My procedure - Comment ?

Get advice on making beer from raw ingredients (malt, hops, water and yeast)
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Bigbud78
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My procedure - Comment ?

Post by Bigbud78 » Thu Feb 15, 2018 6:20 pm

After discussions on another thread I though I'd put this up here instead of continuing to derail that thread, if anyone has any comments or thoughts I would love to entertain them. I can provide additional info or photos of gear ect if it helps :)

I'm always looking for ways to improve the quality of my beer and have invested a modest sum in stainless with plenty of DIY :lol: Although my gear is not top of the range by any means.

Main issue is time, with two small children I tend to start brewing when I walk in the door after work then put the kids to bed during mash then i'm up till midnight finishing the rest off.

I mash in a thermo pot and batch sparge, I vauloff then transfer to my kettle via a 300 micron hop spider. This then gets cleaned whilst coming to the boil (on propane) for use with my hops, I'll start recircing the wort thorugh pump at 15 to go along with putting in chiller and irish moss if not a neipa (depending what i'm brewing) after a steep below 80 degrees I'll chill with an immersion chiller then transfer via pump to my FV when at pitching temps without any filtering but I'll try and leave the gunge at the bottom of the kettle.

I dump out the trub after 24 hours (will be looking at this for my next beer) then when fermentation slows down I'll increasing temp for diacetyl rest where I leave it for 48 hours ish then if its finished I drop it to 12 degrees for 24 hours, down to 4 degrees for 24 hours then 1 degree for 2-3 days.

I tend to monitor this with my Tilt if I can be bothered to set it up.

I usually dump the yeast when its at 12 degrees depending on dry hop quantity and time but this along with dry hopping is something I vary a bit depending on what i'm brewing.

Its then transferred by co2 to keg via the filter where I leave it at 12 psi for two weeks.

Ive been looking at o2 bottles for oxygenation and have my pump so was going to try recircing the mash at 45 mins for 15 mins to see if it effected the clarity of wort or efficiency.

Jim

wolfenrook
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Re: My procedure - Comment ?

Post by wolfenrook » Thu Feb 15, 2018 10:55 pm

All looks fairly typical to me, other than recirculating the boil (all in ones do this though I believe).

Where do you perceive a problem? If this is the particles from pellets thing again, either use whole hops (which are easier to get rid of), or use a hop bag with more hops to offset the loss of utilisation if you perceive any. I got sick to death of dealing with trub and pellet gunk, so made the switch and haven't looked back since.

This is a brewing hobby forum though, so lots of folks will have different suggestions. It's your brew day though, always keep that in the forefront of your mind.

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Sadfield
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Re: My procedure - Comment ?

Post by Sadfield » Thu Feb 15, 2018 11:43 pm

Read the other thread and I'm not sure where there is an issue. If you put 3-400g of pellet hops loose into a fv to hop a NEIPA, I'd be amazed if it transferred without the odd bit getting through. I think the responses are possibly a misunderstanding or from brewers who approach brewing and beer from a more traditional perspective.

Bigbud78
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Re: My procedure - Comment ?

Post by Bigbud78 » Fri Feb 16, 2018 1:07 am

Sadfield wrote:Read the other thread and I'm not sure where there is an issue. If you put 3-400g of pellet hops loose into a fv to hop a NEIPA, I'd be amazed if it transferred without the odd bit getting through. I think the responses are possibly a misunderstanding or from brewers who approach brewing and beer from a more traditional perspective.
Yeah that’s what I thought to be honest but I’m always willing to learn if it drives the quality on my beer. :)


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orlando
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Re: My procedure - Comment ?

Post by orlando » Fri Feb 16, 2018 8:49 am

If it is the absence of "gunk/gunge" at the points of transfer that particularly bother you I have a few suggestions. You have a pump that currently you do not use for recirculating the mash but suggest you try that. Batch sparging by its nature disturbs the grain bed so is inherently more likely to transfer some grain to the kettle so you might consider continuous sparging. Do you have a top tap on your thermo pot? If you do, or are prepared to fashion one, have a hose tail from an elbow that will allow you to attach a hose of about 2m in length, coil this around the surface of your mash and gently recirc the mash this way whilst introducing your sparge liquor, you could recirc from the beginning of the mash but that would require a HERMS/RIMS arrangement to keep the mash at your chosen temp. It will require a second pump, so you can pump the run off to the kettle, so there are some costs to consider, but it will give you clear wort into the boiler if done properly. Next, get a filter in the kettle, bigger the better. If not the suggestion of using some leaf hops at the start of the boil will act as a filter. If you go for pellets later in the boil or as a steep, you could use a fine mesh hop bag and compensate for this less than optimal method by upping the hopping rate. Frankly a filter is way better. When it comes to dry hopping, timing is key. NEIPA recipes call for dry hopping early in the fermentation, I think this is a mistake, there is evidence that this can actually reduce the final aroma component and this is certainly my experience. This opens up an opportuntity for you. Wait till the fermentation is over, dump your yeast, if you can, or follow IPA's technique cropping from the surface early in the fermentation and using that to step up for subsequent brews. Once you have the yeast you want dry hop then. Loose is better but again you have the option of using a hop bag.

These "traditional" methods will improve clarity if that's what drives you. However, I will mention one more thing. Getting the mash right from the start is more important than almost anything else, get that right and the other issues begin to be much less of an issue. Alaklinity level right, enough calcium and clear wort into the kettle. Jobs a good 'un.
I am "The Little Red Brooster"

Fermenting:
Conditioning:
Drinking: Southwold Again,

Up Next: John Barleycorn (Barley Wine)
Planning: Winter drinking Beer

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