First attempts..
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2018 10:07 pm
Well.... first 3 Grainfather brews are under the belt and I can safely say I have learnt a lot..
I cant say I have brewed a good beer yet but.... I have learnt a lot!
Beer 1 - went all out (mistake... running before walking!) and went for a neipa. Took forever to figure out equipment, got shouted at by OTH, took forever to clean up, Pitched yeast to warm, ferment came up short, forgot to take of readings, tried to bottle condition, probably oxidised, the list goes on.
Result - drinkable , at a pinch !!
Beer 2 - a simpler chinook recipe ... a better brew day, figured a few things out to make it shorter (and didn’t get shouted at.... as much!!)
Decided to buy some more gear ( what a surprise... it seems a running theme in brewing! And bought some kegs and co2......and a bottle gun!)
Hit OG and FG ... tasted good.
Kegged.
Then..... mucked up the disconnects ( learning curve , didn’t realise different connect types!@@!!) and couldn’t get disconnect off so managed to coat the inside of my garage with a few litres of beer!!
Then... managed to somehow loose all my co2 ( must have made some of the pipe work loose I think from battling with the disconnect). So.. spent a few days stressing thinking I now had a keg of beer sitting with oxygen instead of co2.
Bought more co2 , gassed and then tried bottling with co2 bottle wand thingy! Most of the bottles a disaster and foamed like hell!
Bonus was a good glass or two of fresh beer..... still tasted good.
Booby prize was .... a day later I opened a bottle or two and no fizz, flat’ish beer and changed colour.... .definately oxidised
Probably a lost batch
Lesson..... think I perhaps had the keg not cold enough. Will try again next time. May even invest in a counter pressure filler rather than a beer gun filler.
Beer 3 - I know I should be taking it easy on the recipe but.. what the hell.... A pecan cherry choc stout, should be about 7%....... is currently in the fermenter
Thinking ... as its a stout/ porter I should bottle condition it .
Thoughts anyone....? Bottle condition or keg it and force carb?
Learning, learning, learning...
Cleaning, cleaning , cleaning!!!
As an aside... I cant fault the Grainfather, simple, easy to use, excellent mash efficiently and easy to clean. It’s just the learning process after the brew is done that’s a bit steep at the moment!!
All good fun though (I think!!)
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I cant say I have brewed a good beer yet but.... I have learnt a lot!
Beer 1 - went all out (mistake... running before walking!) and went for a neipa. Took forever to figure out equipment, got shouted at by OTH, took forever to clean up, Pitched yeast to warm, ferment came up short, forgot to take of readings, tried to bottle condition, probably oxidised, the list goes on.
Result - drinkable , at a pinch !!
Beer 2 - a simpler chinook recipe ... a better brew day, figured a few things out to make it shorter (and didn’t get shouted at.... as much!!)
Decided to buy some more gear ( what a surprise... it seems a running theme in brewing! And bought some kegs and co2......and a bottle gun!)
Hit OG and FG ... tasted good.
Kegged.
Then..... mucked up the disconnects ( learning curve , didn’t realise different connect types!@@!!) and couldn’t get disconnect off so managed to coat the inside of my garage with a few litres of beer!!
Then... managed to somehow loose all my co2 ( must have made some of the pipe work loose I think from battling with the disconnect). So.. spent a few days stressing thinking I now had a keg of beer sitting with oxygen instead of co2.
Bought more co2 , gassed and then tried bottling with co2 bottle wand thingy! Most of the bottles a disaster and foamed like hell!
Bonus was a good glass or two of fresh beer..... still tasted good.
Booby prize was .... a day later I opened a bottle or two and no fizz, flat’ish beer and changed colour.... .definately oxidised
Probably a lost batch
Lesson..... think I perhaps had the keg not cold enough. Will try again next time. May even invest in a counter pressure filler rather than a beer gun filler.
Beer 3 - I know I should be taking it easy on the recipe but.. what the hell.... A pecan cherry choc stout, should be about 7%....... is currently in the fermenter
Thinking ... as its a stout/ porter I should bottle condition it .
Thoughts anyone....? Bottle condition or keg it and force carb?
Learning, learning, learning...
Cleaning, cleaning , cleaning!!!
As an aside... I cant fault the Grainfather, simple, easy to use, excellent mash efficiently and easy to clean. It’s just the learning process after the brew is done that’s a bit steep at the moment!!
All good fun though (I think!!)
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk