I just started brewing again after maybe 15-20 years of not brewing, and quickly decided to get into full mash brewing. Now that I finally have a 9 gallon brew pot and a hefty burner, I just got the first batch into the primary!
Alot of things have changed since I used to brew:
* Whirlpooling
* Whirlfloc instead of Irish moss
* Single temp Infusion cooler mash/lautering with a modified stainless water supply drain.
* Going back to single stage, but in glass, for "some" ales.
* Aerating wort with O2 or filtered aqarium pumps
* Using dried yeasts again without lousy results
I tried to "teach" myself (the old dog) some of these "new" techniques. But of course, I have some questions.
1. In all grain brewing, how does one get to exactly the final, boiled down volume? Do you shoot for a little less, and add a slight amount of top up water? I wound up slightly low on this first batch, but didn't top up because my S.G. was spot on according to the recipe.
2. The whirlpooling worked great! But I left more liquid in the pot than usual. Is this why everyone seems to shoot for a 5.5 gal final volume in the pot? (That's what I did)
(practicing RDWHAHB as I type),
Rich
Edit: BTW, I was overjoyed to hit my target mash temp with no adjustments, first time! Just pre-heated the cooler and used the standard forumulas for strike water!
Alot of things have changed since I used to brew:
* Whirlpooling
* Whirlfloc instead of Irish moss
* Single temp Infusion cooler mash/lautering with a modified stainless water supply drain.
* Going back to single stage, but in glass, for "some" ales.
* Aerating wort with O2 or filtered aqarium pumps
* Using dried yeasts again without lousy results
I tried to "teach" myself (the old dog) some of these "new" techniques. But of course, I have some questions.
1. In all grain brewing, how does one get to exactly the final, boiled down volume? Do you shoot for a little less, and add a slight amount of top up water? I wound up slightly low on this first batch, but didn't top up because my S.G. was spot on according to the recipe.
2. The whirlpooling worked great! But I left more liquid in the pot than usual. Is this why everyone seems to shoot for a 5.5 gal final volume in the pot? (That's what I did)
(practicing RDWHAHB as I type),
Rich
Edit: BTW, I was overjoyed to hit my target mash temp with no adjustments, first time! Just pre-heated the cooler and used the standard forumulas for strike water!