Home Brew Forum

Well having bit off a little more than I could chew it went "reasonably" well considering...

Wanted to make a Stella type lager as per Dave Lines book for a 15L batch.. (30 bottles)

Grist
3000Kg Pilsner
384g Wheat Malt
250g Sugar

Hops
Saaz 5.1AA, 36g (90min)
Haller 3.0AA, 36g (90min)
Saz 5.1AA, 14g (Flame out)

1053 OG
91.6% Efficiency
15L
-------------------
First outing of the WSM BBQ/Smoker... hmm

Rubbed up some ribs & chicken the night before and got set up ok and got up to 233Deg F on brew day..
Seemed to take an age... 8hrs and trying to keep temp with the air intakes will no doubt take some time to fathom...
RIbs and chicken were superb tho..

Here's some pics of the day

good pics. but came through sidewaqys. Now got neck ache still the boy looks like his enjoying himself.

Looks like a fun day.

What's the big black thing on top of the chest freezer?

My smoker tips:

Get it up past the cooking temp before you start messing
Use boiling water in the water pan
Make sure the meat is at room temp before you put it on

Other than that, you'll find the air vents are easy.....I tend to start off with everything wide open, then shut the bottom ones about 3/4 of the way and use the top one as them temperature aduster. Bear in mind the response to changes is slow, so you just need to chill out with it.....it's ideal to make a change, have a beer, then see what it's doing.

Once you've got the hang of it, I'd imagine a brew day and a smoking session would go hand in hand as they are both slow, steady processes!

The big black thing on the chest freezer is my cave diving battery pack; the latch on the freezer is gubbed so I need something heavy to keep the lid closed.

Yeah it wasn't so bad really, just should have given my self some time first time around, trying to do a brew day along side initially wasn't such a good idea.

Water was from the kettle although the meat was straight from the fridge.. lesson learnt

Had another go tonight with just the bottom of the WSM and a grate to do sausages, burgers and salmon... very quick and hot!

i wondered what happened to 'Dusty Bin'

rick_huggins wrote:Wanted to make a Stella type lager as per Dave Lines book for a 15L batch.. (30 bottles)

Grist
3000Kg Pilsner
....

Uh, how big is your mash tun?

Mind out for the keg police with that shot of a Trenstar keg!!!

How'd ya find that thermometer. I bought one of those and it seems to read rubbish now everytime it gets submerged. I dried it out in an oven and the plastic has melted.

pdtnc wrote:i wondered what happened to 'Dusty Bin'

that looks like the love child of Dusty bin and metal mickey

Therm is fine, seems to do the trick.

Yon light is a heavy bugger 14aH (2x7A packs) fine when in the water tho!

Trenstar clone... made from tin foil and bog roll, with a sprayed logo to look like the real thing.