First All Grain Brew!!

[VladTheImpaler]

Boil off rate is huge, I have mine set to 1.75 gallons but I have a large pot and an aggressive boil. Also fermenter deadspace as well as loss to boil kettle trub are important too. Just do a cheap batch, record all of these things on a piece of paper, then enter the actuals into Beersmith. Then next recipe you'll know your efficiency %, boil off rate, fermenter losses etc, and you'll hit your OG near perfect every time as long as everything you do is fairly consistent.

Boil off rate is measure by the hour right? That way if you have a 2 hour boil or something it'll still be accurate?

Boil off rate seems pretty easy to figure out, but how exactly do I calculate loss to trub in the boil kettle and fermenter dead space?

Or is it super simple and I'm just overthinking it?

 

[trav77]

Boil off rate is huge, I have mine set to 1.75 gallons but I have a large pot and an aggressive boil. Also fermenter deadspace as well as loss to boil kettle trub are important too. Just do a cheap batch, record all of these things on a piece of paper, then enter the actuals into Beersmith. Then next recipe you'll know your efficiency %, boil off rate, fermenter losses etc, and you'll hit your OG near perfect every time as long as everything you do is fairly consistent.

Yes - off the top of my head probably the most important measurements are pre-boil volume, pre-boil SG, post-boil volume, post-boil SG. Also knowing mash tun dead space and volume left in the kettle (hops/trub) will help.

I'm setting up my new eBIAB system in BrewSmith sometime this weekend so I'll let you know if there are any other parameters that are helpful.

 

[trav77]

Also should mention that SG measurements are influenced by wort stratifying (denser, higher SG wort can sit at the bottom of your kettle while less dense, lower SG wort is on the top). Make sure you mix to homogenize as much as possible before pulling a sample.

 

[jjw5015]

Can't tell if you're in a garage or basement, but maybe open some windows?

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Yes - off the top of my head probably the most important measurements are pre-boil volume, pre-boil SG, post-boil volume, post-boil SG. Also knowing mash tun dead space and volume left in the kettle (hops/trub) will help.

I'm setting up my new eBIAB system in BrewSmith sometime this weekend so I'll let you know if there are any other parameters that are helpful.

That would be awesome if you could share if you see something else super important, I really appreciate yours and everyone else's help and pointers for the newbie.

Any idea on what the easiest way to calculate fermenter dead space would be?

Also should mention that SG measurements are influenced by wort stratifying (denser, higher SG wort can sit at the bottom of your kettle while less dense, lower SG wort is on the top). Make sure you mix to homogenize as much as possible before pulling a sample.

Gotcha, mental note made! Does temperature have any ill effects on your SG reading using a hydrometer?

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Can't tell if you're in a garage or basement, but maybe open some windows?

Haha I was in my garage with the garage door wide open the whole time.

 

[jjw5015]

Haha I was in my garage with the garage door wide open the whole time.

Haha perfect. That's an impressive garage if it can be confused with basement

 

[trav77]

Any idea on what the easiest way to calculate fermenter dead space would be??

Again... there isn't really such a thing as fermenter dead space. Do you mean mash tun dead space? This is the volume let behind in your mash tun after lautering due to your false bottom pickup being higher than the bottom of the tun. It's easy to calculate, just fill the tun above the false bottom with water, drain it via the outlet. Water left over in the tun is your dead space volume. Pour it out into a bucket and measure how much there is.

Gotcha, mental note made! Does temperature have any ill effects on your SG reading using a hydrometer?

Yes it has a huge effect. Density decreases with increased temperature. Most hydrometers are calibrated to 20 C. You can measure wort hot, measure temperature and then adjust your SG reading based on that (another feature of BS or many online calcs). I find it best though to cool it to close to 20 C and then take the reading.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Boil off rate is measure by the hour right? That way if you have a 2 hour boil or something it'll still be accurate?

Boil off rate seems pretty easy to figure out, but how exactly do I calculate loss to trub in the boil kettle and fermenter dead space?

Or is it super simple and I'm just overthinking it?

Yes it's per hour. If you hold your mouse over the field in BeerSmith it will tell you what it is specifically.

Well you can either eyeball it or measure them yourself if you want it to be spot on. Once you're done draining into your boil kettle and start boiling, go back to your mash tun, tip the hell out of it and measure how much wort you get. Same with post boil, measure how much is left over once you've filled your carboy.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Does temperature have any ill effects on your SG reading using a hydrometer?

yes, most are calibrated to 60F. I recommend getting a refractometer for preboil OG and checking gravity during the boil, as you only need a few drops of wort to get a reading. Check your gravity at preboil once it starts boiling as well as about halfway through. If you're not where you need to be gravity wise, you can make boil intensity adjustments and/or get some DME to compensate for an expected missed lower gravity if you so choose. With a hydrometer this is difficult to do because you have to wait for the wort to cool down before taking the reading, which takes awhile and in these situations you're more looking for on the fly data.

If you get your Beersmith set up properly and do everything the same each time as far as your steps and volumes, you'll notice you'll become incredibly consistent with your numbers and won't have to worry about these things as often, but it takes awhile when you're new.

