1st all grain batch. Please review before I screw up 10 gallons

[Cold Country Brewery]

Okay guys. At the end of the month I'm doing my first all grain batch. Please review my step-by-step process. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right in my head before I waste 10 gallons.

Recipe:
Mirror Pond Clone

OG 1053
42 IBU

90 min boil

5.23kg Pale Ale Malt = 23lbs
400g crystal 75 = 28oz
90g carapils = 6oz

28g cascade 6%AA at 85m = 2oz
28g cascade at 30m = 2oz
28g cascade at 5m = 2oz
28g cascade at 0 = 2oz
21g cascade dry hop = 2oz

WLP002

Mash at 149F
______________________________________________________________________________

Process as I understand it. I’ll have (2) 10 gallon Rubbermaid coolers. One for the mash with a false bottom and one to hold the sparge water. I also have a keggle for the boil kettle

1) Heat up 7.75 gallons of water for the mash. (Using 1.25qt / Lb) Heat up to 161 degrees
2) Mash 60 min @ 149
3) During the mash heat up 8 gallons of water for the sparge @ 170 Degrees (I know I won’t be using all 8 gallons).
4) After 60 min mash drain first runnings until clear (I don’t remember what that’s called) and pour back in mash
5) Drain mash into boil kettle
6) Figure out how much total liquid I still need (to make 10 gallons) divide that in half. (If I only have 4 gallons in from the first runnings, I need 6 more gallons.) Do (2) 3 gallon batch sparges. For each batch sparge add water and stir gently for 10 minutes…let settle and then drain. Repeat.
7) Go on with 90 minute boil

Am I missing anything here? Should I test the gravity before starting the boil to make sure I hit my gravity? Anything I can do to improve my beer?

Thanks!

 

[BrewNow]

Step #4 - You may want to mash for 90 minutes. It takes a little longer for conversion at 149F.
Step #6 - No need to gently stir. As Yooper says, stir like your life depends on it! Or something like that. . .
Step #7 - You are not using pils malt so you can probably get away with a 60 minute boil. If the clone recipe calls for 90 minutes, then just go for the 90.

 

[Dan]

4) After 60 min mash drain first runnings until clear (I don’t remember what that’s called) and pour back in mash - Vorlauf

 

[Cold Country Brewery]

Step #4 - You may want to mash for 90 minutes. It takes a little longer for conversion at 149F.
Step #6 - No need to gently stir. As Yooper says, stir like your life depends on it! Or something like that. . .
Step #7 - You are not using pils malt so you can probably get away with a 60 minute boil. If the clone recipe calls for 90 minutes, then just go for the 90.

#4) Perfect I'll go 90 min mash
#6) It's beer we are talking about...of course my life depends on it!
#7) This from the re-brew from the Jamil show. I think I will stick with the 90 min boil. I don't know why it calls for the 90 min boil, but I'm going with it.

Dan, Vorlauf! That's it, I knew it sounded like some kids action figure!

 

[snowveil]

Just a heads up, 28 grams is actually 1oz, not 2. Not sure how much that's going to affect your recipe but you may need to scale them up a bit.

 

[PantherCity]

1) You will want to over shoot your strike temp by 3-4 degrees because the mash tun (and HLT) will absorb some heat.

6) You will also want to runoff ~12-13 gallons so you still have enough volume after boil-off, trub loss etc. to have 5 gallons in the keg.

good set up. very similar to how I brew.(until I finish the build on my 3 keggle setup)

edit: You are pushing capacity on your Mash tun but you should be OK. You might want to consider a 5 gallon batch for your first all grain.

 

[Cold Country Brewery]

Just a heads up, 28 grams is actually 1oz, not 2. Not sure how much that's going to affect your recipe but you may need to scale them up a bit.

Its a 10 gallon batch

 

[Cold Country Brewery]

1) You will want to over shoot your strike temp by 3-4 degrees because the mash tun (and HLT) will absorb some heat.

6) You will also want to runoff ~12-13 gallons so you still have enough volume after boil-off, trub loss etc. to have 5 gallons in the keg.

good set up. very similar to how I brew.(until I finish the build on my 3 keggle setup)

edit: You are pushing capacity on your Mash tun but you should be OK. You might want to consider a 5 gallon batch for your first all grain.

