With -4.45 in my bank account, a bag of marris otter malt, one bag of wyeast British Ale yeast, and some cascade hops, I set about brewing my first batch of all-grain beer the day before yesterday. I had no brew kettle, no real mash-ton, and pretty limited everything.
I aimed for a mash temperature of 152. I put the grain and water in a bucket and wrapped it up tight in a sleeping bag. An hour later, it had only dropped two degrees.
I had to strain the wort off through a colander and a tea strainer. Lots of fun. Same for sparging.
I went to get my hydrometer and . . . damn. Broken. No reading.
Cooled it outside in the cold winter air and pitched the yeast at 80. Now it's bubbling merrily.
The only thing that sucked a bit was the ridiculous mess created from the half-assed way I tackled this project. I'm going to work my way toward better equipment as I progress.
I aimed for a mash temperature of 152. I put the grain and water in a bucket and wrapped it up tight in a sleeping bag. An hour later, it had only dropped two degrees.
I had to strain the wort off through a colander and a tea strainer. Lots of fun. Same for sparging.
I went to get my hydrometer and . . . damn. Broken. No reading.
Cooled it outside in the cold winter air and pitched the yeast at 80. Now it's bubbling merrily.
The only thing that sucked a bit was the ridiculous mess created from the half-assed way I tackled this project. I'm going to work my way toward better equipment as I progress.