AG #2.....much better.....I think

[maltMonkey]

Did a brown ale on Saturday. Everything went 100 times better than my first attempt.

I modified all my equipment and was generally just more prepared. I'm also getting all my temp control adjustments dialed in better.

The only real problem I had was that I broke my one and only hydrometer before even crushing and grain. Twice I had been in the LHBS and thought about buying an extra hydrometer because I have heard so many people say how often they break.....guess I had to learn the lesson the hard way. It didn't completely shatter so I taped it with some lightweight tape, but I don't think it was accurate.....I made a brown ale which at 65% efficiency should have been 1.041 into the fermenter....the hydrometer read 1.061. So either I got 85% efficiency, or the thing wasn't reading right.

It REALLY bugs me that I don't know how I did on this one

 

[shafferpilot]

congrats on getting things to go well. hydrometers are very sensitive in the weight category. Light tape, isn't light enough. Once you have two good ones on hand, you won't ever break one again

 

[maltMonkey]

congrats on getting things to go well. hydrometers are very sensitive in the weight category. Light tape, isn't light enough. Once you have two good ones on hand, you won't ever break one again

I suspect you're right

Some other notes: my sparge stuck again this time, but I simply shook the hose coming off the MLT spigot, and everything flowed great. I think what happens is that a bit of grain gets stuck in the spigot, but once that goes through everything flows perfectly. I'm really happy with my drain manifold design. I've found that shaking both the end of the hose and the middle of it at the same time (somewhat violently) creates enough suction to dislodge the stuck grain.

I stirred the wort while chilling this time--a circular motion in the center of the wort chiller coil (creating a poor man's whirlpool), and it cooled from boiling to 75° in 20 minutes.... a noticeable improvement over last time.

I'm slowly learning all the tricks and pitfalls of this.....it sure is a lot of fun!

 

[WBC]

Now you are feeling fairly confident but be careful the next brew because that can give you an over confidence and that is when you screw up. I know and have seen the error of my ways. Good going on this one..... It feels good.

 

[beeraggie]

I'm slowly learning all the tricks and pitfalls of this.....it sure is a lot of fun!

Always keep that in mind. I takes forever to learn everything, but we do this for fun!!! Don't get discouraged a few batches down the road when you hit a bad one, learn from it and keep brewing.

 

[maltMonkey]

Trust me, I won't get discouraged. I think if AG were easy I would be bored of it already....I hope I always find it challenging, because it's definitely rewarding!