So, I brewed my first batch of beer without a drop of extract in it today. It was a Bavarian Hefeweizen, in honor of this beautiful spring weather. It was a half batch (2.5 gallons) based on EdWort's recipe. This is because I only have a 12 qt. pot right now, but also because I've only brewed a handful of styles, and I tend to get antsy about brewing a new batch halfway through the 5 gallons of the last one.
Anyway, a few comments. First of all, mashing. Ugh. Not for the faint of heart. I'm using a 10 gallon Rubbermaid MLT, and only needed to add a gallon of strike water to my 5.5 gallons of grain. Well I use a SS analog thermometer probe, and I just kind of stuck in in the grain after mixing it. Well even though I raised the heat to 172', after 5 minutes the grain was only 140'. I added some boiling water, just to have the temp rise to 160'. I kept having to add boiling and cold water until I finally hit 152', but with about twice the strike water necessary. Because of this, I only ended using about half of the runnings from my sparge addition.
I definitely need to mark my pot or mash paddle so that I know how much liquid is in there.
Also, this is the first time I've used an anti-heading agent in the boil. I just wanna say what a difference it makes! I still managed to boil over for a second (of course) but after that I was able to leave it alone for the entire hour. I'm on an electric stove, and I usually have to adjust the temp. up and down continuously. Not very fun. But yea, with just half a package of the anti-heading agent my LHBS supplied added at the beginning of the boil, it was smooth sailing. I will definitely be adding this to my monthly grocery list.
Anyway, the wort is in the carboy, and the supplies are in the dishwasher. It took up the whole evening, but hey, it's a labor of love. I know that things will go more smoothly the next time around.
Anyway, a few comments. First of all, mashing. Ugh. Not for the faint of heart. I'm using a 10 gallon Rubbermaid MLT, and only needed to add a gallon of strike water to my 5.5 gallons of grain. Well I use a SS analog thermometer probe, and I just kind of stuck in in the grain after mixing it. Well even though I raised the heat to 172', after 5 minutes the grain was only 140'. I added some boiling water, just to have the temp rise to 160'. I kept having to add boiling and cold water until I finally hit 152', but with about twice the strike water necessary. Because of this, I only ended using about half of the runnings from my sparge addition.
I definitely need to mark my pot or mash paddle so that I know how much liquid is in there.
Also, this is the first time I've used an anti-heading agent in the boil. I just wanna say what a difference it makes! I still managed to boil over for a second (of course) but after that I was able to leave it alone for the entire hour. I'm on an electric stove, and I usually have to adjust the temp. up and down continuously. Not very fun. But yea, with just half a package of the anti-heading agent my LHBS supplied added at the beginning of the boil, it was smooth sailing. I will definitely be adding this to my monthly grocery list.
Anyway, the wort is in the carboy, and the supplies are in the dishwasher. It took up the whole evening, but hey, it's a labor of love. I know that things will go more smoothly the next time around.
