20/1/09 First AG Lager

[youreds91]

I'd had the grain for a while & finally got round to it yesterday.

Aiming for 20ltr brewlength to go in my soon to be collected cornies.

4.00 kg Lager Malt (2.0 SRM) Grain 80.00 %
1.00 kg Munich Malt (9.0 SRM) Grain 20.00 %
50.00 gm Hallertauer Mittelfrueh [2.20 %] (90 min) Hops 11.3 IBU
30.00 gm Saaz [3.30 %] (15 min) Hops 4.7 IBU
1 pack Saaz hop pellets/teabag (Aroma Hop-Steep)
Saflager 23 yeast

Target OG 1.059 75% efficiency Actual OG 1.053

Mashed at 64°C. I experimented with a cheap usb thermometer in the mash tun to monitor temp drop, it worked OK but it's not too accurate, you have to calibrate it with a real thermometer, but it needs different calibration for hot & cold, only $8, the software has a web server so you can monitor it elsewhere.
This was my coldest brewday yet & even with a sleeping bag on the tun I needed a splash of hot water in half way through.

I got my first stuck mash whilst sparging, a blow back through the outlet sorted it. The run off was quite slow compared to my other brews.

Running off into the FV was slow too, it turned out the hop strainer fell off, but it didn't block completely. I'd got the wort down to 30°C with the IC & decided to let it drop on it's own to pitching temp, even at 5°C in the garage it took ages & I bunged it in at around 19°C in the end & stuck the sleeping bag over the FV. It was 16°C this morning when I checked it.

I only ended up with 18 ltrs in the FV, so I make my efficiency about 60% with an OG of 1.053. I'm batch sparging & have had the same problem with my other brews. Could the shape of my mash tun have an effect? It's long & not too deep, I have a pic somewhere.... here you go:



Would the bigger area of the grain bed affect efficiency? I have another taller cool box I could butcher if that's the case

By the way the refractometer was christened & it's fantastic, I urge anyone who doesn't have one to get one, no more of that trial jar nonsense

I have a brewbelt round the FV ready to give it a boost if it gets too cold, but I'm powerless in the day to do anything, so I'm not sure how this will pan out. I have a fridge ready for the cold stage of fermenting & lagering. Fingers crossed it comes out OK.

CD

[purple_chicken]

I had a similar set-up for my grain bed strainer, it was completely cr*p and got blocked within the first 5 mins of my first batch sparge, had a complete nightmare trying to unblock. In the end I pushed my ss braid hop strainer up with a screwdriver from the outside with bucket underneath, worked in the end with not too many 3rd degree burns...Ive since changed to 22mm copper all round and am looking forward to trying it out with my next brew.