AG#1 Sam Smith's Museum Ale (with pics)

[mb]

first proper 23L batch scheduled for today:

instructions read, advice taken, water treated, grains weighed, mash tun warming, strike water approaching 76C when - to be filed under things you weren't expecting- the thread in my spirit thermometer splits! i've got beads of spirit a degree or two apart between 70 and 80 and no idea which is telling the right temperature (after sticking it in a pan of boiling water to attempt to calibrate it they only rose up to 90-95, so it probably wasn't the world's most accurate thermometer anyway).

it seems silly to guess at the mash temperature (especially if i could be 5-10C out), i'm going to have to head out and see if i can find a thermometer shop and have another go tomorrow.

1st all grain lesson - keep a spare thermometer.

[Horden Hillbilly]

mb, try rapidly heating & cooling your thermometer a few times, that should make the beads join together again.

It happened to me a few years ago, I boiled a pan of water, then placed the thermometer in until it rose as far as it can, then cool it rapidly under the cold tap, then place it in the pan of boiling water. Repeat this a few times & it should be ok.

[J_P]

Careful not to crack it by cooling it too quickly though, I cracked a demi-john earlier this week doing that!

Good luck with the brew today, my one piece of advice would be to kick back and enjoy the day.

[mb]

thanks for the tip HH, i'll see if i can fix my old thermometer that way and keep it as a spare. i managed to get a digital thermometer from maplins yesterday, so the brew is back on.

recipe (from graham wheeler's BCEBAH):

23L
4600g pale malt
550g crystal

25g Golding
45g Fuggles

15g goldings (last 10 mins of boil)

mash is nearly done, i'm going to batch sparge.

so far, so good- must admit the boil worries me a bit- i've got a small kitchen that i might be turning into a sauna.

[MightyMouth]

don't forget Pics if you have the time...Oh and a camera.

[mb]

all done and dusted, was aiming for 23L at 1050 and got 23L at 1048 - i'll settle for that.

i left 1 tap open when running off the second batch, but spotted it quickly and only lost a pint or so. that aside, it was plain sailing. the boil didn't destroy my kitchen, the chiller worked (with a bit of mangling to get it to reach the wort), it's all down to the yeast now.

here's the pics,

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[mysterio]

Nice collage

[Vossy1]

Glad to hear the day went well

[Horden Hillbilly]

Well done mb, nice looking set up you have there, nice one!

[iowalad]

It is a rare brewer that hasn't left a spigon open at one time or another.

Sounds like a good one.

[roger the dog]

Good work mb, nice pictures. Should be a tasty brew