More questions about 1st all grain brew

[Shoit]

I completed my first all grain brew today using the recipe at the beginning of the thread. A couple of things happened that didn't quite go to plan and im wondering what the impact will be on the brew!

I ended up with 20l of wort at 1043, 3l short of my intended brew length - haven't a clue why!

1. The final wort is really cloudy, it wasn't running clear from the mash tun despite re-jugging 5-6 litres of the first runnings. I did a 90min boil and added 1tsp irish moss at 15mins from the end of the boil. Did i do something wrong and does it matter?

2. The temp of the mash tun at the end of the 1st hour had dropped to about 62 deg. I don't think i insulated the mash tun enough - the starting temp was just over 66 deg. Will this mean that I have unfermentable sugars?

Thanks in advance

Kev

[yashicamat]

I think you'll be fine. How much beer did you boil? Was there any wort left in the boiler after you filled your FV? Cloudy wort in the FV just means that not all the trub was filtered out as the wort went through, but that's not the end of the world. Apparently it can actually be beneficial to the yeast as it's a nutrient base for them. As long as you rack the beer off it after fermentation, everything will be fine. I think with your mash temp you'll be ok too, how long did you mash for? Mashing low produces more fermentable sugars than mashing high, so I suspect your beer might be a little lighter in body than you may have planned, but it'll still be good.

[Shoit]

I think you'll be fine. How much beer did you boil? Was there any wort left in the boiler after you filled your FV?

Should have started with about 30l of wort after the sparge but ended up with 27l. Must just have done something wrong in the calculations. I didn't get chance to write all the details down. Things were a bit hectic - i might have got my measuring wrong on the H&H boiler. All things to check for next time.

Cloudy wort in the FV just means that not all the trub was filtered out as the wort went through, but that's not the end of the world.

Its good that it's not the end of the world - what could i have done differently to make sure more of the trub was filtered out?

s long as you rack the beer off it after fermentation, everything will be fine.

Will a normal 7 day ferment be ok? I'll bottle/keg it after that.

A I think with your mash temp you'll be ok too, how long did you mash for? Mashing low produces more fermentable sugars than mashing high, so I suspect your beer might be a little lighter in body than you may have planned, but it'll still be good.

I was really just looking to get through the whole thing and make something drinkable!

Kev

[yashicamat]

Should have started with about 30l of wort after the sparge but ended up with 27l. Must just have done something wrong in the calculations. I didn't get chance to write all the details down. Things were a bit hectic - i might have got my measuring wrong on the H&H boiler. All things to check for next time.

That sounds like where your loss was then. The grain probably soaked up more liquid than you were expecting, but you know for next time.

Its good that it's not the end of the world - what could i have done differently to make sure more of the trub was filtered out?

The standard practice seems to be to recirculate the wort back into the boiler (in much the same way as you do with the mash tun). I found when I let it sit for 10 minutes though (especially if I used whirlfloc / irish moss), the hops and trub would collect at the bottom and the wort would come out clear almost immediately. But I really don't think it's anything to worry about.

Will a normal 7 day ferment be ok? I'll bottle/keg it after that.

That's fine, just make sure it's finished fermenting though (check it has reached the final gravity reading).

I was really just looking to get through the whole thing and make something drinkable!

Kev

As long as you were thorough with your sanitation (and therefore should be infection-free) you will be very pleased with the results, I am sure!

Do let us know how it turns out.

[Stringy Bob]

Thanks again for all the advice, im going to update this running order/checklist later tonight as i'm going for my first all grain brew tommorrow morning.

Right, Im on my 1st AG brew today and have just reached number 7 on the above checklist without too much grief - On item 8, what temp should the 9.5ltr be?

cheers

aHow you getting on, have you discovered any flaws in my planning?

Kev

Everything went pretty well (except the wife coming back early before I cleaned up). Ended up with 30ltrs exactly as planned, but at 1055, which is higher than the 1048 I planned. This is what I used
6.5kg Pale Malt
500g crystal
80g fuggles full boil
30g fuggles last 15 mins
30g fuggles steep.
2 x SO4 yeast

All in all an enjoyable 6hrs

[Shoit]

I'll see how it goes over the next 24hr hours. I'm worried about the sanitation side, i didn't do anything different to when I've made up the 5 kits before (and never had an infection) but i'm worried about all the other potential ways infection could have got in during the boil.

We shall see.

Kev

[yashicamat]

I'll see how it goes over the next 24hr hours. I'm worried about the sanitation side, i didn't do anything different to when I've made up the 5 kits before (and never had an infection) but i'm worried about all the other potential ways infection could have got in during the boil.

We shall see.

Kev

Anything before the boiler was switched off will be fine as the boil will kill anything. It's just the cooling and transfer of the wort to the FV which require the care. I'd not worry if I were you. You seem to have been very thorough with everything and well on the way to producing fantastic beer.

[Parva]

All sounds good to me. And I also mentioned the cloudy wort issue in an earlier post, it's not so much the cloudiness that defines the wort as running 'clear', it's being free of grain debris mostly. I've just done a 10G brew today and I know that the cloudy wort that went into my boiler and FV will settle out just fine. Ok, you didn't get your intended quantity but you will work out where these losses are occuring and meanwhile you'll be drinking your first ever AG brew.

[Shoit]

Thanks for everyones help with this - the brewday was busier than expected but the brew is now fermenting rapidly in the fv. It took off like a rocket within 6hrs. About 2" krausen and bubbling away merrily.

Thanks again

Kev

[yashicamat]

Thanks for everyones help with this - the brewday was busier than expected but the brew is now fermenting rapidly in the fv. It took off like a rocket within 6hrs. About 2" krausen and bubbling away merrily.

Thanks again

Kev

Sounds good.