Perfect storm of problems!

[Remy]

So I’m new to this. I have brewed four batches of all grain brew three ales and a lager. Our (bro in law) first was a cream ale done with an experienced home brewer who has retired from it. It had issues but was good. We didn’t have much of a recipie and ended up with 3 gal instead of 5. We figured out that problem so no repeats there. Next we had an issue doing a double brew one night one the second brew we noticed our insta read thermometer wasn’t correct and we were no longer certain about our mash temps. We added the required water at an adjusted temp we calculated to be the right temp for our 10 gallon cooler tun at 180 to hold at 156 for an hour but when we added it went up to 200 ! At that point we didn’t trust any numbers and after kegging and carbonating they tasted like cardboard. Then I found the chart for adding co2 and for liquid lines and I am 9 ft short. But that has been negated by a leak in a corney keg I thought was good and it drained 800psi out of my tank.
So after learning all these mistakes we have decided that when we do a mash we’re going to start At the desired temperature possibly a little less water so we can add the water we are going to keep heated as it sits and maintain the temperature for some reason I had it in my head when we first started that it was much like the fermentation process where you stay hands off other than some stirring of the mash.
We are brewing kits now and that has helped but our problems have taught us also. I would love some tips to eliminate learning by mistakes!

 

[AJinJacksonville]

When you're doing the kits, they usually provide pretty complete directions about mash temps, etc. I think a bit part of all of this is starting off slowly and deliberately to learn the processes, what's happening when, to develop good habits that are repeatable. For me, the entire mash-in process begins with ensuring the cooler is clean, making sure my digital thermometer is not wonky, pre-heating the cooler with hot water, pouring in the hot water, ensuring the temp is at what I've calculated (let's say 165 degrees), then mashing in.

If you treat each step as its own step, and do it the same way every time then you'll get repeatable results. For AG brewdays, I make sure I take a screenshot of my water volume amounts, mash temps, etc. The calculators take into account your amounts, desired mash in temps, grain temps, etc.

If you are not using brewing calculators for your all grain process, I'd highly recommend that.

Also, if you have not calibrated your thermometer, or have a POS one, that'd be a good idea...or to invest in a good quality digital thermometer.

Once you make it more scientific in processes (from the recipe, through the calculators to the brew day), and sanitize, and take notes...you'll screw up less and it'll be more enjoyable. From the sounds of it, you jumped in the deep end in several processes and batch sizes. Keep it manageable and fun, but drinkable and repeatable.

 

[Remy]

Thanks and yes we did! We do not take any short cuts on the cleaning and sterilization processes but we are learning more about the steps and the understanding of what is going on during the process ie during the mash we had previously thought that the amount of water was the focal point but now we know that temp and time and thickness of the mash are all focal points and yes a thermometer that is accurate lol
Also water proof as the battery one we were using was accidentally dropped into or bucket of star San mid brew lol

 

[AJinJacksonville]

Hahaha. Man...it was a perfect storm!

Alot of what you're going to do or try to do will be based on your equipment on hand, time constraints, size restrictions, etc. Some will insist that you should start off with 1 gallon batches to learn the process, etc. I thought I was pretty conservative in my start...using buckets...a six gallon kettle, etc. That all worked great until I wanted to do all-grain...and then I had to invest in a bigger kettle, a mash tun cooler, etc.

After a few years, I'm confident in my processes, although on each brew day there is always a potential for a catastrophic failure...just like any given golf day for me...haha.

 

[Dinadan]

Look at the bright side: a person learns a lot more from messed up brews than from brews where everything goes smoothly! There is intellectual learning that a person gets from books, and there is gut learning that a person gets from drinking several gallons of beer that tastes like cardboard.

 

[SouthBounds]

It happens. You will get things to line up.

 

[Remy]

My retired friend has given guidance and sold us his equipment but with out him all of our research in books and websites and YouTube’s leave gaps but I’m confident our next batch will be great! We have given ourselves too little time for error and problems ! But thanks for the support and hopefully our mistakes can give someone else a heads up on all the things that can go wrong! L

 

[IslandLizard]

Perfect Storm indeed. Amazing how things tend to pile up suddenly. Negotiating curveballs is an essential part of brewing.

I feel an accurate and reliable thermometer is the minimum requirement for good all grain brewing. Followed by an efficient way to separate the wort from the grist.