My 1st Brewday 24/03/07

Wez · Post by **Wez** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 3:05 pm

Pot chilling in the sink with loads of freezer blocks around it

Wez · Post by **Wez** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 3:39 pm

Right then wort cooled to 30 deg and passed through colander & sieve combo into a small FV, i started with 10L and have only ended up with 6L so lost 4L during boil, checked the SG and it's 1070. It still needs to be racked off once the trub has settled should i check the SG again when i have done that and top up with cold water until the FG is 1040 or i hit 10L

tubby_shaw · Post by **tubby_shaw** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 3:42 pm

It all depends if you want more beer or stronger beer

Compromise and dilute to 1.045

Wez · Post by **Wez** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 3:43 pm

So there's no problem with just adding cold water?

tubby_shaw · Post by **tubby_shaw** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 4:06 pm

Wez wrote:So there's no problem with just adding cold water?

Not at all.
Ideally it should be dechlorinated to avoid the nasty TCP taste though

Wez · Post by **Wez** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 4:23 pm

How long should it take for all of the cr4p to settle out from the cold break?

Wez · Post by **Wez** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 5:02 pm

I managed 9.75L at 1046 (18deg) so i'm quite pleased with that. I used 2.2kg Pale Malt & 100g crystal malt. How do i calculate efficiency?

tubby_shaw · Post by **tubby_shaw** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:17 pm

Wez wrote:I managed 9.75L at 1046 (18deg) so i'm quite pleased with that. I used 2.2kg Pale Malt & 100g crystal malt. How do i calculate efficiency?

All you need to know about efficiency is here http://jimsbeerkit.co.uk/recipe_formulation.htm
It's 66% BTW

Good going for your first mash

Northern Brewer · Post by **Northern Brewer** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:20 pm

You acheived 66% efficiency

2.2 x 297 = 653.4 (pale malt)
0.1 x 268 = 26.8 (crystal malt)
6534 + 26.8 = 6802
6802 - 34% = 448.93
448.93 divided by 9.75 litres = 46.04 = Gravity 1046.04

Northern Brewer · Post by **Northern Brewer** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:34 pm

Or to explain it better...

2.2 x 297 = 653.4 (297 = theorectical 100% efficiency of pale malt)
0.1 x 268 = 26.8 (268 = theorectical 100% efficiency of crystal malt)
653.4 + 26.8 = 680.2 (max possible efficiency of the above ingredients

You acheived 9.75 litres @ 1046, which equates to 9.75 x 46 = 448.50

Max efficiency minus your efficiency = 231.7

Multiply this by 100 then divide by the theoretical max efficiency to discover the loss of efficiency

231.7 x 100 = 23170 divided by 680.2 = 34.06% loss of efficiency

Wez · Post by **Wez** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:44 pm

Thanks for working that out (and the explanation NB), i guess that for a first timer 66% isn't too bad? Quite pleased with how it all went, really pleased with my mash tun only dropped 1 degree during the mash. What sort of efficiency would be regarded as respectable 80%+? Yeast starter working well and will be pitched very soon.

Going to have a wherry now, i recon i've earned it. Many thanks to everyone who has helped me get this far!!! $\:D/$

Northern Brewer · Post by **Northern Brewer** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 6:58 pm

Wheeler bases his recipes on 75% but many home brewers can acheive 80-85%. I can get 85% with careful sparging but the efficiency varies from brew to brew and it takes time. These days I prefer the laziness of batch sparging, which delivers 75% every time. This means I can calculate my ingredients precisely to acheive particular gravity. At the end of the day, grain ain't expensive.

Wez · Post by **Wez** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 7:21 pm

Cheers Daab, i've got some pics from today that i'll try to upload, i feel quite proud actually! Unless it ends up tasting awful

Post by **Andy** » Sat Mar 24, 2007 7:40 pm

Nice one Wez

Wez · Post by **Wez** » Sun Mar 25, 2007 8:28 pm

Well it's trying to climb out of the fermentor. Which is nice

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My 1st Brewday 24/03/07