Calculations ready for the big day (AG#1) this weekend

[Tattie bogle]

Hello,

I'm going for it this weekend with AG#1, here are my ingredients and water treatment calculation, etc. Just wondering if all the numbers look reasonable? Obviously some bits are guesswork as it's my first run through with the equipment.

Recipe = Taylors Landlord

Mash
Pale Malt (Maris Otter) (grams) 4250
Black Malt (grams) 30
totak grains (4280g)

Boil, 90 min
Goldings Hops 33 (grams)
Styrian Goldings 36 (grams)
10 min
Styrian Goldings 24 (grams)

Total Hops (93g)
1 x Protafloc last 15 mins of Boil
Alcohol content (ABV) 4.2%


Water report from Anglian Water (averages for 2010)
Hardness: Total 115 (287.5 as CaCO3)
Alkalinity 198
Calcium 112
Magnesium 2.15
Sodium 24.7
Chloride 60.4

From Grahams water treatment calculator, Target liquor = Bitter, 40L
CRS: 37.6 ml
Calcium Sulphate: 5.27 g
Magnesium Sulphate: 3.18 g
Sodium Chloride: 0.99 g

From Aleman's batch sparge calculator
Brew Length 23L
Boil Loss 15% (guess)
Loss to Hops 1L (guess)
Total Grain Bill 4.28 Kg
Mash Tun Dead Volume 0.3L (measured)
Liquor To Grain Ratio 2.5 L/Kg

28.2 L of wort is required for the boil
Collect two equal volumes of 14.1 L of wort from the mash tun
A total volume of 18.7 L of liquor is required for the first batch
Comprising of 10.7 L used in the mash and 8 L to top up with 14.1 L of liquor is used for the second batch

So does that mean mash 10.7 L, sparge#1 8L, sparge#2 14.1L? or do I just make up the volumne with treated water after sparge#1?

So far I have the water with Campden tablet overnight ready for the big day. Wish me luck

edit to add link to Brewday thread with some pics
viewtopic.php?f=24&t=40433

[Hogarth]

Those figures look good to me. You might not get 23l in the fermenter your first go, but make notes and adjust next time if necessary.

re. batch-sparging, the usual procedure would be: mash in 10.7 litres, top up with the 8 litres after 90 mins, stir, let settle, recirculate and run off. That's the first batch. Then add the 14 litres and repeat. That's the second batch.

In theory this will give you 28 litres in the boiler. In practice, once the first batch is in the boiler, see how much more wort you need in there to make the final volume, and add that amount of water to the mash tun for the second batch.

[Tattie bogle]

Hogarth, thanks. That makes much more sense in my head now.

[Andy]

Good luck! I'm sure it will go well. If you encounter any "issues" then DON'T PANIC! A quick post here will usually result in some quick assistance.

Look forward to hearing how it all goes.

[Tattie bogle]

Cheers Andy, a lot of threads talk of mistakes and still the beer is good, so that's reasuring. I'm sure there will be mistakes! Fingers crossed for good beer!

[Rick_UK]

Very thorough scientific planning which is always a good place to start. Just be aware that brewing is as much an art as a science! Water treatment especially can be a trial and error thing as there is usually a large variation from the avarage quantities of the various chemicals present. Lots of other factors can affect mash and total brewery efficiency to greater or lesser degrees so its best to think of recipes as 'guidelines' rather than cast in stone.

Recipe looks like it should be fine though, you just gotta brew it enjoy the ride and always be prepared to be flexible and tweak things as you go. In time you'll know when and where to add a more or less of something or play about with timings etc.

Rick

[Tattie bogle]

Hey Rick, yes I agree. I have been unsure how much effort to put into things like water treatment, good arguements for testing your water as it is but then a lot of posts saying how much of a difference it makes. I think I'm going to enjoy all the same. Cheers!

[Will808]

One suggestion Tattie - print out a checklist to work through; it'll help immensely and ensure you don't miss anything important. And on that checklist, add in two inch high block capitals "Ensure all taps are in off position".

i thought I was the only idiot to make that mistake first time around, but it seems quite a common one

Good luck, sir - we salute you.

[Tattie bogle]

Ha Ha, taps off! I've done that before with kits so put my name down for the idiot club.

[Texy]

Good luck TB !
All things considered, I am also planning on my AG#1 tomorrow.
I,m not bothering with water treatment for this first brew, there's enough things to think about until I learn the basics.
Well thats a small lie - I will be adding 1/2 campden tablet to each sparge waters whilst its warming up to temp.
I would also recommend printing out a check list. Also I,m planning on using only 1/2 protofloc tablet, not a whole one, based
on what I,ve read on various forum threads.
Good luck (though you've probably finished by now!).

Texy

[Tattie bogle]

Thanks Texy. I have only just mashed in due to a delay because of the nice weather out
I decided to just go for the CRS and Campden tablet for water treatment to simplify things a little.

Going well so far. One thing to note for next time, don't drop the thermometer completely into the hot water

I think my mash may be a bit hot though, measured 69C after stirring in the grain. I didn't think to added some cold water, oh well. I'll see what the final temp is in hour or so.

[therebelmc]

Hi Tattie. be interested to know how it went regarding final quantity in FV. it has taken me 5 attempts to get the desired amount. also be interested to know how the sparge went as i have had problems with stuck sparges using a copper manifold on previous 4 attempts and have today changed to the braided pipe type filter and no problems at all. Mick

[Underthethumb]

Hope it's been a success. How many hobbies are as rewarding a this? Difficult to do, and you get 40 pints at the end of it.

[therebelmc]

and a few pints during if you like!

[simco999]

Take your time and enjoy. Let us know how you get on.