adagiogray
Well-Known Member
Howdy again, all. I just made an attempt at recreating Sir Humpsalot's Hefe Candy listed here: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f70/hefe-candy-1-a-35438/
It looked and smelled delicious. In fact, after the mash, I was tempted to toss some milk on the grain and dig in.
I was working with an unusual setup, so I tried my first all-grain using a somewhat unconventional method. By all means not the most effecient or probably preferable, but I'd like to get some folks' feedback if I got enough effeciency out of the grain.
I have two 5-gallon stainless pots that I use on a glass/electric stovetop. 2 gallons in each(any more than 2.5 gals in with 12 lbs of grain and i would overflow). I have an extra large grain bag that I stretched over one of the pots. I got my water to 160/162ish, tossed in the grains, swizzled about with the mash paddle, and cut the heat. I rechecked the temp 10 mins later, i was down to the 140ish range, so I put the heat on low, swizzled some more, came back 10 mins later - ohnoes! 180!?!?!? I pulled the pot off the stove. This recipe is supposed to be on the sweeter side, so a few more unfermentable sugars from an overly hot mash probably won't ruin this one (I hope). I finished out an hour in pot #1 with it somewhere in the 160-162 range (instead of the ideal 157 the recipe calls for).
I still don't fully understand the sparge deal, but I know the idea is to get more of the sugary goodness out of the grain. With the grains soaking up fluid, I probably only had 1.5 gallons left in pot 1, but I transferred to 2 more gallons in pot#2 to rinse/get more goodness out of the grain - essentially a second mash / infusion / Not sure what you'd call it, instead of a true 'sparge/lauter'. After about 15-20 mins at 150ish, it looked about as rich and thick as the first pot, so I held it up over the pot for several minutes to let it drain, and put it in a large bowl. Would you call this a second mash or second infusion? At any rate, I poured pot#2 into #1 and proceeded with the boil and recipe as instructed. My OG right before pitching for 5 gallons was 1.062, the recipe estimated 1.060, so I wasn't too far off the mark. I added an ounce or 2 of clover honey and about 1/2 cup of table sugar up front just to make it 'my own,' which might account for the slightly higher gravity, as well as the hot mash temp.
Unless I get a bigger pot, or some mash tun situation going, I'll probably have to go with this method for all-grains, unless someone can help me get creative here. I'm not sure how I can sparge or rinse the grain without immersing in a second pot.
After reading up on this yeast I'm a little worried, too. Soemone brought his homebrew to a wedding I attended last year using this hefe yeast.... It tasted like dry, soapy banana clove, and I couldn't even get a half bottle down. I'm ok with a little banana clove, but I hope this one ends up more subtle, and sweeter.
The starter smelled a bit funky too, but from what I've read I'm not the only one that's had that with this yeast.
Feedback from you pros is appreciated. Does my method seem to work to you? What could/should I have done different? Have you had good results with WLP300? Were your starters a little off-smelling?
It looked and smelled delicious. In fact, after the mash, I was tempted to toss some milk on the grain and dig in.
I was working with an unusual setup, so I tried my first all-grain using a somewhat unconventional method. By all means not the most effecient or probably preferable, but I'd like to get some folks' feedback if I got enough effeciency out of the grain.
I have two 5-gallon stainless pots that I use on a glass/electric stovetop. 2 gallons in each(any more than 2.5 gals in with 12 lbs of grain and i would overflow). I have an extra large grain bag that I stretched over one of the pots. I got my water to 160/162ish, tossed in the grains, swizzled about with the mash paddle, and cut the heat. I rechecked the temp 10 mins later, i was down to the 140ish range, so I put the heat on low, swizzled some more, came back 10 mins later - ohnoes! 180!?!?!? I pulled the pot off the stove. This recipe is supposed to be on the sweeter side, so a few more unfermentable sugars from an overly hot mash probably won't ruin this one (I hope). I finished out an hour in pot #1 with it somewhere in the 160-162 range (instead of the ideal 157 the recipe calls for).
I still don't fully understand the sparge deal, but I know the idea is to get more of the sugary goodness out of the grain. With the grains soaking up fluid, I probably only had 1.5 gallons left in pot 1, but I transferred to 2 more gallons in pot#2 to rinse/get more goodness out of the grain - essentially a second mash / infusion / Not sure what you'd call it, instead of a true 'sparge/lauter'. After about 15-20 mins at 150ish, it looked about as rich and thick as the first pot, so I held it up over the pot for several minutes to let it drain, and put it in a large bowl. Would you call this a second mash or second infusion? At any rate, I poured pot#2 into #1 and proceeded with the boil and recipe as instructed. My OG right before pitching for 5 gallons was 1.062, the recipe estimated 1.060, so I wasn't too far off the mark. I added an ounce or 2 of clover honey and about 1/2 cup of table sugar up front just to make it 'my own,' which might account for the slightly higher gravity, as well as the hot mash temp.
Unless I get a bigger pot, or some mash tun situation going, I'll probably have to go with this method for all-grains, unless someone can help me get creative here. I'm not sure how I can sparge or rinse the grain without immersing in a second pot.
After reading up on this yeast I'm a little worried, too. Soemone brought his homebrew to a wedding I attended last year using this hefe yeast.... It tasted like dry, soapy banana clove, and I couldn't even get a half bottle down. I'm ok with a little banana clove, but I hope this one ends up more subtle, and sweeter.
The starter smelled a bit funky too, but from what I've read I'm not the only one that's had that with this yeast.
Feedback from you pros is appreciated. Does my method seem to work to you? What could/should I have done different? Have you had good results with WLP300? Were your starters a little off-smelling?
