how not to brew

[MikeFlynn74]

Ok- today started out well-

Mashtun was ready- nice copper manifold-
Keggle was ready
So I add my RIS888 kit- the Grain to the tun,
heat up 2 gallons to 164- Transfer to the grain and stir.
Heat up another 2 gallons and transfer them too.

Grain is nicely soaked- Use a paddle to stirr and get everything well mixed. Take temp 155. Good. Cover and let sit for 60.

Go to my truck to get the burner. Open truck- WTF? where did it go? Damnit, my buddy took it back the day after I borrowed it. Damn, what do I do now?

sigh- Here we come to 3, 2gal boils. Well after the first 2 gal boil I find a second pot to do a second 1 gal boil. so while one is burning the other can start.

Well I drain the tun into a 5 gallon carboy forgetting to recycle the first runnings, getting a ton of sediment in the carboy. I only see these when I take a hydro reading. Hydro reads 1.072 @125. Not bad I think. I really have no idea.

So I collect all the original runnings. Then add 2 more gallons *170 to the tun. Wait 10 and then drain. I have about 5.3 gallons there. Should have collected more.

Anyways off to the boil- First 2 gallons, added the hops true to schedule and boil for 60. Transferr to the ice batch and then to the fermenter. Clean kettle and refill with 2 gallons restart boil. I also started a 1 gal boil about 2min later. Both end and 10 prior to the 2 gallon ending I add the 1% alc boost as I am worried about the SG. Chill and add both. Find out Im about 3/4 gallon short but the SG is 1.088.

A moronic decision made by me I decide to add 3/4 gallon of boiled water but thinking of the SG I also add 1lb corn sugar. In hindsight I would have left the thing short. But I am gonna ride this one out.

I really whish I could blame EdWort for my trouble but- I keep thinking, if Egyptians and the welsh can make beer. Mine will be ok.

Please berate me and my style- My 7hr pennance was deserved.

 

[Warped04]

Congrats! You're way ahead of me. Doesn't look as bad as you made it out to be.

 

[shafferpilot]

I have two things:

"What is your time worth?"

"How much is a turkey fryer?"

Time to go get your OWN burner!

Awesome to hear that you managed to pull it out of a hat, even if it did take all day

 

[MikeFlynn74]

Thanks- Im gonna get the 23 tip burner when I get back.

http://www.instawares.com/natural-gas-23-tip.tfs-226800n.0.7.htm

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Anyways off to the boil- First 2 gallons, added the hops true to schedule and boil for 60. Transferr to the ice batch and then to the fermenter.

Wait, did you add all the hops for the batch only during the first 2-gallon boil, rather than splitting them up between the three boils?

 

[MikeFlynn74]

Wait, did you add all the hops for the batch only during the first 2-gallon boil, rather than splitting them up between the three boils?

the schedule was-

Warrior- 60min
Fuggles- 20min
fuggles- 0 min.

so I didnt see the point in adding them in different boils. Figured id get the same effect in the one.

If this is wrong- let me know.

BTW- its got a nice 1" thick foam cover right now. bubbling like crazy.

 

[cheezydemon]

Less hops utilization due to the smaller volume.

Also don't be too hard on the Welsh and the Egyptians.

 

[Yooper]

the schedule was-

Warrior- 60min
Fuggles- 20min
fuggles- 0 min.

so I didnt see the point in adding them in different boils. Figured id get the same effect in the one.

If this is wrong- let me know.

BTW- its got a nice 1" thick foam cover right now. bubbling like crazy.

Well, it's not "wrong" really. Except that hops utilization depends on the sg during the boil. When I had to do split boils, I tried to "even" them up. I collected all the wort first together, and then split them evenly along with the hops. The higher sg of the first boil will dramatically decrease your hops utilization.

 

[MikeFlynn74]

I see-

more food for thought

 

[Bobby_M]

Whatever you do, don't pay $70 for that burner. Holy S....


http://www.cpapc.com/store/23-Tip-Round-Nozzle-Jet-Burner-natural-gas-P469C244.aspx $17 here...

At one point I found a deal on them for TWICE that price if you buy a case of 10.. I wish I had seen this $17 guy before.

You do have a nice big natural gas line right? These require really good flow.

 

[WOP31]

RDWHAHB your beer will turn out fine


Cheers

 

[MikeFlynn74]

Thanks Bobby-

My porch is on the second floor above the gas lines. So plumbing would not be an issue. Thanks for the link!

Thanks to all who say its want totally fed up. Its got a nice 3" think head on it now.

 

[MikeFlynn74]

Although its overkill-

http://www.cpapc.com/store/32-Tip-Round-Nozzle-Jet-Burner-P470C0.aspx

I might go with this one

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Assuming that your first boil was in fact more concentrated than the others (first runnings), then you will be getting decreased utilization from your hops as a result.

But that's not the only problem - Even if all three of your boils are the same gravity, you also have the issue of saturation - bitterness saturates around 100 IBU's, at which point it's not going to dissolve any more bittering compounds. This might not be a problem if your recipe had very low IBU's, so even in the small first boil it'd still be below saturation, but I am assuming that for an imperial stout your recipe calls for fairly high bitterness - If your first boil is around 2 gallons and saturates at 100 IBU's, once you combine it with the other 3 gallons of unhopped wort, the bitterness of the overall batch will be way lower - a measly 40 IBU's if the dilution process is purely linear (not sure if it is)...

 

[Poindexter]

Wow, three for three, this brew is a butt kicker. You guys have been adequately warned.

 

[Warped04]

Wow, three for three, this brew is a butt kicker. You guys have been adequately warned.

You talking about the 888?

Does that mean the year is cursed?