Brewery No.42 AG#1

Had a good one? Tell us about it here - and don't forget - we like pictures!
MightyMouth

Brewery No.42 AG#1

Post by MightyMouth » Sun Apr 27, 2008 8:53 pm

Well, Brewery No.42's inaugural brew is underway. I didn't get started until about 11:00am though I had cleaned everything and prepared the liquor last night.

3.675Kg Maris Otter malt
210g Crystal malt
210g Flaked barley
210g Torrefied wheat

Mash at 66c for 90min

Add sparge liquor at 70c
Allow 10min soak between batches

80g Fuggles (4%) hops 90min boil (4%)
40g Bobek hops 15min boil
1 Protafloc tablet 15min boil
IC in at 15min boil
Cool to below 25c
Rehydrate Safale-04

Brew Length: 23L
Percentage Loss During 90 minute boil: 15%:
Estimated loss to hops and trub: 2.5L
Total Grain Bill: 4.3Kg
Dead Space in Mash Tun: 1.5L
Water/Grain Ratio for the Mash: 3L/Kg
Wort Required for the Boil: 30L
Made up from two equal quantities of: 15L
Total Quantity of Water Required For Batch #1: 20.9L
Mash Volume: 12.9L
Top Up With: 8L
Water Required for Batch #2: 15L

I basically used fivetide's B&T recipe unchanged as I figured any differences in our setups was negligable. though I did use Bobek hops instead of styrian goldings as Barley bottom was out of styrian.

First a picture of the temporary make shift setup in the garage.
Image
I am going to have a steel frame welded eventually and will be brewing outside my brewshed but for now this will have to do. Anyway, on to the action.

I forgot to take a picture of the doughing-in but here is a picture after the mash.
Image
I also forgot to top up with the 8lt before taking the first runnings from the first batch so I had to add the difference to the second batch, I am not sure how much this will effect the brew but I am sure it will still taste fine.

I collected the runnings and then added them back to the boiler.
Image

And here they are boiling away with the hops.
Image

I added the bobek hops, the protaflock tablet and the IC to the kettle at @15 to go.

I ran into a little hitch as I had used some brass QD fittings Image for garden hoses on my IC but I never tested them in situ and they appear to only allow flow one way so I had to remove one and just use a hose clamp, this worked ok but I will have to work out something better.

I also noticed only half of my IC is in the wort as my pot is so wide the wort only comes about 1/3 of the way up. I guess I am either going to have to alter the IC with a dual coil configuration or start brewing 10 gallons at a time. Also my water pressure is very low and this means the water only goes through the IC at a trickle, I am not sure what I could do about this but I will figure something out, maybe I will have to get a pump to increase the pressure.

I started with 36l in the boiler and somehow wound up collecting just 16lt. I topped up the FV to 23lt and measured the gravity at 1.038 so well low on the efficency (65%?) but good enough for a nice session brew. The beer in the FV looked and smelled great so fingers crossed it will turn out well.

baldyjason

Post by baldyjason » Sun Apr 27, 2008 9:12 pm

looks like it turned out ok :D good job matey

my first AG was a 23 ltr batch and since then all i usually do is 40 - 50 ltr batches to be honest there is no extra work involved its just a bigger grain bill.

all you need to remmember when changeing the brew length is...

total grain bill devided by 23 times 40 (your brew length) gives you your new grain bill

as for hops use Daab's hop calc and work out your hops in ibu's and not grams as i'm sure you already know AA % can vary

User avatar
ECR
Lost in an Alcoholic Haze
Posts: 718
Joined: Mon May 28, 2007 7:08 pm
Location: Leicestershire

Post by ECR » Sun Apr 27, 2008 10:22 pm

Looks good 8)

fivetide

Post by fivetide » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:05 am

Nice one MM!

russt1969

Post by russt1969 » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:24 am

Looks good to me :D

booldawg

Post by booldawg » Mon Apr 28, 2008 8:28 am

Well done MM. Looks like all has gone well!

