I recently brewed my first beer and thought that my experience, psychological anguish and squeaky bum time may benefit other fellow beginners.
Despite in theory having prepared all the details for my first brew day, I discovered soon enough that in practice not is all as it seems.
I would say it was mostly a success, at least in that I haven't yet palmed the brew off to the in-laws, and it seems to be fermenting anyway, but I will outline the points I would say I didn't quite get to grips with. Some of them I hadn't really thought about at all until the time came.
These notes I took should be self-explanatory:
So, in summary, I'd say that there is a lot of work to do to get it right next time, especially with regard to mainting a steady mash temp and nailng the pH. Hopefully, it will still be beer, but I'm a bit concerned about the lactic acid which ended up being 8% malt acid equivalent in the grist. I realise this is way beyond the acceptable levels.
Will it be drinkable?
Oh yeah, the last thing is... drink less of the 3 Monts on brew day
Despite in theory having prepared all the details for my first brew day, I discovered soon enough that in practice not is all as it seems.
I would say it was mostly a success, at least in that I haven't yet palmed the brew off to the in-laws, and it seems to be fermenting anyway, but I will outline the points I would say I didn't quite get to grips with. Some of them I hadn't really thought about at all until the time came.
These notes I took should be self-explanatory:
Start brewday earlier in the morning! The time I spent washing, wiping, sanitising, etc, was way more than I had counted on.
Get to grips with the induction hob heat settings or prepare insulation for the mash pot. It was very hard to control the heat. The bottom of the pot was at times 10°C (18°F) higher than the surface and that was with almost constant stirring. This was likely exacerbated by the small batch. Juggling the hob was tough but I think all the temps I stayed in were brewable, just not precise. I think I cycled through from about 60°C (140°F) to about 72°C (162°F) and back again many times. Hopefully the brew won't mind. I tried to keep the middle of the mash at around 65°C but it was like spinning plates.
Let the thermometer stabilise for longer before mash in. I'm using a classic analogue cooking thermometer which takes longer to adjust than I thought.
Spoon in grains to avoid clumps rather than dump it all in at once. I had a bit of frantic stirring for a couple of minutes but a whisk soon spread it out. Made my man jewels sweaty.
Be more attentive to boil overs. I had a couple of splashes but just needs more eyeballing and attention.
Write down additions as I go as opposed to trying to remember. At one point my memory had a meltdown and I couldn't remember how much baking soda I put in! Too much happening I suppose. Luckily my brain rebooted but I really should have taken notes at the time.
Let the mash pH settle, i.e, not panic by adding *emergency additions* too soon. Paranoid with the pH meter readings, I hastily over-reacted with the lactic acid and baking soda. This sent my pH all over the shop, although it was always within brewing range. I should have added half of what I thought I needed and adjusted from there. I've no idea what this will do to the brew. I took readings at 5.6, 5.8, 5.1 and finally 5.4.
Trust calculators for salts and acids. They make more sense than my cheap yellow pen meter which, by its own admission, can be 0.1 or 0.2 out. I eventually got the meter to concur with the calculators, around 5.4, but it would have happened sooner and with less additions if I had just went with the original recipe instead of trying to adjust on the fly in a panic-stricken tizzy.
Invent a better bag squeeze method. Hands work fine but I almost cramped up! It also took longer than I thought. My bag is quite tight. A bit like Mother Teresa's... no, let's not go there.
Squeeze the hop bag unless it's very bitter. I tasted this wort and it was fine. I would have had no qualms drinking it. Unfortunately I had already decided it wasn't to go in. Seems like a waste! Yes, Scottish.
Add some loose ice cubes to the sink for faster wort chilling. I chilled in the sink with frozen plastic bottles. I needed 45 mins to get to pitching temps.
Be careful with sugar additions. I found that it added more gravity points than I had realised. Again, like the salts and acid I would add half of what I think I need for next time. I could have left it out altogether since my recipe was for a 70% extraction, but I already had 82%, which was quite a surprise for my first brew and I'm at least pleased about that. I imagine that was aided by the big 1950's tri-phase corn crusher, (I suppose in-laws can be useful!). So, no sugar for next time if I use the same crush.
So, in summary, I'd say that there is a lot of work to do to get it right next time, especially with regard to mainting a steady mash temp and nailng the pH. Hopefully, it will still be beer, but I'm a bit concerned about the lactic acid which ended up being 8% malt acid equivalent in the grist. I realise this is way beyond the acceptable levels.
Will it be drinkable?
Oh yeah, the last thing is... drink less of the 3 Monts on brew day