V1 Brewery.....Back Int Saddle

[subsub]

Maybe you will Vossy, the price of eggs locally has shot up 20%

[eskimobob]

I sooo need chickens....really

Our chickens love it when I brew! - I've had some eggs that are the size of goose eggs (double yolks of course) Makes my eyes water just thinking about how they lay them

[Vossy1]

All done piccies on the way

[Vossy1]

Quite a long brewday due to unforseen circumstances
Right

The goods



The recirc once doughed in



The 1st batch run off. I simply turned the HERMS pump off, disconnected the return tubing from the heat exchanger return manifold, and attached it to some copper pipe straight into the copper, then turned the pump back on.



Look at the colour of those runnings ....sorry about the corrupted photo



After setting the efficiency to 70% I decided I would batch sparge as opposed to fly sparging. That left me with a very large 56.5ltr second batch....which the thermo box just coped with



Part 2 coming up

[Vossy1]

Ph strips from 1st and second batch sparges...hard to see but the second colour bar down from the top is 5.2.



I took Grahams and Daabs advice and didn't add any Ph 5.2...the strips speak for that advice

Whilst the second batch sparge was recircing I switched the boiler elements on to get the 1st running ready for the boil



More to come

Second runnings added 78.5ltr volume



This is the first time I've used minerals in my brews. The hot break was a lot more viscous for want of a better word. In the past it was light and fluffy but when I stuck my finger in this break there was a definate surface tension I haven't experienced on other brews

A field of hops waiting for their chance



A nice rolling boil

[Vossy1]

Using a fan to stop the ceiling turning brown



Recircing a soln of sani clean through the cfc prior to use. After the sani clean I pumped boiling water through the cfc to get rid of any left over S.C.



I used the cfc to take the wort down to 80 deg c and then added 100g of styrians. I left these for 10 minutes at 80 deg c before turning the recirc pump back on to cool the wort to pitching temp (wrong pic shown...this is the bittering addition, but I'm sure you get the idea )



Meanwhile the reconned SO4 was chomping at the bit



So much so I had to split it between 2 pint pots

[Vossy1]

Time for a refreshment



One of the hounds of hell guarding all the hard work



Not much cold break evident. I put this down to the mechanical action of the pump on recirc.



Close enough for pitching, air temp white thermometer, wort temp on PID



Look at the colour of the wort



Wort Ph tested



400+g's of styrians starting to emerge



All tucked up ready for bed

[Vossy1]

Good to see the PH has worked out as it should, the V1 haze might be a thing of the past then, seems a shame really

Don't speak too soon
I might use a filter on the camera if it turns out clear

[AT]

Great Pics Vossy, is it just by chance the refreshment pic is right after the one with the condom on the draining board
Well done on your maiden brew, no disasters. Looks like a system that'll serve you well for a long time, or at least til November when you bore with it and sell it on flea bay

[Seveneer]

Looks good Vossy. Nice work

/Phil.

[Vossy1]

I still have to convert these figures from brix and I'll edit them in later

First runnings....25.5ltr at 20 brix...1081
Second runnings 54.5ltr @ 5.8 brix.....1022
Combined runnings pre boil 80ltr @ 10.6 brix......1041
Wort post boil 12 brix....1047.....65.5ltr in copper in fv ?....I'll have to weigh it tomorrow

I've definately overshot the mark and the beer will be stronger than anticipated.
A few unforeseen errors came to light on this first brew.
I managed to fit a female IEC plug which didn't have the recess in the plug to match the male kettle element
And, I had forgotten to set the flow rate on the return valve of the HERMS

Naturally there will be some learning curves associated with this brew.
I woefully undershot the strike by 2 deg c so I spent the first 30 minutes of the HERMS recir bringing the temp back up to 65 deg c. I extended the mash to 2 hours to compensate for this.

The cfc brought the wort down from 80 deg c to 19.5 deg c in 50 minutes which I didn't think was too bad. The returning cooled wort was at 11.5 deg c. I was hoping to leave the cold break behind in the copper but I think the mechanical action of the pump meant it remained in soln...albeit as fine particulate.

Lesson learned...next time go staight from copper to fv and carry the break.

I've thoroughly enjoyed this return to brewing and can't wait to try the results of this brew day.

Thanks to Graham, Aleman, DaaB and WhallyBrew for all their help...and naturally Wez and AT

[iowalad]

It looks like a banner day - Marstons will be calling with an offer in no time!

[Vossy1]

Don't forget to bottle one in a clear bottle from the primary so you can see what's going on rather than having to drain 3 kegs worth wondering if you've got a haze or not

I think I prefer the second option

Looks good Vossy. Nice work

Cheers Phil

[Bigster]

Superb - well done Mr constructor.

Brewing in the house , with all that steam. I was going to ask if you are mad but already know the answer to that

I think you need to invest in a unit on the local trading estate

[Vossy1]

I think you need to invest in a unit on the local trading estate

Best not let Mrs V1 read that comment
Hows the Tenko brewery going B