My first batch ever was AG!

[BomberMonkey]

Hi I am a new brewer and am on my 3rd 5 gal batch of AG goodness. My first batch which was a stout went fast. I fermented it in the 6 gal glass primary for 3 weeks then racked it to a 5 gal glass secondary for 3 months. Next I bottled it and let it settle for another 3 weeks. I picked up my setup on craigslist. It is a gravity flow system with two burners 2-15 gal converted stainless keggles and a 15 gal igloo mash/lauter tun. I use a PVC and copper counterflow chiller. I live in Florida but I was originally born in Vegas. For a newb I have a lot of equipment including 7-5gal cornies and 6 carboys. When I bought my setup it came with about 200lbs of grain and 8-6oz bags of various whole leaf hops. I did a bunch of reading and lurking before starting my first batch and I have had some good reviews of my beer.

Also I am in the Air Force as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Instructor

My Wife already loves my beer!

Here is the first recipe I came up with

Mad Monkey Stout

6.5lbs Pale Malt
2.5lbs Light Munich Malt
.5lb Crystal Malt 80L
.5lb Crystal Malt 40L
3/4lb Roasted Barley
.5lb Chocolate Malt
1/4lb Black Patent Malt
1/4lb Rolled Oats
Strike 175 and Mash 153 for 60min

Then in the Wort
2oz Fuggle 3.5AA whole leaf hops for 60min from first rolling boil
1oz Willamette 4.4AA in the last 5 min
.5lb Clover Honey in last 5 min
1.5oz Molasses in last 5 min

1 packet SAFALE S-04 in starter

OG 1.058 for 5 gal
I have never checked the FG sorry!

That is it! if anyone has any questions about my recipe ask


Rick

 

[mattmcl]

Wow. Talk about just jumping in...

I suppose you didn't start off playing with bottlerockets and lady fingers either, and just went straight for the unexploded nuclear warheads too...

 

[DragonTail]

Welcome

 

[Madman]

Welcome!

Man, I wish I had your confidence to just straight to AG off the bat. I'm an IT guy, so I went as simple as possible for the first so I could nail down any bad habits, and will work my way up, overexamining every step along the way

Hats off to you!

 

[BomberMonkey]

I usually jump into most stuff with a lot of research and both feet. Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Homercidal]

Good job! I am a hobbyist too, but it usually takes me a couple tries to get it down right. I'm not doing AG yet, but soon. I am just starting to feel that I have a handle on the extract method. Congratulations on your initial success!

 

[Lil' Sparky]

I've only ever done all grain, too. I had a friend teach me and it seemed simple enough.

We recently had a guy posting questions about his single-tier RIMS setup he's building and he's never done an AG batch.

I think the only way to do a hobby right is to be gung ho about it.

 

[BomberMonkey]

I've only ever done all grain, too. I had a friend teach me and it seemed simple enough.

We recently had a guy posting questions about his single-tier RIMS setup he's building and he's never done an AG batch.

I think the only way to do a hobby right is to be gung ho about it.

Yeah beer is pretty resiliant as long as you understand what is happening.