Praying for good weather for 1st AG

[McCall St. Brewer]

Well, I am hoping the big day will finally be here this weekend for my first Excellent AG Adventure. The big question is will the weather cooperate. (We have already established in an earlier thread a couple of weeks ago that I am offically a wimp who should not even live in Wisconsin). (I refused to wade through 3 feet of snow to get to my propane tank and to get my hose out to connect to the chiller).

The snow is almost gone now, so really I guess it's just a question of hoping it's not pouring rain.

I've got everything I need now. Er-- well, I guess some grain and yeast would be a good idea to have on hand-- oh, and maybe a recipe would help-- oh, wait, some propane would help, too-- but I do have all my gear collected up.

So, now it's just wait until Saturday and pray for decent weather.

Any suggestions on what to brew? I'm thinking either an ESB or an IPA would be a good first AG.

 

[cweston]

I think a good first AG would be an AG version of a beer you've brewed before and really liked. That gives you a good point of comparison on flavor, color, etc.

 

[the_bird]

Congratulations on making the leap!

I'd start with a fairly basic recipe. Doing something that you've already done as extract is a good idea. If you wanted to do something different, a nice ESB or APA would be a good choice. As long as it's not TOO complicated a recipe (so that you can think about process, not getting the timing right on twelve hop additions), you should be fine.

 

[zoebisch01]

Yup good advice has been given. A simple Ale is probably the best route. That way you can focus on the process rather than worrying about other problems.

 

[abracadabra]

Move on down to Georgia I haven't seen a single snow flake all year.

And if the state and local governments weren't so Bass-ackwards it would be a
great place to live.

On second thought move to FLa. at least they don't have any income tax.

 

[Brewiz]

Move on down to Georgia I haven't seen a single snow flake all year.

And if the state and local governments weren't so Bass-ackwards it would be a
great place to live.

On second thought move to FLa. at least they don't have any income tax.

Youv'e got that right Brother...

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

The weather here in Paradise (Waukesha, Wisconsin) seems to be cooperating. It's sunny out this morning and seems to be warming up a little bit.

I've got all my gear ready to go and 10 lbs. of grain. I'm going to make an ESB with mostly Maris Otter.

The only snag I see so far is that I'm going to need a bigger kettle very soon. I thought that the one that came with my Walmart Backyard Classics turkey fryer kit was big enough, but this A.M. I filled it up with water and 6 gallons came within a couple of inches of the top. Trying to boil that could be pretty hairy. Well, until I get a bigger pot, I may be looking at either short batches or watered beer if I want to make 2 full cases.

Wish me luck! I'll report later on how things go.

 

[EdWort]

The only snag I see so far is that I'm going to need a bigger kettle very soon. I thought that the one that came with my Walmart Backyard Classics turkey fryer kit was big enough, but this A.M. I filled it up with water and 6 gallons came within a couple of inches of the top. Trying to boil that could be pretty hairy.

Good luck. It will change your life! You should be able to boil 6 gallons just fine with that pot as long as you have a spray bottle of water handy and you do not leave it unattended. I boil 7 gallons in my 8 gallon pot all the time this way. Check out my [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoo5UvVr-AQ"]Preventing Wort Boilover video on Youtube[/ame] and get that spray bottle setup while your mash is steeping this morning.

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

Thanks, Ed. I'll look for a spray bottle.

Here is the recipe I am trying today:

ESB

9 lb. Warminster Maris Otter
5/8 lb. English Crystal 55L
3/8 lb. Crystal 10L

2/3 oz. Kent goldings bittering
2/3 oz. Kent goldings flavoring
2/3 oz. Kent goldings aroma

 

[EdWort]

Looks like a tasty beer. Be sure to taste your mash runoff and then your raw wort after boiling and cooling. It makes for interesting an experience and you'll learn what to expect at each step in the process.

 

[McCall St. Brewer]

Just finished cleaning up. Five hours from start to finish, including cleaning. I wanna do this again!

Things went smoothly for the most part. Overshot my mashing temp a bit, but put in a quart of cooler water and got that right. I also heated my sparge water too soon and put it in the sparge tank. When it came time to use it I had to re-heat some of the water to get it back up to temp.

After Christmas I did a full boil extract batch so I was used to using my turkey fryer and wort chiller. Man, do those two things ever make brewing more enjoyable.

Now I just need some patience to see how this batch turns out. That's the tough part.