I’d like to get started..

[palmtrees]

Sorry.. am I posting too much? I didn’t think I’d have time to take pics, let alone post.. but it’s not as intense as I thought it would be.

I do have a question though.. when do I check the initial PH and OG?

When I take pH, it's usually just ten minutes or so into the mash. No point to taking any ph readings after the mash is done. OG should be taken after the boil, ideally after you cool because temperature impacts gravity readings.

You can also take a gravity reading of your mash before you start the lautering process to make sure you've hit the level of conversion you're shooting for. It can be very helpful as you're learning how to do all grain. Brewer's friend has a great mash efficiency calculator. You can plug in your grains and your gravity reading, and it will tell you the percentage of potential sugars you've pulled from the grain. Pretty much anything above 70% is good to go, though I hit 82% on my mash this morning. Depends on your equipment, the grain and the day. But I almost always measure mash gravity before I finish a mash because sometimes I'm only at 60% for some reason, so I let it sit for a bit more until I've gotten more sugars out.

 

[Jag75]

Sparging takes forever!!

Didn’t like the looks of this when I pulled up the basket…

I kept the overflow at a very minimal rate, so hopefully there’s not a lot down on the filter!


View attachment 752545

Did this top screen just fall when you were cleaning or did you install it at the bottom?

 

[Big_D]

Ok.. the Grainfather app states my OG should be 1.048 per my recipe. I just pulled a sample, let it cool to room temp and tested it.. I’m at 1.051. Is that bad?

 

[Big_D]

Did this top screen just fall when you were cleaning or did you install it at the bottom?

It was still in place on the top, but seems to have shifted during the mash. May be due to the cam lock conversion I put on. I opted to get the Robobrew (I think) arm which is taller than the Grainfather arm. Due to that, my silicone hose is above the liquid level when pumping, I‘m thinking it might have compacted/channeled the grain causing it to shift. I’ll get another hose before next brew day to confirm.

 

[Big_D]

And on the first one don't go too hard on the drinking, clear mind as Jackson Browne once said!

oh yeah, have some fun!

These totally contradict each other!

 

[Big_D]

We’re at a boil.

This is awesome in so many ways! One, there’s 6 gallons of potential awesomeness sitting there boiling! And two, I made it!!!

First round of hops in the spider shortly!

 

[Deric]

Ok.. the Grainfather app states my OG should be 1.048 per my recipe. I just pulled a sample, let it cool to room temp and tested it.. I’m at 1.051. Is that bad?

Nothing wrong with that!! In homebrew numbers you pretty much nailed it.

Keep track of the numbers. If your next 2-3 batches come out the same (.003 over expected) you can make adjustments.

 

[Jag75]

Ok.. the Grainfather app states my OG should be 1.048 per my recipe. I just pulled a sample, let it cool to room temp and tested it.. I’m at 1.051. Is that bad?

No that's good!. So your efficiency was a tad better then thought .

 

[Big_D]

Nothing wrong with that!! In homebrew numbers you pretty much nailed it.

Keep track of the numbers. If your next 2-3 batches come out the same (.003 over expected) you can make adjustments.

No that's good!. So your efficiency was a tad better then thought .

Awesome.. so I’m headed in the right direction!

Couple this with one of my mean briskets and I’m in heaven! I love cookin, especially when it’s something I enjoy!

 

[Jag75]

I'm smoking a turkey as we speak . I'll be putting a brisket on at 11 pm tonight . That Brisket looks amazing!

 

[Big_D]

I'm smoking a turkey as we speak . I'll be putting a brisket on at 11 pm tonight . That Brisket looks amazing!

Very nice!! Looks amazing!!

 

[Big_D]

I'm smoking a turkey as we speak . I'll be putting a brisket on at 11 pm tonight . That Brisket looks amazing!

Is that a Traeger?

 

[Big_D]

Two rounds of hops in, sanitizing the coil now.. gettin close!

Word to the wise.. that little temp bulb is HOT!!!

 

[Jag75]

Is that a Traeger?

Campchef

 

[Big_D]

Transferring nicely..

 

[Big_D]

Campchef

Nice!

 

[Big_D]

Well, I raised the Grainfather up to allow the pump to pull as much wort out as possible. I’m pretty sure there’s about 6 gals in the unitank.. not bad! The temp dropped all the way to 62.5 using the CFC, I was impressed to say the least! I pitched the yeast, sealed her up, and set the controller to 65F. Hopefully in a couple weeks I’ll have something that resembles beer!

I’d like to give a huge THANKS to all that have helped in this endeavor! I can truly say… without this forum, I would not be this far along in this hobby! It’s only been about 2 weeks since I decided to give home brewing a shot!

