Mini Mash - An AG virgin's attempt...

[kt88man]

As I said in one or two earlier posts, I've just got to try this all grain brewing. Daab's mini mash seemed the ideal way to give it a go without investing, as yet, in any equipment. As this was my first attempt, taking pictures was not a very high priority, however:


Think I've got everything.


Grain weighed out.

Strike water heated and the grain added without any problems, temperature pretty spot on


Let the mash commence.


Mash temperature holding nice and steady, just over an hour to go.


Temperature held steady to the end of the mash. Now in the lauter tun.


The first runnings.

Sparging seemed to take forever, very slow run off - think I need a few more holes in the bottom of the fermenter Eventually ending up with about 6.3 litres.


OK let the boil commence.

I was expecting this to be a potential iffy point, I had visions of it boiling over and having to explain to Krissy when she came home what all the mess was that I'm trying to remove from the hob, worktop, floor etc...


As it turned out all very tame. Hops are now in, a nice steady boil.


Meanwhile, a yeast starter prepared earlier.


and the Irish Moss rehydrating.


Come on! Cool... Getting impatient now, taking longer than expected.

Seemed to have lost a lot to evaporation, more than I expected


All of the gunk settling out.

After racking off the break material I was left with only 3.2L however the gravity at this point was 1.080 - Made up to 5L and the gravity is now 1.054 So if it ferments down to around 1.012 I should end up with around 5.5 ABV...


Now in the bodged fermenter, yeast starter pitched.

All in, quite an enjoyable time was had. I've enough ingredients left for one more batch, then I think it will be all grain proper here we come

Fermenting nicely this morning. Better taste good at the end.

[tubby_shaw]

Congratulations

Now you've crossed the line there's no going back

But seriously did you get the warm satisfying feeling of a job well done
If so imagine the feeling of drinking that first pint that you have crafted totally from scratch by yourself

[Western Brewer]

Excellent work. Nice pictures too. As the others have said, 'No going back now'.
Getting ready for my next brew now. Hobgoblin clone methinks.

[Andy]

Excellent work!

Bottled my first mini-mash last night, an elderflower ale. Nice and clear but not sure I like it That's one of the points of mini-mash for me, to try out new recipes.

[kt88man]

Thanks

But seriously did you get the warm satisfying feeling of a job well done
If so imagine the feeling of drinking that first pint that you have crafted totally from scratch by yourself

Sure did Going to be hard to wait for this one to condition.


Can't wait...

Getting ready for my next brew now. Hobgoblin clone methinks.

I'm very partial to a pint or two of the Hobgoblin, in fact I finished off with a couple last night. I've followed Eskimobob's cloning of Hobgoblin with interest. Be good to know how your's turns out. Particularly whether you are able to achieve the slight fruity taste that the original exhibits.

The numbers seem fine, it's quite normal to have to top up to final gravity.

That sort of loss is normal then? Seemed quite high to me, 6.3L pre-boil down to 3.2L in the fermenter. Obviously some was lost to the break material and hop absorption but most seemed lost during the boil, although it didn't seem particularly vigorous... Maybe the losses just seemed high as it is such a small batch to begin with.

Where did you get that pot (and what size is it) I need a new one soon, that looks ideal

Ah!, don't be taken in by the appearance. It was from Argos and is of very flimsy and rather poor construction. The web site quotes a capacity of 6L but it actually holds 7.3L(ish) to the brim. It only costs around a tenner, but I'd take a look at it before you bought it! It was the only thing I had to buy, the largest pot we had was only a 5L

[itmustbemagic]

Very interesting thanks for making the effort to take the pictures.

[Hoppkins]

Whats the bottle attached to the ferm bin for? To take off yeast that flows over?

[Hoppkins]

What a great idea. I think ill make one I assume in the bottle you have some water mixed with santising stuff.

[kt88man]

What a great idea. I think ill make one I assume in the bottle you have some water mixed with santising stuff.

I just cut an old drum tap down to make a 'tank connector' then used a washing machine hose connector with a piece of pvc hose. I'm sure there's many other ways.

I had virtually no headspace in the fermenter - about 200mL in the bottle from foam/froth since last night. Just emptied it and put in a little fresh water with 1/4 of a crushed campden tablet.

If you make one, and the fermenter has a tap, make sure to temporarily lift the hose from the bottle before taking a sample from the tap...

Saw that stock pot you got from wilko - nice, nice price too With the dimensions you gave I reckon the volume is around 9L.

[sparky Paul]

As this was my first attempt, taking pictures was not a very high priority...

Great thread, and great pics - you seem to have captured all the action!

Very interesting demonstration and summary of the whole process, relevant to any process size.

[SteveD]

What a great idea. I think ill make one I assume in the bottle you have some water mixed with santising stuff.

I just cut an old drum tap down to make a 'tank connector' then used a washing machine hose connector with a piece of pvc hose. I'm sure there's many other ways.

...like just attaching the pipe to the end of the tap? With or without jubilee clip Daab

[iowalad]

Nice job and thanks for the pics!

[kt88man]

...like just attaching the pipe to the end of the tap? With or without jubilee clip Daab

err... wot tap? This was a connector on the fermenter lid for the blow off tube.

[kt88man]

I see... good bit of lateral thinking...

The tap would be a bugger to clean afterwards though.

[Andy]

I see... good bit of lateral thinking...

The tap would be a bugger to clean afterwards though.

Not really - they come apart and are easy to clean when in bits.