AG brew #2 went very well

[GRHunter]

Last weekend my first AG brew took eight hours to complete. Yesterday I did AG brew #2 with the help of my son who is on leave from the Air Force. He's got about about 6-7 extract brews under his belt so he wasn't a stranger to the brewing process, just the AG portion was new to him. But with my son's help we were finished in just over 4 hours. Once he goes back home I feel pretty confident that by myself a 5 hour AG brew is quite possible.

On my first AG brew I hit my OG right on the money, but I was 1.5 gallons high on my volume. For AG brew #2 we did the Oatmeal Stout by Gregar and we hit the boil volume but came in 6 points low on the OG. Following the recipe instructions we didn't do a mash out and I think that is where we lost our 6 points of gravity.

In any case, AG brew #2 was definitely easier so I am much more motivated to stick with the AG brewing now.

 

[brewdogskip]

Congrats! Now reap the benefits of your hard work

 

[bctdi]

Double check your water quantities and your thermometer. I made the mistake of using a cheap measuring cup to measure out my water which really threw off my brewing. Since I bought a graduated cylinder and re- calibrated my water measurement things are much more predictable.I also had a dial type metal spring thermometer probe that was off by 15-20 degrees but only between about 120 and 180 ... It was accurate at room temp and boiling. You can imagine the trouble I had because of it.... I bought a labratory mercury thermometer and things are better. I'd go back and check these things and maybe even your hydrometer ..... Seems like something might be off

 

[MikeP]

Congrats!

I did my first AG brew last weekend and it took a little over 5 hours. I had everything planned out somewhat meticulously and it went pretty smooth. Hit my temps for the mash and sparge time, got the OG right where it should have been. It's fermenting now and i'm planning to check the gravity on ferment day #7 to see where it's at. The only thing that didn't really go exactly right was my water volume, i ended up with a tad too much after the boil, so i gotta adjust that on my next batch (which i'm planning out now)

Can't wait to get this one in bottles and see how it turns out!

 

[GRHunter]

There is a sense of satisfaction when it all goes well. I can't wait to taste my first AG beer to see how much, if any, difference there is compared to my extract batches. One good thing about AG vs extract, there is more time while brewing to drink beer.