I didn't even bother originally posting about my first all-grain attempt, as I had written it off as a complete failure. I brewed a Ordinary Bitter on 2/8/12 - and was so focused on all the new things I had acquired over the Christmas season that I screwed quite a bit up.
The most glaring mistake made, was not stirring my mash enough (BIAB) so my initial temperatures taken were highly inaccurate, which led to heating my mash up to 167F, which it sat at for about 10 minutes or so. I got my hose and hosed down my Mash-Tun, and was able to bring the temp back down fairly quickly, and then finished out the mash at 153F for a 90 minute mash now (instead of the planned 60 minute) - I did so hoping that letting it sit longer at the appropriate temperature would hopefully counter-act some of the damage I had done.
Long story short, my OG came in at 1.031 - quite low, and most likely due to my high/inconsistent temps, but I pitched anyways. This is my third batch, so I figure if one is screwed up, I might as well finish it out and see how it goes.
This batch was my first batch using a lagerator, a 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler with a lid made from insulation with water up to the beer line. For the first three days I used ice blocks to maintain the temps around 66-67 - much more consistent than fermenting at room temps.
So today I drew off a sample, and got a FG of 1.009 - and gave her a taste. It seems a bit off-balance, most likely because my recipe was hopped for a 1.038 OG, compared to 1.031, but other than that, it is definitely drinkable! Now contemplating letting her sit for another week, or bottling now and getting another batch under my belt. Anyways, figured I'd share my "Success" with you all.
p.s. This beer tastes FAR superior to my first two, which were plauged by a green garden hose, which I had used to supply my brewing water (I now use a white RV drinking hose + a carbon filter), and a leaking IC chiller (only discovered that during this brew as I used it as a pre-chiller - noticed my pre-chiller bucket kept filling up with water!)
The most glaring mistake made, was not stirring my mash enough (BIAB) so my initial temperatures taken were highly inaccurate, which led to heating my mash up to 167F, which it sat at for about 10 minutes or so. I got my hose and hosed down my Mash-Tun, and was able to bring the temp back down fairly quickly, and then finished out the mash at 153F for a 90 minute mash now (instead of the planned 60 minute) - I did so hoping that letting it sit longer at the appropriate temperature would hopefully counter-act some of the damage I had done.
Long story short, my OG came in at 1.031 - quite low, and most likely due to my high/inconsistent temps, but I pitched anyways. This is my third batch, so I figure if one is screwed up, I might as well finish it out and see how it goes.
This batch was my first batch using a lagerator, a 10 gallon Rubbermaid cooler with a lid made from insulation with water up to the beer line. For the first three days I used ice blocks to maintain the temps around 66-67 - much more consistent than fermenting at room temps.
So today I drew off a sample, and got a FG of 1.009 - and gave her a taste. It seems a bit off-balance, most likely because my recipe was hopped for a 1.038 OG, compared to 1.031, but other than that, it is definitely drinkable! Now contemplating letting her sit for another week, or bottling now and getting another batch under my belt. Anyways, figured I'd share my "Success" with you all.
p.s. This beer tastes FAR superior to my first two, which were plauged by a green garden hose, which I had used to supply my brewing water (I now use a white RV drinking hose + a carbon filter), and a leaking IC chiller (only discovered that during this brew as I used it as a pre-chiller - noticed my pre-chiller bucket kept filling up with water!)