*So my strike temp should be 165? I used the calculator on tastybrew.com.

*Thanks for the reminder about the boil-off, trub loss etc.

*I already bought the ingredients for 10 gallons. I figure if I'm spending 2x the time vs. extract I may as well end up with 2x the beer, right!

 

[scottatdrake]

Are you sure you can fit 25 lb of grain plus the needed water in a 10 gallon cooler? I don't know the answer but you might want to check into that.

 

[Yooper]

Are you sure you can fit 25 lb of grain plus the needed water in a 10 gallon cooler? I don't know the answer but you might want to check into that.

That's my concern, too! I have a round 10 gallon Igloo cooler. It's pretty well maxed out at 23 pounds!

 

[Cold Country Brewery]

So if it doesn't fit then I'll just do a mini mash in a small pot, that would work, right?

 

[broadbill]

*So my strike temp should be 165? I used the calculator on tastybrew.com.

I'd go even higher than 165 if you are going to use your strike water to pre-heat your tun (versus adding a separate water addition beforehand to pre-heat).

For a 165 strike temp, my strike water goes into my cooler MT at around 185ish)...it sits for 15-20 minutes to equilibrate, then I check it. It is usually around 170-175F at that point, and I stir/mix until I'm at my 165F strike temp.

A general tip for the mash would be to aim for the high side of all of your temperatures. Its is easier to cool a mash down with cold water than you try and heat it up.

 

[SuperSynapse]

One thing no one has picked up on, make sure all your plastics are food safe. One of the big differences with AG versus extract brewing is how much plastic comes in contact with hot liquids.

Most "food-safe" plastics are only food safe to 100 degrees F like vinyl or PVC. I did a test with vinyl, per an instructional I saw using it. you'll notice the hose is stiffer after it has cooled. Guess why? because a lot of its wonderful polymers just became part of your beer. Not good.
Use Silicon, or therm plastic hosing, CVPC for sparging or grain filtering manifold.

Even HPDE (#2 plastic used in the coolers) and CPVC are only safe below 180 Degrees F, anything hotter will change their makup and leak polymers. Humorously the barley hulls release tannins above the same temp, so most people always keep below at 180 during their batch anyway. But I've seen boil transfers to brew buckets, and boil washes/sanitizes which can prep the plastic to release harmful compounds later. Also not all "food safe" plastic has been manufactured in conjunction with food safe lubricants or foodsafe dying agents, and furthermore may not be resistant to the solvent nature of alcohol, especially in your fermenter. (for example a hardware bucket that is #2 plastic, but not designated for food purposes)

Additionally, I would err on the safe side and run atleast a full batch of just 160-170 F water though to bring out any residues from manufacturing prior to doing the real thing. Worst to worst you clean the dust and cooties out.

Also, copper tarnish (such as on your wort chiller) is harmful to health, unless you clean it off with an acid bath first. I sometimes get a kick from people spending extra for stainless faucets and brackets on their taps, swearing it improves the flavor. And don't get me wrong I agree, but is completely negated by the nasty ass green-gray chiller they keep sticking into their wort.

Brass (such as your valves or barbs) contain a small amount of lead, which you can remove from the exposed surface pores with a hydrogen peroxide and vinegar bath. Let the bath eat the lead so you don't have too, or upgrade to stainless fittings/valves. I don't think brass tarnish is bad, but will leave a metallic taste in certain circumstances (such as contact with carbonic acid in the tap situation). If you're catching on home depot is not a homebrew store.

Food for thought... FDA regulations no longer allows copper, PVC, or brass to come in contact with most food related substances, and are very strict when they do. Yes it WAS used to plumb with back in the day, but so was lead for hundreds of years. As our scientific knowledge has advanced, we've discovered leached substances such as the copper lead/tarnish, or in cases of PVC mixups with hot water lines and polymer leakages. (PVC is currently only allowed in drains, sewage, and very limited contact situations; most of it's retraction from food purposing started in 2005, and has been replaced with CPVC)

 

[Cold Country Brewery]

Brewed this yesterday, brew day went great! It will be hard to go back to extract now - no more squeezing the plastic bottles, no more sticky mess! The one questions I had was my OG. The recipe called for a OG of 1052 and I hit 1062. I've seen all kinds of posts on low efficiency, but what's up with 10 points higher?