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Haha perfect. That's an impressive garage if it can be confused with basement

It was already dark out when the pictures were taken so maybe all the artificial light makes it look like a basement! But I was amazed that I could fit all the brewing stuff in there along with all my other junk and still have room to park my car!

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Again... there isn't really such a thing as fermenter dead space. Do you mean mash tun dead space? This is the volume let behind in your mash tun after lautering due to your false bottom pickup being higher than the bottom of the tun. It's easy to calculate, just fill the tun above the false bottom with water, drain it via the outlet. Water left over in the tun is your dead space volume. Pour it out into a bucket and measure how much there is.



Yes it has a huge effect. Density decreases with increased temperature. Most hydrometers are calibrated to 20 C. You can measure wort hot, measure temperature and then adjust your SG reading based on that (another feature of BS or many online calcs). I find it best though to cool it to close to 20 C and then take the reading.

I was referring to MapleGroveAleworks comment regarding fermenter dead space, that's why I was a little confused.

Originally Posted by MapleGroveAleworks View Post

... Also fermenter deadspace as well as loss to boil kettle trub are important too...

Maybe he can expand on it a little as far to why it's important or how to calculate it exactly as opposed to maybe eyeballing?

yes, most are calibrated to 60F. I recommend getting a refractometer for preboil OG and checking gravity during the boil, as you only need a few drops of wort to get a reading. Check your gravity at preboil once it starts boiling as well as about halfway through. If you're not where you need to be gravity wise, you can make boil intensity adjustments and/or get some DME to compensate for an expected missed lower gravity if you so choose. With a hydrometer this is difficult to do because you have to wait for the wort to cool down before taking the reading, which takes awhile and in these situations you're more looking for on the fly data.

If you get your Beersmith set up properly and do everything the same each time as far as your steps and volumes, you'll notice you'll become incredibly consistent with your numbers and won't have to worry about these things as often, but it takes awhile when you're new.

I was actually looking into getting a refractometer. From my understanding they're not affected by temperature and the only calculation needed is for reading FG because the alcohol present skews the numbers some.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

I was referring to MapleGroveAleworks comment regarding fermenter dead space, that's why I was a little confused.

Originally Posted by MapleGroveAleworks View Post

... Also fermenter deadspace as well as loss to boil kettle trub are important too...

Maybe he can expand on it a little as far to why it's important or how to calculate it exactly as opposed to maybe eyeballing?



I was actually looking into getting a refractometer. From my understanding they're not affected by temperature and the only calculation needed is for reading FG because the alcohol present skews the numbers some.

correct, refractometers aren't very useful post fermentation, but they are incredibly useful for on the fly adjustments on brew day.

I meant mash tun deadspace, not fermentor deadspace so please disregard that.

 

[VladTheImpaler]

correct, refractometers aren't very useful post fermentation, but they are incredibly useful for on the fly adjustments on brew day.

I meant mash tun deadspace, not fermentor deadspace so please disregard that.

Gotcha! Thanks for clarifying, you had my newbie brain all confused bahaha.

Any recommendations on what Refractometer to get? I've been looking around and there's a bunch out there. Any serious advantage to getting a digital one?

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Gotcha! Thanks for clarifying, you had my newbie brain all confused bahaha.

Any recommendations on what Refractometer to get? I've been looking around and there's a bunch out there. Any serious advantage to getting a digital one?

Yeah definitely ignore the refractometers on like Northern Brewer, most of their regularly priced stuff is way overpriced. Here's an ebay link that'll work great.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-32-Brix-W...eer-Fruit-Juice-Wine-Test-Scale-/351913861307

Keep that handy during the brew. Preboil OG, mid boil OG, and can compare with a hydrometer to post boil OG once it cools down for the hydrometer. You can even take first mash runnings gravity quickly and easily with just a few drops with this if you so choose. It's really indispensible. Hydrometers are great for post cooling of the wort and post fermentation and that's about it. And no, no need for a digital one. I use the one I linked you and it's worked great.

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Yeah definitely ignore the refractometers on like Northern Brewer, most of their regularly priced stuff is way overpriced. Here's an ebay link that'll work great.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-32-Brix-W...eer-Fruit-Juice-Wine-Test-Scale-/351913861307

Keep that handy during the brew. Preboil OG, mid boil OG, and can compare with a hydrometer to post boil OG once it cools down for the hydrometer. You can even take first mash runnings gravity quickly and easily with just a few drops with this if you so choose. It's really indispensible. Hydrometers are great for post cooling of the wort and post fermentation and that's about it. And no, no need for a digital one. I use the one I linked you and it's worked great.

Perfect! I'll probably be ordering that right now!

And forgive my ignorance, because I know collecting as much data as possible is extremely important, but what would the benefits of getting mid-boil and first runnings SG be?

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Perfect! I'll probably be ordering that right now!

And forgive my ignorance, because I know collecting as much data as possible is extremely important, but what would the benefits of getting mid-boil and first runnings SG be?

