Stewart's 1st Brewday! - 100% Satisfaction

[BrewStew]

so far so good. finished with about 27 litres before the running got to about 1.008. should be enough i think.

didnt have any stuck sparges so all is good.

the boiler is on now. just waiting for the hot break and all systems go.





The first runnings after recycling being fed through a pipe so as not to splash/airate





clear runnings. although slight hiccup, the tubing popped off. had to use the back of my spoon to stop the splashing.




all done and in the boiler

[BrewStew]

well the nottingham starter is raring to go



and the fermenter is sterilised, along with my trial jar and hydrometer.



the foam is starting to form as the temperature rises in the boiler.




looking set for a good hop boil

[mixbrewery]

Keep a close eye on the boiler for any potential boil overs.
Your first batch of hops will help subdue the frothy stuff!

[Burner]

Looks great, keep the splendid pics coming!

[BrewStew]

You guys definitely helped to get me this far. thanks go out to y'all

ok the boil has progressed from this,




to this




although not rigorous, i put that down to the 1800 watt element. but it's at 99 degrees, so in go the hops:



a quick stir and they're off!




time for another pint

[DRB]

Are you fly or batch sparging,nice collection of photos that'll keep everybody happy .

[BrewStew]

erm. i'm not sure which is which. i'm guessing what i did was a fly sparge? (running off at the same time as pouring in)

my house smells very much like when i made up my wherry kit. I wonder if they use goldings?

in any case, i forgot to mention that the hydrometer was reading 1.050 in the collections bucket at 64 degrees is this gunna be a strong one?

the way that the level of the wort is dropping i think i may have to add water to the fermentor, which isnt necessarily a bad thing if the hydro reading was that high.

another 20 minutes and it's time to add the next batch of hops

[DRB]

Sounds like fly sparging to me,what are you using to sparge with a jug or something or are you using the spinny sparger.

[BrewStew]

i used a jug to re circulate until the runnings were clear.

when clear i ran the 65c liquor from the tap to the right of the boiler onto the tin foil, maintaining a half inch of water above the grain bed, while the runnings were collected in the fermentor bucket beneath.

does that sound ok? (hope i didnt miss anything )

[DRB]

Sounds good to me.

[BrewStew]

oh, phew hehe you had me worried for a second there

[BrewStew]

the second lot of hops is now in. i'm now halfway through the boil.

the starter has made the bottle swell and i've had to release the pressure 3 times now!

[BrewStew]

last lot of hops and 10g of irish moss is in, complete with IC to sterilise.



notice the wort level hope i havent lost too much

[iowalad]

Looks like it is going good!

[Vossy1]

Enjoying yourself BS...hope it goes well