1st AG Brew!!! Took forever...whew!

[GIusedtoBe]

I learned a lot today but I wanted to run the particulars by you all and see what other more experienced brewers thought.

I did the "Clone Brews" Sierra Nevada with the following grain bill:

10.33 2 row
.5 Dextrin Malt
4 oz. 60L Crystal

Nugget, Perle, and Cascade for the three hop additions but I substituted cascade for the Nugget.

THe recipe called for a step mash for 30 minutes at 122 F and then to raise the temp to 150 for 1 hour. I hit the first step at about 125F and then messed up the next water addition and it was peaking around 148F. It stayed like this until I could get some more water heated up to raise it to 150F.

So;
30 min @ 125F
25-30 min @145-148F
60 min @150-152

SG was supposed to be 1.057-1.059
Mine was 1.053

Do you think the recipe really needs the step mash or would it work just as well with one infusion mash?

My chiller only cooled the wort to about 80 F. And I thought I was through w/ ice baths!

How do i calculate my efficiency? I'm sure its pretty low but at least I'll know the starting point.

Any other pointers would be appreciated as well.

Regards,
Al

 

[WBC]

Good going........ A step mash for the first all grain, wow. No need for step mashes unless you are using less modified European malts. A single infusion at 148 to 150F would have saved a lot of time. A lot of older recipes call for a step mash but that was then and this is now.

Your efficiency could be hand calculated but a program is the best (easiest) way. Do you have accurate OG readings at the calibration temperature of the hydrometer?

You can make up Biermunchers or maybe it is Edworts?? ice bath cooler which has a fountain pump to pump through your imersion chiller through garden hose. You can get it down to whatever you want.

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

Well welcome to AG.
I agree that a step mash would not be required, and you should have a nice beer with that recipe.

 

[eddie]

A single infusion mash at 150 would be fine. No need to do the stepped mash.

 

[jeff_2506]

Congrats...eventually you'll become so efficient in your brewing system that (at least for me) I've noticed that I actually spend the same time doing all grain on most recipes than I would steeping grains w/ extract.

 

[BierMuncher]

Skip the step mash.

If you use Beersmith, you can plug in your results and back into the efficiency.

Congrats on the first of many AG brew sessions.

 

[GIusedtoBe]

Thanks for the responses and I think I will do the single step mash next time. I was just reading too many sources and just decided to follow the recipe. I'm pretty happy with the result so far. Not to downplay extract brewers but this gives a whole new level of satisfaction in creating a good brew. I'm looking forward to tasting this one since I've brewed it lots of times with extract and its always turned out well.

Which brewing software do you guys recommmend: Beersmith or Promash and why?

Regards,
Al

 

[Kauai_Kahuna]

I have toyed with both, but for my needs:
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/recipe.html
http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator

I actually enjoy doing some of the math / etc on my own.

 

[GIusedtoBe]

I have toyed with both, but for my needs:
http://www.tastybrew.com/calculators/recipe.html
http://hbd.org/cgi-bin/recipator/recipator

I actually enjoy doing some of the math / etc on my own.

I do not get the same enjoyment out of the math!

Thanks much for the links. I really didn't want to spend any more dough after dropping so much to get started in AG.

Regards,
Al