I'll answer the rest soon but don't order the one i sent you, it only does Brix units and then you'll have to convert each time. Do this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-32-Brix-W...074933?hash=item3d1c50fdb5:g:WRcAAOSwvg9XUn--

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

And forgive my ignorance, because I know collecting as much data as possible is extremely important, but what would the benefits of getting mid-boil and first runnings SG be?

Mid boil gravity is important because until you have your process and Beersmith really dialed in you will probably be off sometimes on your post boil OG, and this will help you pro actively fix that during the boil.

For example, let's say you begin brewing a batch of a beer you want the SG to be 1.050. Depending on the boil off rate you set in Beersmith and other factors, it'll probably tell you your pre boil OG should be around 1.038 or so. Let's say you nail that great. You scoop a sample out with a spoon mid boil, take another reading. Oh no! You're at 1.048 already. So you're probably boiling too hard, driving off too much water and driving the gravity up too quickly. Now you can attempt to fix the problem mid boil instead of doing nothing until the wort is chilled, taking a hydrometer reading and sadly seeing you're at 1.056 and having to dilute the wort with water to get back to where you need to be.

Once you get Beersmith running properly you'll be much more dialed in and this won't be as much concern, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't take mid boil readings every time still myself. It's just nice to know where you're at, and it only takes a couple drops of wort. I still blow on it for a bit in the spoon to cool it down a hair.

For first runnings gravity, honestly I don't do this, but I know others do to see how efficient their richest wort is. This can help with calculations later but I really don't mess with that.

 

[VladTheImpaler]

I'll answer the rest soon but don't order the one i sent you, it only does Brix units and then you'll have to convert each time. Do this

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-32-Brix-W...074933?hash=item3d1c50fdb5:g:WRcAAOSwvg9XUn--

Well crap, I already ordered it lol. Let me see if I can cancel that order.

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Well crap, I already ordered it lol. Let me see if I can cancel that order.

If you can't I apologize, but thankfully the functionality of the device is the same. Just google Brix to specific gravity conversion chart, print it off and tape it up in your garage. Easy peasy. Heck within a few brews you'd have it memorized anyway.

 

[VladTheImpaler]

If you can't I apologize, but thankfully the functionality of the device is the same. Just google Brix to specific gravity conversion chart, print it off and tape it up in your garage. Easy peasy. Heck within a few brews you'd have it memorized anyway.

No worries, I don't see why eBay won't let me cancel an order 5 minutes after placing it in error!

I actually found that same one on Amazon with free two-day shipping because Prime is the greatest thing I've ever paid for... other than brewing goodies! :rockin:

I can't wait to brew the same batch again on Tuesday and see if any of my numbers improve!

 

[VladTheImpaler]

So I went to go check on the beer in the fermenter today and noticed some off-white flake things falling down through the beer to the trub. Then I looked closer and noticed the same "flakes" floating in the krausen. Not to be all "omg is my beer infected", but... OMG is my beer infected?


Here are the pics:

 

[jjw5015]

No

 

[VladTheImpaler]

No

Well, sweet!

Out of curiosity, what is it? Just the yeast flocculating?

 

[jjw5015]

Yup. yeast floaties

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Today was our second brew day! Everything was going wonderful until the main water line to my house burst and the plumbing guys came out to fix it. We had all the water measured out already for mashing and sparging, so we were all good there since my water got shut off. The issue came up after the boil when we had no water to run through the wort chiller or any water for an ice bath. The wort has been sitting in my fridge for the past couple hours, but it's still super warm.

Any ideas on how to cope with this? Or if I leave it in the fridge long enough to cool it down, what negative effects will it have on our beer?

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Today was our second brew day! Everything was going wonderful until the main water line to my house burst and the plumbing guys came out to fix it. We had all the water measured out already for mashing and sparging, so we were all good there since my water got shut off. The issue came up after the boil when we had no water to run through the wort chiller or any water for an ice bath. The wort has been sitting in my fridge for the past couple hours, but it's still super warm.

Any ideas on how to cope with this? Or if I leave it in the fridge long enough to cool it down, what negative effects will it have on our beer?

People chill overnight all the time and pitch the next day. You're fine, especially if you sanitized everything well.

 

[VladTheImpaler]

People chill overnight all the time and pitch the next day. You're fine, especially if you sanitized everything well.

I was a complete freak about sanitizing everything yesterday. When I got up this morning to pitch the yeast, however, there were these... "clouds" inside the beer. What in the world are they?

I still just aerated and pitched the yeast, but I've never seen them before.

Pics below:

 

[MapleGroveAleworks]

Just protein and hops forming together, they'll soon sink to the bottom. Again, no worries.

 

[VladTheImpaler]

Just protein and hops forming together, they'll soon sink to the bottom. Again, no worries.

Maple, you da man! Thanks a lot for all the help brother. I have no idea what I'm doing over here lmao.

I pitched the yeast at a bit of a higher temp than I meant to because I had to leave for work and I ran out of time. So I just aerated and pitched at about 77*. So we'll see what happens.

Also, the OG reading with the refractometer was way higher than the 1.054 we measured on or first batch. We kinda over shot the landing a little bit because we were supposed to end up at 1.066 and it looks to be about 1.069.