Let me answer the basic questions first:
-Didn't use any top off water
-I did the 90 min mash, batch sparge (3x). Rubbermaid cooler with manifold.
-I couldn't have accidentally used more grains as my cooler was maxed out (there is no way I could have fit 30lbs in for example)

I don't have beersmith at home - it's on my work computer, so I don't know what my efficiency was this batch.

 

[JonM]

*So my strike temp should be 165? I used the calculator on tastybrew.com.
!

When you transfer hot water into the mash tun, quite a bit of the heat from the water will transfer out of the water and into the mash tun walls, lowering your water temp. I usually overshoot the mash temp by a LOT and just wait for it to come down on its own. Easier to wait for the temp to come down than it is to heat it up.

If the waiting for it to come down takes too long, scoop out a pint and add a pint of cold water in.

Edit: Whoops! That'll teach me to read the whole thread before responding.

 

[dcHokie]

Brewed this yesterday, brew day went great! It will be hard to go back to extract now - no more squeezing the plastic bottles, no more sticky mess! The one questions I had was my OG. The recipe called for a OG of 1052 and I hit 1062. I've seen all kinds of posts on low efficiency, but what's up with 10 points higher?

Let me answer the basic questions first:
-Didn't use any top off water
-I did the 90 min mash, batch sparge (3x). Rubbermaid cooler with manifold.
-I couldn't have accidentally used more grains as my cooler was maxed out (there is no way I could have fit 30lbs in for example)

I don't have beersmith at home - it's on my work computer, so I don't know what my efficiency was this batch.

Jamil (& most of the Brewing Network guys IIRC) brew 6 gallon base batches.

That Mirror Pond clone recipe was based on a 6 gallon batch. Looks like your grain bill was doubled, but the batch size was 10 gallons rather than 12 gallons post-boil so that would result in a higher OG.

how many gallons did you collect from the mash and what was your volume after the boil?

there are obviously other variables at play, but looking at the grain bill the OG you hit was appropriate (70-75% efficiency) for a 10 gallon batch

 

[jetmac]

The one questions I had was my OG. The recipe called for a OG of 1052 and I hit 1062. I've seen all kinds of posts on low efficiency, but what's up with 10 points higher?

You may have mashed a temperature too low.

Remember M= more A=alcohol L=lower T=temperature MALT

Probably should have been closer to 152-154F.

That would also give it more body

 

[VladOfTrub]

5.23kg Pale Ale Malt = 23lbs.....Not on this planet.

 

[dcHokie]

5.23kg Pale Ale Malt = 23lbs.....Not on this planet.

looks like that was the original 6 gall clone recipe and the OP scaled it x 2 for his batch...all the grains were doubled

 

[Cold Country Brewery]

That Mirror Pond clone recipe was based on a 6 gallon batch. Looks like your grain bill was doubled, but the batch size was 10 gallons rather than 12 gallons post-boil so that would result in a higher OG.

Duh! That's what I did. For a minute there I thought I was a super efficient all-grainer. I guess I could just add a couple gallons of water to the carboys? Or I could just leave it at 10 gallons. Either way it was a successful first attempt at all-grain. Thanks everyone.

 

[Yooper]

Duh! That's what I did. For a minute there I thought I was a super efficient all-grainer. I guess I could just add a couple gallons of water to the carboys? Or I could just leave it at 10 gallons. Either way it was a successful first attempt at all-grain. Thanks everyone.

I'd leave it! Sure, you'll have a little more malt towards the malt/hops balance but it won't matter much and you'll have a very good beer when it's done!

 

[dcHokie]

I'd leave it! Sure, you'll have a little more malt towards the malt/hops balance but it won't matter much and you'll have a very good beer when it's done!

I'll second that. Your process sounds solid, you'll have a good beer. It won't be a spot-on Mirror Pond clone, but if the end result is a drinkable homebrewed beer that is similarly tasty...well that ain't too bad my friend.

 

[Cold Country Brewery]

Thanks everyone, I'll just leave it. I'll let you know how it turns out when it's done.