Now for the Porter kit I bought!

Hmmm… I do have a spare fermenter sitting there!


-David

 

[bracconiere]

nothin but mutton, huh? lol


congrats!

 

[superiorsat]

If I recall correctly you also have a spare keg( 2 kegs on tap at the same time sounds like a winner). Double brew days save on cleaning/sanitizing supplies I double batch every time I brew. Same goes for kegging days. I usually brew 2 12ish gallon batches and split them so for example you could have a chocolate porter and the other be a peanut butter porter, and then lets say a split a cream ale batch one cherry and one peaches. I end up with 4 each brew day but 2 would be totally good enough if I only looked at this as a hobby.

 

[Big_D]

nothin but mutton, huh? lol


congrats!

Appreciate it! Now for the hard part.. the waiting.

 

[Big_D]

If I recall correctly you also have a spare keg( 2 kegs on tap at the same time sounds like a winner). Double brew days save on cleaning/sanitizing supplies I double batch every time I brew. Same goes for kegging days. I usually brew 2 12ish gallon batches and split them so for example you could have a chocolate porter and the other be a peanut butter porter, and then lets say a split a cream ale batch one cherry and one peaches. I end up with 4 each brew day but 2 would be totally good enough if I only looked at this as a hobby.

Yep, I was thinking the same thing keg wise. I’m going to have to do some more reading.. how do you make it a flavored porter?

 

[superiorsat]

You can add cacao nibs (I usually toast to bring out the flavor and to sanitize) to the fermenter but that usually doesn't give me a ton of chocolate flavor just a hint of smooth faint chocolate, if you want more noticeable chocolate flavor I use 100% cacao powder and it can go in the boil or fermenter. PB2 is my favorite powdered peanut butter ( just found out the Walmart brand doesn't come through fermentation well, only bought because they were out of PB2)for beer and I put it in the fermenter before I add the wort. I'm kind of a sanitation freak so If it isn't going to be boiled I will heat treat pasteurize what ever is going into the fermenter. For a peanut butter powder I will put aluminum foil over a baking sheet and weigh out a pound of powder and spread down the middle of the foil then kind of rap it like a tin foil burrito and bake at 170 degrees for an hour, let cool, then dump in the fermenter right before transfer of the wort. As far as flavoring any beer with other ingredients here is a few ways to deal with that. Coconut same process except I toast/brown then rap put back in as oven cools, this would go in a weighted bag in fermenter, fruits I use a hand held blender to puree heat to pasteurize then cool and add to fermenter. Lots of ways to add flavors and I prefer natural as I cannot stand anything artificial or extracts.

 

[Big_D]

Awesome info! Thank you!

I’ve got some PB2, might give that a shot on the porter. Do you have a conical? Just wondering if that would affect how well it takes the flavor?

 

[superiorsat]

I don't use any conical fermenters for homebrewing so what ever ingredients that go into the fermenter at the start are in there all the way to kegging. In your case you will be dumping the cone but once fermentation has run its course I see no harm in dumping the cone.

 

[Big_D]

Ok.. so it’s been a bit since the chaos of the first Brew Day (it actually wasn’t bad at all) so figured I needed to update the thread. So, I brought the wife out to the garage the night before Brew Day to show her what she had gotten me for Christmas. She wasn’t thrilled, but was accepting, so I headed out today to pick her up something nice (a Beretta APX ). When I got back home, I found that my temp had climbed about .5 of a degree. I’m thinking great, what happened?

 

[Big_D]

Then I immediately noticed this.. looks like we’re cooking baby!

 

[Big_D]

I thought I’d get away with not using the cooler/chiller pump setup, but looks like it’s going to produce its own heat. I’ve got a/c in the garage, it’s set to 61F now until I get the cooling equipment hooked up. It’ll be much cheaper to run the pump in a cooler of ice water though verse the a/c, especially since I’ve got a 120gal reef tank out here that needs to stay at constant 78F.

 

[bracconiere]

i'm still having a hard time believing this is your first brew though....

 

[jrgtr42]

Awesome.. so I’m headed in the right direction!

Couple this with one of my mean briskets and I’m in heaven! I love cookin, especially when it’s something I enjoy!


View attachment 752557

Yo\u'll need to join in on the Meat Smoking, Curing & Sausage Making | Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum subforum.

 

[Big_D]

i'm still having a hard time believing this is your first brew though....

Appreciate it brother!! Hopefully, with the guidance of y’all, I’ll be a pro one day!

Took a few minutes and hooked up the cooling side of things. It consists of a cooler with holes in the lid, a small dc pump, some insulated lines, a 1gal frozen jug of water and about 3 gals of tap water. Within a minute, it brought the temp down to .1F below the set value!