I returned to brewing Sunday after almost a decade hiatus due to a divorce and moves. I'm brewing in the kitchen as I lost my 50X40 shop in the divorce and decided to start with a smaller 2.5-gallon batch. The current wife doesn't drink beer so a 5-gallon batch would take a while to consume.
I didn't hit my target volume. I started with 2.5 gallons of mash water with a strike temp of 163. The temp held at 151 indicated by a remote BBQ thermometer in the center of the mash. I sparged with 1 gallon of water. I sparged with 170-degree water, one gallon. I know my volumes are off. I should have had a pre-boil volume of 3.75 but only had around 3 gallons, after giving the bag a good squeeze. Looking back my total water was only 3.5 gallons. I chose 2.5 gallons mash water from the 1-1.5qt/lb of grains. I had a total bill of 6.3 grains. My SG pre-boil was 1.046, the target was 1.045. My OG (after the boil) was 1.062 target was 1.067. I had a final volume of around 2 gallons. How much Mash water and sparge water should be used. Also, my bag wasn't big enough for the kettle I had. The opening of the bag was too small. I have another on order. I had one slight dough ball when I took the spent grains out.
I also had issues keeping the boil rolling without having to keep the lid on the pot. Which would cause the wort to foam up and in turn deposit the hops in a ring above the wort line on the kettle walls. I'll use a different burner and see if it makes a difference. The pot I have has a thick metal bottom to it. I might get a thinner pot and see if it helps with the boil. Or does it even matter?
I used an entire package of Nottingham yeast. The fermentation took off within hours after pitching and continued for about 48 hours or so. This morning, about 60 hours after the boil, the airlock has equalized. No activity at all. The beer is clearing up. I had a krausen the first day. It faded away by this morning with just a few patches on the surface of the beer. The temps in the room are around 70. I'll let it clear through the weekend and bottle it depending on the SG. Maybe the minimal Karusen was due to the less than vigours boil? Any thoughts?
I shall not be deterred by the subpar return brew session. I'll brew again soon.
I didn't hit my target volume. I started with 2.5 gallons of mash water with a strike temp of 163. The temp held at 151 indicated by a remote BBQ thermometer in the center of the mash. I sparged with 1 gallon of water. I sparged with 170-degree water, one gallon. I know my volumes are off. I should have had a pre-boil volume of 3.75 but only had around 3 gallons, after giving the bag a good squeeze. Looking back my total water was only 3.5 gallons. I chose 2.5 gallons mash water from the 1-1.5qt/lb of grains. I had a total bill of 6.3 grains. My SG pre-boil was 1.046, the target was 1.045. My OG (after the boil) was 1.062 target was 1.067. I had a final volume of around 2 gallons. How much Mash water and sparge water should be used. Also, my bag wasn't big enough for the kettle I had. The opening of the bag was too small. I have another on order. I had one slight dough ball when I took the spent grains out.
I also had issues keeping the boil rolling without having to keep the lid on the pot. Which would cause the wort to foam up and in turn deposit the hops in a ring above the wort line on the kettle walls. I'll use a different burner and see if it makes a difference. The pot I have has a thick metal bottom to it. I might get a thinner pot and see if it helps with the boil. Or does it even matter?
I used an entire package of Nottingham yeast. The fermentation took off within hours after pitching and continued for about 48 hours or so. This morning, about 60 hours after the boil, the airlock has equalized. No activity at all. The beer is clearing up. I had a krausen the first day. It faded away by this morning with just a few patches on the surface of the beer. The temps in the room are around 70. I'll let it clear through the weekend and bottle it depending on the SG. Maybe the minimal Karusen was due to the less than vigours boil? Any thoughts?
I shall not be deterred by the subpar return brew session. I'll brew again soon.
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