Gonna do my first brew in a couple hours. Hope it goes well.

[killerzees]

I only have a 22 quart stock pot. So I am going to do a half batch. Plus if I ruin it, it will only be 1 case down.

I have a 10 gallon cooler mash tun.

I am gonna use

4 lbs. 2-Row Pale Malt
1 lbs. Vienna Malt
0.25 lb. Crystal 10L Malt

.5 oz Cascade 6.6% at 60 min.
0.25 oz. Cascade 6.6% at 30 min.
0.125 oz. Cascade 6.6% at 15 min.
0.125 oz. Cascade 6.6% at 5 m

1 packet Nottingham dry yeast

So basically I am just halving the recipe.

We have all tried this recipe, but I am asking for any advice before I start?
:fro:

 

[huntingohio]

Dont panic.. its the most important thing in the game. When you freak out youll make a rash decision.
Other than that cheers!

 

[mgortel]

How did it go??? Updates?

 

[killerzees]

How did it go??? Updates?

Starting in 10 minutes. I am mad nervous. I am wondering if I should half the water or if more will boil off.

 

[passedpawn]

Good luck.

In my experience, don't drink while brewing. Try brewing very early in the AM and you'll have a much better chance at success.

 

[RM-MN]

I find that I tend to boil off about the same amount of water in a half size batch as I do for a 5 gallon batch. You can start with a little extra and boil longer to get it down to where you want to end up.

 

[killerzees]

Good luck.

In my experience, don't drink while brewing. Try brewing very early in the AM and you'll have a much better chance as success.

I think you are right, plus it will keep my old lady from yelling at me more. So the brew will be in the AM.

 

[whoaru99]

Good luck.

In my experience, don't drink while brewing. Try brewing very early in the AM and you'll have a much better chance as success.

I agree with this. Start earlier, much earlier.

 

[gcdowd]

Looks like the Bee Cave Pale Ale from Edwort. It's a tasty one. Good luck!

 

[killerzees]

So everything is sanitized, I boiled my water for 10 minutes, just waiting for it to come down to temp to start. Mad nervous.

 

[gcdowd]

Stay calm, beer is resilient. Just remember, sanitation is key. Pitch good healthy yeast and control your ferm temps.

 

[passedpawn]

I agree with this. Start earlier, much earlier.

I started heating my strike water at 4:45am today. 11g batch of pale ale done and cleaned up by 9. Woot!

 

[mgortel]

In my experience, don't drink while brewing. Try brewing very early in the AM and you'll have a much better chance at success.

Yeah....but then you don't have any excuses if something goes wrong!

I prefer to consume while I brew.....but that's just me....perhaps these guys are right....at least for your first several brews. What I do, is make sure I have my brew steps outlined in detail...in writing....before starting.....to make them idiot proof...or, uh drunk proof (as possible).

 

[killerzees]

Ok so I added another gallon of boiling water since my temps were at 147 and needed to be at ~ 159. Didnt seem to raise the temps I hope this works.

 

[mgortel]

Sounds like you are winging your strike temperature addition......??

You need to pre-calculate the strike water temperature needed to get to your mash temperature.....this will be based on the following:

- Target Mash Temp
- Grain Bill weight
- Mash tun Specific Heat and Weight (basically how much heat your mash tun will absorb from strike water) - This can be determined through a simple experiment.
- Volume of water needed for step (i.e. mash in volume, sparge volume)

Same goes for Sparge water addition temperature.......

Also, for boil-off rate (so you know what your preboil volume needs to be)....u need to do a dry run with water to determine boil off rate for your setup.

Sounds complicated on the temperature calcs, etc....but it isn't especially if you have brewing software like Beersmith. They have a free 21 day trial...check it out

To late now for this batch, BUT, don't worry.....you will still make beer it may just not be the exact flavor, etc. you were trying for, but it will be fine

Here is a link to my first AG brew session that I was posting live....will give a little bit of a feel for how things go....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/reporting-live-my-first-all-grain-batch-248346/

Keep us updated.....

 

[passedpawn]

Use Beersmith or similar software to determine your water additions (amount and temp). I use Beersmith and I've got it dialed in for my system. If I enter the grain and mash tun temps, I can hit my mash temps very, very closely.

