First brew

[Sokrateez]

Hi there. I just brewed my first batch on Sunday. It was my first batch ever and I started with all-grain, and me and my brother (ahem, brew assistant!) had a fantastic time. Learned a lot of do's and don'ts for next time, the sorts of things you THINK you know but really only learn when you spill water and wort all over the place! Anyway, I had a few questions about my procedure and the possible results.

Everything started out well, strike water was exactly 151.6f, my target temp, and over the hour of mashing it only lost 4 degrees. When it came time to sparge though (batch sparging), I started out releasing wort straight into the pot instead of vorlaufing first! Oh well, only a bit of wastage. Anyway, when it came time to sparge, I just poured it straight into the grain, nothing covering the grainbed with anything. Is this okay?

Also the collection of the wort has me worried. I heated up the sparge water in my 5 gallon pot first, but since my sparge water was 4.5 gallons of water, I transferred to my 8 gallon pot, so of course I first had to collect the first portion in my 5 gallon. Once my 8 gallon was empty, I just dumped the 5 gallon in and collected the rest of wort as normal, but when I think about it, will this create oxidization problems?

I was wondering about extraction efficiency too. I checked the gravity of the stuff in the pot before boiling, at 125f, and it was 1.022. After the delta g, that comes out to around 1.033. I think that works out to an efficiency of 63.3%. What possible reasons could there be for such a low extraction?

After the wort was in the pot, it was time to boil. It took a while to get up to 210f, but once it got there, it wouldn't budge. I'm thinking my stove doesn't have the btus to get the wort to boil. So after much deliberation, and suffering watching my precious wort steam away bit by bit, I split up the wort, some into my 5 gallon. I took a saucepot and used it as sort of a ladle and spooned the wort into the 5 gallon, I'd say 33% was in there. Again, will this be an aeration/oxidization problem? And what would be a better way to do a split boil until I can afford an outdoor burner? Also I have no idea how you guys measure volume? Do you do everything bit by bit with a measuring cup or is there something simple I'm missing?

So I got the two pots to boil, added my hops, whirfloc, and after 60 minutes it was time again to risk (hopefully only in my mind) oxidization. I just dumped the 5 gallon into the 8. Problem? Is this beer just going to basically be cardboard flavoured?

I shut down the boil, chilled down to 75f in 15 minutes (also found a small leak in my immersion chiller! That was fun to sit and hold for 15 minutes). Then came time to pitch yeast. Due to a bit of misinformation, I felt a starter was not necessary, and in the heat of the moment I completely forgot to shake up the vial (White Labs British Ale Yeast)! I just dumped it into the pail and then poured the wort over top, the only time in the process I'm not worryed about having pouring wort (I only ended up collecting some 3.7 gallons if my pail is measuring it right). I filled up the airlock with sanitized water, threw the lid on and placed it in my water bath. It's been sitting now for 42 hours at 68-72f, after having started fermeting around 30-36 hours (I think?). I was going to make this post last night, asking if this thing was ever going to ferment, but I think all those smells coming out of the fermenter means it's churning away in there.

So, any other issues you guys can see? I'm going to be brewing in a couple weeks again, on the Sunday after Canada Day, and would like to know what I should do different, apart from not spill so much!

 

[djsethall]

Good job sir. You popped your brew cherry. Even more reputable is you didn't use lube (jumped straight to all grain instead of extract). My hat is off to you. It sounds like you learned a lot in your first brew session. As far as measuring your wort, you can graduate your carboy by filling it quart by quart and making lines with a sharpie. Good job again!!! If you have questions on your next brew, feel free to shoot me a pm, they come instantly to my phone.

 

[theonetrueruss]

you'll wind up with beer.. keep on brewing

 

[Ziggybrew]

Been listening to podcasts and reading recent articles.... According to the expert brew scientists: Don't sweat about or fear oxidation. It is almost a non-issue compared to other factors.
I stand up an applaud you starting in AG. Yes, folks learn allot starting with extract --BUT-- I think maybe some brewers think that if they paid their dues doing extract; you have to.
Just dive in. and go with it. Extract is just a "recent invention" for brewers. AG was always the norm.
You made beer. Love it. Enjoy it. Brew again!
Tips: Use a checklist and rehearse the choreography in your mind. Prepare and have everything ready at-hand. Then "Relax, Don't Worry, Have a Home Brew" and have fun.

 

[prrriiide]

Anyway, when it came time to sparge, I just poured it straight into the grain, nothing covering the grainbed with anything. Is this okay?

As long as your efficiency didn't suffer from water channeling, I don't see it being a problem. Might not work as well every time, but if you're happy with it this time, s'OK I guess.

Also the collection of the wort has me worried. I heated up the sparge water in my 5 gallon pot first, but since my sparge water was 4.5 gallons of water, I transferred to my 8 gallon pot, so of course I first had to collect the first portion in my 5 gallon. Once my 8 gallon was empty, I just dumped the 5 gallon in and collected the rest of wort as normal, but when I think about it, will this create oxidization problems?

