Just started.

[Robdog]

Well the mash in on now. I did find however i had to add 2ltrs of boiling water to the tun to get the temp up to 66. I didnt really want to add anymore water and thought 66 was close enough.

I take it i just take 2 ltrs off my first batch sparge amount?

It smells great already in the kitchen and even the misses likes it lol.

I know next time i need to get my strike temp higher. Im not to concerned though as the first few brews ill just be learning.

Is it best to check temp after an hour or shall i just leave it as that way i can find out how much if any temp my coolbox looses?

[adm]

Yup. You can just subtract 2l from the amount you'd top it up with for the first batch.

As for temp, feel free to take it anytime......it won't affect the mash if you just pop the lid off for a moment to check it.

[PaulStat]

I find by the time I've transferred the strike water and doughed in I need the strike water to be about 85C to achieve 65C! My first couple of AG's I only took it up to 80C and found I was left with a range of 60-62C

With the sparge water however it needs to be closer to 70C as otherwise it's too hot.

[Robdog]

Its gone down to 65 in an hour so im happy with that. Ill def make sure i have a higher strike temp next time as i only took it up to about 78 this time and got 60 when i doughed in.

Ive got all my hopes weighed out and sorted so hopefully ill start sparging in about 20 mins or so

[Robdog]

Concerning the temp of sparge water. When i add the initial water fot the first batch do i have to reheat the water to the same temp for the second batch?

[adm]

Next time, chuck a couple of kettles full of boiling water into your mash tun 20 minsutes before you want to mash in. Then empty it out just before you put your grain in. This way the mashtun will be properly preheated and won't suck heat out of the strike water.

There's a good article on calculating strike temperature here - complete with a handy dandy little calculator if you scroll down.

As Chris says, you need to account for the grain temperature - or make sure it is at room temperature first.

[boingy]

The easiest way I have found to do it is to add the strike water to the mash tun at about 80 degrees C then put the lid on and wait 10 mins or so. The temp has normally dropped to about 72-73 degrees and the tun is nicely heated. Then stir in the grains and achieve about 66 degrees. Note that if your grain is at current garage temperatures (i.e. not much above freezing) then you need to either bring the grain into the house the day before or increase the initial heat by about 5 degrees. It might take you a couple of goes to learn the particular characteristics of your mash tun but once you know them then it is an almost foolproof method.

[Robdog]

Ive just started sparging. The first runnings and first 2-3 ltrs of clear wart came out very fast now its still comming out but its just trickling, is this normal or do i has it stuck?

Its a continuous trickle mind just very slow.

[Parva]

What you're seeing is normal.

[Robdog]

Thats great thanks i was a little worried. Its still comming out just a very small trickel but at least its comming.

I did blow up the pipe but it didnt really do anything.

[Robdog]

Its been going about an hour now and i still havent finished the first batch. I didnt expect it to gush out like but its really really slow

The wort tastes nice though.

[Robdog]

Right i think i found out the problem. I gave the mash a good stir just and blew up the pipe again and left it for 5 mins and within 5 minutes the firts batch is almost complete. Looks like i had a stuck mash.

I cant think what else it could have been as the flow was so slow it would have taken literally 3 hours plus to sparge which to me cant be right if experianced brewers can do a batch in 5 hours.

I am a little concerned however as the temp reading now in the mash tun is down to just below 60 so im hoping i have ruined my beer. The wort tastes nice and sweet though so fingers crossed. The temp while mashing was ok though.

[Robdog]

A quick update. The second batch sparged alot quiker id say about 10 mins or so. I think i hadnt stirred the grain enough the first batch and it was all stuck at the bottom. Theres one thing ive learned today already plus to preheat my mash tun.

Its in the boiler now and im actually relaxed which for me is unheard of.

I have however just smashed my hydrometer so i wont be abel to see what strength it is at all which has done my head in a bit. I stopped sparging when it started to go a bit dry and there wasnt much sweetness left so i think ill be ok.

The wort reminds me of a sweet tea tastes so far i cant wait to try it after the boil.

[SiHoltye]

Sounds like you're right on track. Don't worry about the stuck sparge, it was an inconvenience thats all.

[Robdog]

All done. Took me just under 8 hours in all but i think i lost at least 2 hours due to stuck mash and i didnt realise how long it would take my sparge water to heat up.

I got 20 ltrs instead of 23 but im happy. Wort tastes lovely and its nice and sweet so me thinks this will be fairly strong beer once its done .

Im a bit gutted i broke my hydro as i cant take a OG but never mind i can get another one Friday.

I usually add yeast vit to my kits but thought id just see how this goes with Nottigham Ale Yeast.

Even though this is my first AG i think ive learnt loads already. I know i need to stir my grain more before sparging and i also realise how long it takes to get my sprage water up to temp. I also learnt i need to pre heat my mash tun. I also think because i didnt have a hydro i panicked a bit and maybe stopped sparging to early so i rekon i could have got another ltr at least form the tun plus i need to add an extra ltr to my water calculations as i lost a fair bit in my boiler.

I was wondering how vigourous the boil has to be as i found with 2 elemets on it was a good rolling boil but with justone on it was sort of just slowly simmering is how i can describe it. I just kept switching form one to two elements every so often.

Also i did find bits in the brew, only fine little bit but i did see them but i have to admit this wort even though its a porter seems clearer than my kits after primary fermentation already lol.

Anyway sorry for the essay but ive had a really good day and i didnt panic to much.

Id just like to that all the guys on here for helping me over the past few weeks and a special thanks to sparkypaul who helped me when i first got into kits as if it wasnt for his help i dont think i would have bothered.

Im of to get pissed