Punched my ticket for the AG club today

[skifast1]

First AG batch is in the can as of 30 minutes ago. It may come out tasting like ass, but thanks to all the patient experts here who suffer us AG n00bs.

The good:

• The threads in this forum are invaluable, if only to remind us that there's more than one way to skin a cat
• I hit my target temp spot-on. Chalk up another one for the big orange Rubbermaid MLT crowd.
• I spent the time beforehand to itemize the steps and it definitely saved me from making more than one dumb-ass mistake from trying to do 3 things at once.
• Doing a batch sparge was very manageable.

The bad:

• I chose a nice big bock for my first AG batch, which combines both a big grain bill and my first attempt at a lager. Not the smartest choice.
• BeerTools called for 7.5 gals total against my 14lb grain bill to end up with 6 gals pre-boil, but I ended up with just about 5 gals after my batch sparge. After boiling I was down to just a hair under 4 gallons in the primary. Not a huge deal, but that's a lot more grain absorption than I expected.
• It was very hard to get the wort down to pitching temp. I had a starter bubbling away at 52deg, but even after using an IC with a pre-stage ice bath I was only able to get to 75 (probably didn't help that it was still 85 deg and humid as hell here in Chicago tonight). I cheated and used ice to bring it down to the mid-60's and pitched there, then put the whole thing in the lager chest back at 52 deg.

The ugly:

• Holy balls does the heat bring out the bugs. Thankfully we're past the cicadas, but i could close my eyes and imagine I was in the Amazon tonight. I probably brought a few hundred into the house going in and out all night. Almost makes you miss the cushy stove-top extract brews....almost
• Had my first boil-over tonight. 5 gals in a 9 gal pot and WHOOSH, there she blew (hey now).
• I completely forgot to take an OG reading (leftover extract brewer habit), so I have absolutely no clue on my efficiency. I'll let my taste buds be the judge for this round.

 

[turfguy1969]

I just did my first on Friday. I would never have attempted without this forum. i also had a hot evening in Buffalo last night and it seems that with my larger pot, it holds the heat in the SS way longer than a 5 gallon. i pitched a little warmer than i usually do also, but my smack pack was at room temp all day 79 degrees anyway.

I'm sure your brew will come out fine. Bug Bock Lager??maybe? I found when doing a lager, and after researching on the forum, that starting your ferment in a warm, ale temp range, is beneficial for a day. I then put it in lager fridge that is lowered in temp incrementally, a couple hours at a time. Just my experience with extracts.

 

[98EXL]

I am looking for kegs to convert to keggles before I go AG. I'm glad to see that it is managable as most things. I know this forum as well has helped me on many things

 

[skifast1]

Bug Bock Lager??maybe?

Great idea - Beetle Bock it is

 

[FlyGuy]

Hey Ski -- congrats on the Beetle Bock. Sounds like you had a successful brew day, and you obviously learned a lot in the process. I bet the beer turns out fabulous, too! You will have to be sure to send us an update when it is done.

 

[skifast1]

Thanks Fly - appreciate the encouragement! I'll feel even more encouraged when I see some fermentation activity; I think I put the yeast to sleep by tossing the whole primary into the lager chest (52deg). I pulled it out yesterday into a mid-60's basement to wake the little guys up.

Edit: Juuuust starting to see some very intermittent bubbles this morning (t+36 hours) at 64 deg. Out of curiosity I checked the starter volume calculator at http://www.mrmalty.com/calc/calc.html and with the older yeast I was using ("best-by" date of March 07) I shouldn't have been surprised at such a slow start. The calculator estimated the viability at just 10% and called for something like 6 smack-packs(!).

Another lesson learned: support your LHBS and be confident you can get fresh yeast!