Since this is all pre-boil (I assume), it shouldn't cause any oxidation problems. As I understand it, oxidation is really only a problem after you get it in the fermenter.

I was wondering about extraction efficiency too. I checked the gravity of the stuff in the pot before boiling, at 125f, and it was 1.022. After the delta g, that comes out to around 1.033. I think that works out to an efficiency of 63.3%. What possible reasons could there be for such a low extraction?

It might be the sparge technique. If you didn't get a good rinse on your grains, it'll lower your efficiency quite a bit. When you dumped the sparge water in, did you move your dumping vessel around or did you just hold it in one place and pour it in?

The whole idea with sparging is to rinse the residual sugars off of the grains after mashing. After the mash, there will still be a lot of sugars clinging to the grains and husks. So you have to rinse them. This is sparging. We don't call it rinsing because then all the non-brewers would know what we're talking about. Did you stir it while and after adding the sparge water?

After the wort was in the pot, it was time to boil. It took a while to get up to 210f, but once it got there, it wouldn't budge. I'm thinking my stove doesn't have the btus to get the wort to boil. So after much deliberation, and suffering watching my precious wort steam away bit by bit, I split up the wort, some into my 5 gallon. I took a saucepot and used it as sort of a ladle and spooned the wort into the 5 gallon, I'd say 33% was in there. Again, will this be an aeration/oxidization problem?

Not likely.

And what would be a better way to do a split boil until I can afford an outdoor burner?

You can get a 30 qt. Bayou Classic turkey fryer online for less than $60. But short of that, I would do partial boils until you get one.

Also I have no idea how you guys measure volume? Do you do everything bit by bit with a measuring cup or is there something simple I'm missing?

I have a plastic pitcher that I marked with a sharpie. Each quart and the gallon point.

So I got the two pots to boil, added my hops, whirfloc, and after 60 minutes it was time again to risk (hopefully only in my mind) oxidization. I just dumped the 5 gallon into the 8. Problem? Is this beer just going to basically be cardboard flavoured?

You should be fine.

So, any other issues you guys can see? I'm going to be brewing in a couple weeks again, on the Sunday after Canada Day, and would like to know what I should do different, apart from not spill so much!

Make a starter for liquid yeast. Partial boil then top off. Look into your sparging technique. Do some reading on efficiency and how to predict what it should be. Bobby_M gives you a really good primer on all-grain - mash temps, sparging, efficiency, all of it. I would read that a couple of times before your next brew day. And follow Zig's tips.

RDWHAHB!!

 

[boo boo]

Everything started out well, strike water was exactly 151.6f, my target temp, and over the hour of mashing it only lost 4 degrees.!

First welcome to HBT from another Canuck. Koodos for starting AG from the get go. Took balls, but at least you will have your virgin run over with.

I hope you mean you had your mash at that temp and not just your strike liquor. Adding water at 151 or so will cool down to a lot less than mashing temperature as the grain is cold and more than likely your mash tun also.
I use aprox 180f water to cool down in my tun to aprox 163f before adding my grist, so I get a mash temp of around 151. I use software to calculate it.
Adding hot water to the tun to let it cool down pre heats the tun so it don't lose any temperature when I start the mash.

Cheers

 

[Insomniac]

I'm new to all this (especially the beer side of things!), but surely oxidising before fermentation starts is fine (and possibly wanted?) as the yeasties will just use it to reproduce?

 

[Sokrateez]

Thanks for all the tips guys! Good to hear that I shouldn't have need to worry. That primer cleared a few things up about the sparge too, should help my efficiency for next time. I was wondering though, since my bulkhead and drain is a bit higher than the bottom of the tun, there is quite a bit of liquid left on the bottom (deadspace) when I empty the spent grains. When I sparge, would it be acceptable to tilt the tun slightly to get at a little more of this wort?

And yes boo boo, I meant the temperature when all was said and done and mashing began. I preheated the tun with hot water to minimize heat loss, then added my strike water at around 161f.

I have another question as well, now that I think of it. I remembered just in the nick of time to check my gravity when the wort finally went into the fermenter. Almost forgot, thinking I only needed pre-boil gravity, but figured I'd take a reading anyway. Was surprised to find it at 1.050, my target gravity! Is it normal for a gravity to jump such a substantial amount from pre- to post-boil?

I've just arrived home to work to the wonderful smell of fermentation and a bubbling airlock (some 60 hours later!)! Very excited now! How will I last the weeks 'till bottling day?

 

[prrriiide]

I have another question as well, now that I think of it. I remembered just in the nick of time to check my gravity when the wort finally went into the fermenter. Almost forgot, thinking I only needed pre-boil gravity, but figured I'd take a reading anyway. Was surprised to find it at 1.050, my target gravity! Is it normal for a gravity to jump such a substantial amount from pre- to post-boil?

The SG of the post-boil wort should always be higher then the pre-boil, because you have boiled off some of the liquid thus concentrating the sugars in the wort.