MightyMouth

Post by MightyMouth » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:13 am

Thanks guys,

I checked this morning and there was a big limpy head unlike any I have seen on a kit bre though I have seen similar photos on here. Do I need to skim this head off or can I just leave it? My personal Preference would be to leave it if possible as I want to mess around with it as little as possible.

fivetide

Post by fivetide » Mon Apr 28, 2008 9:57 am

Scary looking, isn't it? :=P

I think the answer is that you can leave it for a few days so that the cold break forms in the head, then skim it OR you can just leave it alone entirely to do its own thing naturally, like lots of others have always done succesfully.

I skimmed my first one because I felt I had simply got way too much break in there by accident. Taking this cap off seemed to revitalise fermentation and it took off like a rocket after that. Because of this I skimmed again this time, but I do understand there really is no call for it.

MightyMouth

Post by MightyMouth » Mon Apr 28, 2008 10:46 am

Thanks FT, Incidently How did your B&T turn out or have you not drank it yet? I know mine smells very hoppy and fresh compared to any of the kit brews I have done so I take this as a sign that the beer is going to taste far better.

Martin the fish

Post by Martin the fish » Mon Apr 28, 2008 11:49 am

Well done MM. Welcome to the dark side. :=P

I've never touched the head in the FV. Never. Too worried about infection. I leave all my brews in FV for 10 days and then rack of into bottles. Works for me and was recommended by DaaB.

Congrats on your first AG. When are you doing the 2nd? :D

fivetide

Post by fivetide » Mon Apr 28, 2008 1:12 pm

MightyMouth wrote:Thanks FT, Incidently How did your B&T turn out or have you not drank it yet? I know mine smells very hoppy and fresh compared to any of the kit brews I have done so I take this as a sign that the beer is going to taste far better.
Hi there. I only put it out into cold conditioning last week after a week in the warm following primary and brief secondary ferment. I'm afraid it's now going to sit there for another four weeks before priming, so no idea if it's good, but it certainly tasted promising when I kegged it. As my first born I will love it regardless og how it behaves :=P

Because I have three drinkable kegs of hopped kit brew that have turned out really nicely, another ready this week and my second AG burping away in the FV to amuse me, I haven't messed with the B&T at all. Mine is goign to come up over 5% ABV though - because of my boiler trouble I only collected 19 litres and didn't dilute.

I'm sure yours'll be a cracker. Got a big enough boiler? :wink:

MightyMouth

Post by MightyMouth » Mon Apr 28, 2008 3:34 pm

Martin the fish wrote:
Congrats on your first AG. When are you doing the 2nd? :D
Thanks Martin, If all goes to plan I will be brewing again over the next 2 weekends.

Second is an Imperial Stout which should work out to about 7.8%abv

5.00kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter
450g Black Malt
450g Caramel/Crystal Malt
350kg Munich Malt
50g Northdown
1 Protafloc tablet
Safale-04

18 litre brew length

And third is Northdown Wonder

5.5kg Maris Otter
150g Crystal malt
60g Northdown 90 min boil
50g Styrian Golding 1 min boil
1 Protafloc tablet
12g Safale S-04 yeast

23 litre brew length

User avatar
Horden Hillbilly
Moderator
Posts: 2150
Joined: Mon May 08, 2006 1:00 pm
Location: Horden, Co. Durham
Contact:

Post by Horden Hillbilly » Mon Apr 28, 2008 7:56 pm

Well done MM, nice one! 8)

roger the dog

Post by roger the dog » Mon Apr 28, 2008 10:57 pm

Great work MM, there'll be no looking back now 8)

Martin the fish

Post by Martin the fish » Tue Apr 29, 2008 2:36 pm

Good on ya MM. You wait till you taste your AG. 8) Your gonna love it. 8)

I've become addicted to brewing. It's all i think about and talk about. My friends think i've gone mental. :lol:

Post Reply