 

[Yooper]

I started heating my strike water at 4:45am today. 11g batch of pale ale done and cleaned up by 9. Woot!

You know that 4:45 AM is NOT morning. That's still the friggin' middle of the night. I'm just saying.




I think a mash temp of 159 is way too high, so hopefully that was a typo!

 

[passedpawn]

You know that 4:45 AM is NOT morning. That's still the friggin' middle of the night. I'm just saying.

Yea, it felt like it. Was chilly at that hour (brewing outside).

 

[mgortel]

I admire your dedication though! I save the 4:45AM mornings for fishing or hunting

BTW...where are you located?

 

[killerzees]

Sounds like you are winging your strike temperature addition......??

You need to pre-calculate the strike water temperature needed to get to your mash temperature.....this will be based on the following:

- Target Mash Temp
- Grain Bill weight
- Mash tun Specific Heat and Weight (basically how much heat your mash tun will absorb from strike water) - This can be determined through a simple experiment.
- Volume of water needed for step (i.e. mash in volume, sparge volume)

Same goes for Sparge water addition temperature.......

Also, for boil-off rate (so you know what your preboil volume needs to be)....u need to do a dry run with water to determine boil off rate for your setup.

Sounds complicated on the temperature calcs, etc....but it isn't especially if you have brewing software like Beersmith. They have a free 21 day trial...check it out

To late now for this batch, BUT, don't worry.....you will still make beer it may just not be the exact flavor, etc. you were trying for, but it will be fine

Here is a link to my first AG brew session that I was posting live....will give a little bit of a feel for how things go....

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f36/reporting-live-my-first-all-grain-batch-248346/

Keep us updated.....

Thank you for your advice. I was trying to follow the all grain bee cave recipe. It just cooled down a lot more than I had expected. I am going to try that 21 day free trial and try again when one of my carboys free up. Or just buy a third one

 

[killerzees]

ok so I'm bringing it up to boil, I checked the OG before boiling and its 1.018 at 150 degrees, so I calculated that to be 1.034. So there should be some alcohol.

 

[mgortel]

Did you stir your wort before taking sample for OG reading?

Might have missed it if you mentioned it...but what is your pre-boil volume?

 

[killerzees]

Did you stir your wort before taking sample for OG reading?

Might have missed it if you mentioned it...but what is your pre-boil volume?

No I did not, ~ 3.5 gallons. Gonna take a second OG reading before tossing in the yeast. Which will be momentarily. OK after adding the hops and cooling it the OG is 1.043 corrected for temperature.

 

[gcdowd]

Thank you for your advice. I was trying to follow the all grain bee cave recipe. It just cooled down a lot more than I had expected. I am going to try that 21 day free trial and try again when one of my carboys free up. Or just buy a third one

I just use an app on my phone called brewzor. It's free and has a strike temp calculator. I use it to calculate my strike temp and then I heat my strike water to about 10 degrees warmer than the calculator tells me. By the time I pour the water into the mash tun and let it pre heat, it's down to the temperature calculated by the app. And even if not, I'll just stir it until it comes down to the strike temp I need. Makes it so much easier IMO.

 

[killerzees]

I just use an app on my phone called brewzor. It's free and has a strike temp calculator. I use it to calculate my strike temp and then I heat my strike water to about 10 degrees warmer than the calculator tells me. By the time I pour the water into the mash tun and let it pre heat, it's down to the temperature calculated by the app. And even if not, I'll just stir it until it comes down to the strike temp I need. Makes it so much easier IMO.

This is what I will do next time. I also need to make an immersion chiller.

 

[killerzees]

So I took a sample out to check the OG, it appears to be at 1.009 so I am going to bottle it tomorrow. The problem is, it seems to have MAD sediment in it. Like not just yeast residue, but hulls and hops. How can I get rid of this?

 

[gcdowd]

First off all, I'd leave it at least another week, it'll clear up more. Then, rack carefully.

 

[killerzees]

came out very drinkable!

 

[hopsfan76]

Good luck.

In my experience, don't drink while brewing. Try brewing very early in the AM and you'll have a much better chance at success.

But I love drinking while I brew!!! I thought that was customary in this hobby?!