AG#1 Jims ESB comments and helps needed!

[coops]

Well I Have now finished AG#1 which was Jims ESB. I couldn't brew this last weekend as I was away with the family.

Day went as planned to some extent but I have ended up with only 19 litres at an SG of 1054! I batch sparged with 30 litres altogether including the 12 for the mash then I had around 27 litres in the boiler. The boil wasn't particularly strong and as soon as it was on the boil I knocked off one element and let it sit on one element for the rest of the boil. I'm thinking I need to add more water to my sparge as perhaps my boil off is more than I anticipated I predicted a boil off of only 10%. Does anyone else have any other ideas? I followed the AG walk through on here and it was brilliant.

Well now time for some pics of my first brew.



Obligatory grain shot



Mashing away. Tun kept temp for the duration of the mash so happy with that



First runnings



Second batch sparge in



Hot break just about



Hubble bubble toil and trouble



SG after cooling



All tucked up in the fermentation fridge

I enjoyed the day and glad to get the first one done and out the way. Please comment on anything you think may help me hit my numbers a bit better I was aiming for 23 litres but only got 19! Looking forward to Xmas to try this one!!

[bquiggerz]

My advice is don't work out boil off with percentage. Litres per hour is much more accurate. With that said we all learn when we get new equipment. My efficiency was shot last brew day as I had new equipment and didn't anticipate the change in procedure. It sounds like you had a very good brew day, my first AG was very messy and took forever but I'm so happy I've made the change.

Happy brewing,

Ben.

[Piscator]

Hey Coops well done on your first AG brew - it looks like a much more organised day than my first attempt was! (although things have moved on a bit since then)

Do you know what your dead space is for the mash tun and boiler? This is the quantity that does not drain out and is left behind and will impact on your final volume and gravity.

A suggestion I would make while you are getting used to your set up (factoring in dead space in the mash tun and boiler, loss to hops, evaporation rate etc) - when you prepare the sparge liquor, make up more than you will need for sparging. (I'm assuming you treat with a camden tab as a minimum)
You can use this extra liquor to top up little and often through the boil so as not to knock it off the boil for long - and end up with your target volume in the FV.

Anyway - congrats once again and welcome to the dark side!

Cheers
Steve

[coops]

Bquiggerz ok I'll try that next time see if I can hit nearer the 23 litre Mark!

Piscator it looks organised but it wasn't! I do know my dead space I was following the how to guide on here. I think next time I will use more sparge water. I didn't treat my water as I used bottled water (explained in a previous thread).

Can anyone tell me how I can work out my efficiency?

[orlando]

I know this recipe calls for 90 minutes but these days I boil hard (both elements) for 60 and get excellent results. In the future try both and see if you can spot the difference.

[coops]

It's all about experimenting! That's why I took to the dark side so I can have a beer I made myself! It's now sitting in the fermentation fridge bubbling away nicely at 18 degrees!

[coops]

Hmmm possibly got a stuck fermentation . Been in the fermentation fridge for 9 days. 18 degrees for 5 days and at 20 degrees for the past 4 days. Been bubbling away nicely for a week. Checked gravity today and it's at gone from 1054/6 to 1020. Used Windsor yeast rehydrated and pitched into we'll aerated wort. I have given it a gentle stir to see if I can rouse the yeast. Stupidly I added the dry hops at the same time. Perks of being tired and running around doing my other things!

Before I added the dry hops

[rui]

i have used windsor severall times, and it doesnt attenuate so well... usualy 65 to 70% of attenuation... and i always hidrated well before...but keep temperature around 20º/21ºC for some more days (usually i have mine two weeks before i rack it or bottle/keg), maybe will drop a little bit more!!

Good luck with that!! will be a tasty beer for sure!!


Cheers

[coops]

Rui

Cheers for the reply. This is the first time I have used Windsor yeast and first AG it went off like a rocket for the first 7 days and now no signs of activity but have given it a stir. It will have until Sunday to get down any more as I have to go away for the week but I was planning on sticking it in the fridge to cold crash.

Will it be ok to keg if it's still around the 1020 mark?

Do you think because I have only ended with 18-19 litres that could possibly be another reason why it looks to if stuck?

[rui]

it will be sweet... my advice is to keep it one more week!!
i think could be from the yeast, even if some people say that they never had such a low attenuation with this yeast, i used five times and never had above 70% attenuation....
the emp. of the mash, the amount of crystal/caramel malts, the amount of yeast and caractheristics of it can influence the OG.

cheers

[coops]

Well two weeks in the keg conditioning I had to take a quick sample so I knew how it was going to taste on Xmas day! Was better than any kit brew I have done and looking forward to tasting it in another few weeks to see how it's developed. Cheers to everyone on here for answering my questions and for posting advice it made my 1st AG go a lot smoother and I'm so happy with the end result!

[Piscator]

Fantastic result coops especially for your first AG brew - that's a pint to be proud of!

Cheers
Steve

[rui]

its beautifull!!! Parabéns (congratulations in portuguese)!!!
How was yourFG??

[coops]

FG was 1016 in the end after being left for 3 weeks in total then cold crashed. The Mrs even liked the taste of it which is a first! Luckily another keg is on the Xmas list so I can get another brew done in the new year!

[seymour]

That's great news, coops. Very nicely done! And welcome to the all-grain Jim's ESB club!