ibbones
Well-Known Member
I places an order with Austin Homebrew and it shipped Monday. My tracking order showed it wo be here on Tuesday (Thanks Austin) and so I planned on a brew day for Wednesday.
I got my starter ready on Tuesday and set it on the counter to cool so when my box arrived, I could get the yeast to going. Box here and I had ordered four kits, two of the Stormcastle Brown Ale but only ordered one yeast tube since I was going to make a starter and step it up. I opened up the box nad the yeast (three of them) were warm to the touch. I had a freezer pack with them but Monday and Tuesday it was still in the lower 90's (South Texas). Open up the yeast and no fizz but poured it into the flask and went about my business.
Wednesday morning I got up and put my water on to heat on the stove for mash. Swirled the starter flask a few more times and there were no bubbles on top.
Got my mash tun out and set up my burner and keggle, laid out all my stuff for the first 10 gallon and was going to just double everything I normally do. Water hot enough, I put the grain in the tun adn added water at 1.25q/# but I was about 3-4 quarts shy of enough water. Only had two big pots on the stove to heat in so I did not figure right.
Two more pots on to heat while I mash and about 15 minutes later, I realized I did not add my water treatments since I use RO water. Added it anyway and stirred some more.
Then thinking since I ran out of hot water I would not have enough to sparge twice, I added some to my keggle to heat also. Go back inside and my sparge water was just about boiling so I turned the stove off. My keggle water was up to about 150* and my 60 minutes were up. I go back inside and the water on the stove cooled off to 160*. Drat's! Turned the stove back on and it took about 15 more minutes to get back up to temp so I had a longer mash.
I started to drain my tun and had a stuck sparge. There was another 30-40 minutes to drain. Poured my first sparge water in adn did not measure but it filled up my 48 quart tun. Let it set for a bit and sparged, still with a stuck drain. Another 30-40 minutes to do that. Second sparge in and again, I did not measure but I ended up with 13.5-14 gallons total to boil.
The boil went really well and I think I am only going to do nothing but 10 gallon batches from not on.
Cooling took a LOT longer and my 25' I/C will not be big enough, even with my pre-chiller in ice. I did get the temp down to about 85* so I drained into a bucket about three gallons and poured it into a sanitized carboy and got another three gallons and poured it into a sanitized bucket. Went back and added two gallons each, then one gallon. Still had some left in the BK so my 7.5 gallon carboy now has 6.5 gallons and my bucket has about 6 gallons.
Set them in my chest freezer to finish cooling and check my starter. Still has no signs of life. I do keet two packs of Muntons on hand just for such an occasion so I pitched it the next morning. Today I am bubbling along just nicely but I wanted the other yeast...sigh.
I have two more kits but I am out of dry yeast and if one got too hot, I am sure the others will be as well. I think I am going to order two more of the other ones I have for more 10 gallon batches and extra cold packs.
RDWHAHB...
I got my starter ready on Tuesday and set it on the counter to cool so when my box arrived, I could get the yeast to going. Box here and I had ordered four kits, two of the Stormcastle Brown Ale but only ordered one yeast tube since I was going to make a starter and step it up. I opened up the box nad the yeast (three of them) were warm to the touch. I had a freezer pack with them but Monday and Tuesday it was still in the lower 90's (South Texas). Open up the yeast and no fizz but poured it into the flask and went about my business.
Wednesday morning I got up and put my water on to heat on the stove for mash. Swirled the starter flask a few more times and there were no bubbles on top.
Got my mash tun out and set up my burner and keggle, laid out all my stuff for the first 10 gallon and was going to just double everything I normally do. Water hot enough, I put the grain in the tun adn added water at 1.25q/# but I was about 3-4 quarts shy of enough water. Only had two big pots on the stove to heat in so I did not figure right.
Two more pots on to heat while I mash and about 15 minutes later, I realized I did not add my water treatments since I use RO water. Added it anyway and stirred some more.
Then thinking since I ran out of hot water I would not have enough to sparge twice, I added some to my keggle to heat also. Go back inside and my sparge water was just about boiling so I turned the stove off. My keggle water was up to about 150* and my 60 minutes were up. I go back inside and the water on the stove cooled off to 160*. Drat's! Turned the stove back on and it took about 15 more minutes to get back up to temp so I had a longer mash.
I started to drain my tun and had a stuck sparge. There was another 30-40 minutes to drain. Poured my first sparge water in adn did not measure but it filled up my 48 quart tun. Let it set for a bit and sparged, still with a stuck drain. Another 30-40 minutes to do that. Second sparge in and again, I did not measure but I ended up with 13.5-14 gallons total to boil.
The boil went really well and I think I am only going to do nothing but 10 gallon batches from not on.
Cooling took a LOT longer and my 25' I/C will not be big enough, even with my pre-chiller in ice. I did get the temp down to about 85* so I drained into a bucket about three gallons and poured it into a sanitized carboy and got another three gallons and poured it into a sanitized bucket. Went back and added two gallons each, then one gallon. Still had some left in the BK so my 7.5 gallon carboy now has 6.5 gallons and my bucket has about 6 gallons.
Set them in my chest freezer to finish cooling and check my starter. Still has no signs of life. I do keet two packs of Muntons on hand just for such an occasion so I pitched it the next morning. Today I am bubbling along just nicely but I wanted the other yeast...sigh.
I have two more kits but I am out of dry yeast and if one got too hot, I am sure the others will be as well. I think I am going to order two more of the other ones I have for more 10 gallon batches and extra cold packs.
RDWHAHB...
