Stewart's 2nd AG Brew - Styrian Stunner

[BrewStew]

Well, the brewery and the bar have been dry waaaaay too long now, and my wallet has taken a bashing from the shop bought booze over the festive season so today i got my kit out and had a crack at an AG Styrian Stunner.

All has gone well with the exception that I hit 23 Litres of runnings and it ran clear, that happened on my first brew aswell so i'm gunna use more malt next time. I think my Mash Tun efficiency is a bit pants

The boil has been going for 30 mins now so not long to go. I started at 12:00 after a quick visit to see Melvyn at the Bedford Homebrew shop to grab myself a proper wort chiller.

I didn't bother with pics this time as it's all been pretty much exactly the same as my first brew here

Sorry I've been out of touch so long folks.... been really busy, so busy infact i've not had chance to get a brew going since my first attempt

Hope you all had a great xmas and got lots of shiny stuff


Stewart

[BrewStew]

indeed. I've been surviving on St Peter's Organic Ale. Lovely stuff, but it don't come cheap

[BrewStew]

Right, this is a strange one to work out hehe.

ok, as i said above, my runnings ran clear before i could gather the 33L (according to a calculator link posted somewhere around these forums) i needed for the boil. I finished the sparge with 23L. i know that i lose 1.5 litres to the manifold and tap.

All 23L went on the boil for 90 mins, plus 30 mins heat up with the lid on. I got 15L out and into the fermenter (i know i lose 2 litres from the boiler due to tap placement, so the rest must be boil off and hops soaking it up). the gravity read a whopping 1.060 in the fermentor so i figured there was room to top up with cold tap water, and so i did, adding 5L at a time and taking a gravity reading. I got all the way up to the full 23L with the gravity sat at a perfectly reasonable 1.044.

is this perfectly acceptable to do time and time again? or should i re jig the recipes i do for my brew house efficiency so that what lands in the fermentor is the correct amount and gravity.

after looking through my first brew and recalling what went on, the exact same thing happened, ran short of collected runnings, but watering down final wort still brought me to a good SG.

heh this is odd, but at least it's consistent and not messing up the brew (i hope)

[BrewStew]

yeah i used your calculator, but only as a guide for the amount of liquor i needed.

I was fly sparging. I forgot to check the runnings when they ran nearly crystal clear, there may have been some wort left to collect, but like i said, nearly crystal clear.

I see, so is it common to run short when fly sparging? what are the benefits from doing a batch sparge if any?

would there be any taste difference to adding water to the boil rather than to the final wort in the fermenter?

[BrewStew]

thank you that was very informative!

sounds like i cracked it then, so i'll stick with the same method and get a few brews under my belt before i start tinkering with different mash/sparging methods.

two final questions, though unrelated to this brew in particular... i'm thinking of taking a step back and using LME when i've used the last of my 25kg sack of Maris Otter, purely to cut down the brew time, as of late i have very little time to spare... is there a calculator somewhere that converts a grain recipe to LME (and vice versa maybe) knocking around? and lastly, if the recipe doesn't call for me to use a whole tin (i'm thinking of multiple malt brews), how long would an opened tin last in the fridge?

cheers Daab, your truly awesome with your wealth of brewing knowledge

[BrewStew]

just just had a little sip as it's now been at 1.010 for 2 days so that works out about 4.5% ABV ?

it tastes like beer! YAY!

it's quite grassy though, but i'd imagine that will mellow down with some maturation.

i shall rack it later today

result

[Vossy1]

Great stuff BS

I just had another look through your first AG and it has to be one of the best 1st AG posts I've seen....swayed by all the lovely pictures me thinks

[BrewStew]

wow that's quite the compliment V ta muchly!

at least i'll actually get to drink this one... my first AG went down the drain in the end that nasty looking stuff on the top turned out to be quite nasty indeed. after revising my sanitation routine i think i've cracked it this time

[Andy]

Are you still in Rushden Stu ? I was there for 11 days over the Christmas period, forgot there was another JHBF member in the town otherwise we could have met up for a beer.

[BrewStew]

I am damn that's a shame, i'd have definitely been up for that

[Andy]

Whereabouts in Rushden ? My parents are in the big Peverel Manor housing estate off Bedford Road (the one opposite the Compasses pub).

[BrewStew]

the Compasses is about 10-15 mins walk from me, i'm on Newton Road nearish to the classic car reseller, however if i fancy a pint i head to the Conservative Club... not that i support that political group, but i like the fact that they have a door entry system to keep the trash (chavs) off the street out

[Andy]

OK, I know where you mean - near to the recycling centre


What beers do they have on at the cons ?

[BrewStew]

yeah just a bit further past the recycling centre.

i just got back from there and had 3 pints of youngs bitter. they have 2 other guest ales but i didn't give them the time of day as they were ~3.7%

[Andy]

If you fancy a small trip out of town then go to the Chequers in Yielden (just past Newton Bromswold). They have a cracking pint of Abbot @ £2.50 and usually have Landlord on also (didn't over Christmas, had a guest ale on instead). Beer always in tip top condition, was in there on Christmas Eve and the Friday after Christmas also. Great boozer.