AG#1 only went into the barrel last week, but having been devastated at my pathetic efficiency of 65% I spent a few hours stripping my mashtun down, reinsulating it, filling the lid with insulating foam etc. So i was itching for an excuse to see if it had made any difference. It's not a bank holiday where i live, hence the name.Without further ado, here's the recipe. It's meant to be an IPA, although i'm not sure how pale it will really be.
brew length 23l
5500g Pale Malt
500 Crystal Malt
40g Columbus (16%) 75 mins
20g Fuggles (4.9) 15 mins
20g EKG (5.3%) 15 mins
20g EKG, 20g Bobek, 20g Fuggles at flameout.
Got strike temp of about 74C, and having thoroughly warmed the tun beforehand, doughed in and gasped in amazement as it hit 66C. Started work
Gasped even more loudly when i opened the lid 90 minutes later and it was still reading 66C. Very happy. Got 26l out from the initial runoff plus a big batch sparge, SG ~ 1056 (after temp correction) which puts it close to 80%. Very happy with that. Hops are currently steeping away before i chill it. Made a big long checklist this time to avoid forgetting anything (last time i forgot to put the ic into the boil) and so far things seem to be fine. Be interesting to see how this one turns out. I may dry hop for the first time with this, but will make that decision once it's fermented out. Took pictures this time, although not as many as i'd planned!6kg of grain.
finally getting to boiling point. Always takes longer than i expect
pre-boil gravity. at about 59C.
OG ended up being about 1059. Airlock was burping away before i went to bed, and is going like a train now
