First A.G. Batch went off Sunday...

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mhenry41h

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All and all, things worked out ok. It definitely didn't go according to plan, but it could have been worse. I hit my temps pretty well. As soon as I stirred in my grain, the temp was ready to seal up. I opened and stirred at 30 minutes (quickly) and the temp had only dropped 1 degree. At 1 hour, I had lost 3 degrees. Seems decent to me. Hiccup #1 was at sparge time. I decided to batch sparge, but I couldnt fit all of the water called for in the tun so I ended up doing 2 batch sparges for my desired boil level. At boiling I had 1 boil over but it wasnt bad. However, the freezing cold and dry PA day led to the unforseen evaporation of too much wort. I ended up with just over 4 gallons at 1.072 OG when my target was 1.052! I boiled a gallon and racked it in for just over 5 gallons with and adjusted OG of 1.059. Its looks and smells great and I thought it tasted very nice. I guess I didnt really make the exact brew I had in mind...but if it is tasty...

The brew was my own recipe for a Coconut-Cocolate Porter. I ended up boiling (for 20 mins) the toasted, unsweetened organic coconut flakes. (What a trube mess!) I used 16 oz of organic raw cocao nibs in my primary. I racked on to them and the plan is for a 10 day primary. I used Maris Otter, 40L Crystal, Brown, Chocolate, and Honey Malts. I definitely learned what I need to do better next time. I suppose that is how it goes!
 
FYI: when you batch sparge, I've found that I get 5-7% higher effeciency when I take the sparge water and do two rinses of the grain instead of one large one.

You were forced to do that, plus you boiled off more than expected, so those two things probably explain the high gravity you ended up with.

also, there really isn't any need to open and stir the mash. Every time you open the mash tun, you will lose heat. If you have an insulated cooler type mash tun and you just leave it closed, it should only lose about 1*F over the course of the mash.
 
Thanks Walker. I had a preconceived notion that stirring the mash midway would help my mash efficiency. Because I had to add boiled water, I suspect that my calculations for my brewhouse efficiency aren't really accurate. I came up with 68% which I thought was decent for my first try. Id really like to get in the mid 70's when I develop a skill for it.
 
Hey, you are making beer, that is what counts. I did my first all-grain Sunday too. Learned a few things along the way, number one: Don't brew on playoff Sunday! I also boiled off too much, I ended up with about 4.6 gallons. I decided to leave it alone. I brewed a take off of Janets Brown Ale. Gurgling along just fine now.

Cheers!
 
nicmert said:
Hey, you are making beer, that is what counts. I did my first all-grain Sunday too. Learned a few things along the way, number one: Don't brew on playoff Sunday! I also boiled off too much, I ended up with about 4.6 gallons. I decided to leave it alone. I brewed a take off of Janets Brown Ale. Gurgling along just fine now.

Cheers!

Nicmert,
There is no doubt that hands on experience is the key! There are quite a few things that I will be doing differently next time!
 
Yeah, I hear you on that one. I've spent tons of time watching videos and reading, but nothing beats some hands on. I had a great time, but will certainly do some things a little different next time.
 
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