All Grain brewing followed to T...what happened?

[JonM]

And that Two-Hearted clone is awesome. I brewed a variation of it three weeks ago and kegged it yesterday. You'll really like it.

 

[Hops-and-Dreams]

Ok...Saturday I brewed the second Guiness clone and so far I think the results are better. First, the smack pack did its thing for about 8.5 hours. So that is better. Also, I mashed between 156-158 for 90 minutes. I know this is higher than what a lot of you suggested, but it's what the recipe suggested so I tried to follow that. At just over an hour I did an iodine test...NO STARCH!! So that is better than the first go-round. I'm amazed at the difference a few degrees will make. I did mash the entire 90 minutes though.

The only thing I did prematurely is added my hops...the Wort temp was only 188 when I added it in. I hope that doesn't play much with the flavor. Other than that I think I followed the process perfectly. We shall see... by the way...pre-boil gravity was 1.038 (adjusted for temperature), post boil was 1.050. Which is a little higher than the 1.044 stated on the recipe. I put it in the carboy this time so I can see all the action...and there is action!

It is my understanding that this is a better indicator of fermentation than the airlock. Correct?

Questions, comments, concerns?

Thanks everyone!!

Hops-and-Dreams

 

[Darwin18]

First, the smack pack did its thing for about 8.5 hours.

Congrats on the re-brew, but I feel like I should tell you that a smack pack doesn't equal a starter. All the smack pack does is proof the yeast. A starter increases the cell count and ensures that you're pitching enough healthy, hungry, and viable yeast into your wort. I've really seen the quality my beer increase significantly when using starters for liquid yeast and I wouldn't recommend just pitching the smack pack.

 

[Flipadelphia]

I'm not sure why you wanted to transfer this to a secondary for clarity. It's a stout dude.

 

[Hops-and-Dreams]

Wanted to transfer just because of all the sediment in it...that is all.

 

[LovesIPA]

If you are careful about - and good at, it does take practice - racking to the bottling bucket, you will have minimal sediment to worry about.

 

[Hops-and-Dreams]

Ok, bottled the Guniess clone last night. Took a FG reading and it is 1.016. Looking like I will get a 4.5% ABV brew like it's supposed to be. Pretty pumped about that. Took my time with the transfer to the bottling vessel so very little sediment moved with. So I used standard white sugar as my primer, and I used approx 2.75oz for the 5 gallon batch. This was based on a nomograph I got off a home brew site (forgetting which site at this moment). For a stout, are there better options?

Hops-and-Dreams


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