash temp of 149, I would expect you to get down to 1.008 or so.

 

[Suddy]

When I pitched the yeast I didn't rehydrate the packet, and it sat on the foam from the good shaking I gave the carboy. So it didn't really touch the wort for a good 8 hours. I saw it sitting there and shook it up again to get it in contact with the liquid. I don't know if that makes a difference in the lag time.

 

[pnj]

I made this same beer this weekend. It took nearly 30 hours for the yeast to kick off. I pitched at 80 because of the poor instructions on the packaging... it's now down to around 75ish.

OP, I didn't see anyone mention pre heating your tun. (may have just missed it, if it was mentioned). before I start my water heating, I half fill my tun w/ HOT water from my bathtub. I then heat my mash water up to 175 or so. I end up w/ my grains at around 160 and after stirring, it drops to around 152.

 

[Irie5447]

the most important thing here is that you brewed all grain. As you continue to brew it will become easier and easier and you will never look back.

 

[phatuna]

Suddy, don't sweat it - your beer will turn out great. I converted to AG a month or two ago and I have had similar issues on brew day.

As already mentioned above, I typically heat my MT w/ water around 170. I let it drop until it gets to around 165ish then I dough in. Check out a program called Beer Smith, it will help you figure out your temperatures.

I know your pain, hitting temps is pretty tough but it does get better with time. Try doing a couple of fairly inexpensive brews like this one https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall-42841/

You can get your process down while not breaking the bank.

One more trick to make sure you converted starch to sugar is take some of your 1st runnings and add a drop of iodine to it (put a splash of 1st runnings on a plate and add a drop of iodine), if the iodine remains the same color (brownish red) and does not turn black, you converted.

Make sure that you keep good hydrometer readings throughout the day (1st runnings, pre-boil, and pre yeast pitch). These will help you understand your efficiency.

Cheers!

 

[Suddy]

I am crossing my fingers that the fermentation has kicked off when I get home. I got the last package of nottingham from the LHBS. So i hope he had some more come in over the weekend. Any thoughts on what to do if I cant get my hands on another package of nottingham?

 

[phatuna]

Check with your hydrometer. I have had nottingham ferment really quickly once or twice. Like while you were at work it could have pulled a sneaky fermentation on ya.

 

[pnj]

yep. this is the first time I've used this yeast and it appears to be 'done' after less then 8 hours of visible signs. It took nearly 30 hours to get going and it seems to have stopped 8 hours later. I'll be leaving it for another 8 days of course...

 

[Suddy]

I checked the gravity tonight. There was no change in the reading from OG. I gave the carboy a good shaking and will check it in the AM. If I don't see any activity I will venture to the LHBS during lunch and pray the have another packet of notty.

If they dont should I use safale 05?

 

[Suddy]

bump I need to run to the LHBS and pick up a yeast. If they dont have notty what should I use.