Cattal Brewery AG#3

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stevet

Cattal Brewery AG#3

Post by stevet » Wed Apr 30, 2008 1:38 pm

This one is a pale Maris Otter lager experiment (fer t'missus) inspired by comments in Graham Wheeler's book:

5.5Kg Pale Maris Otter
20 IBU Hersbrucker (copper)
15 IBU Saaz (aroma)
Safale05


Here's me brewery - it is slightly Heath-Robinson and is in the garage which is not the most sanitary of environments.

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Here's the control panel - looks lethal but I've tested all the components and every single bit of metal is earthed, every cable correctly fused:

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Thermometer close-up:

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False bottom mashtun a la DaaB - excellent design - works a treat :
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When I made the brewery I did the boiler first and in my haste to get going I made 3 mistakes - (a) It's too big for the elements (lots of insulation needed to reach foamy rolling boil) (b) Elements mounted too far off the base (c) Made the first element hole a bit too big. Anyway it just about works and here it is getting filled:

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Sparging action:

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Mid-sparge gravity check:

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Boiler extractor fan:

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Forgot to take boiling and cooling photos.

Thar she blows:

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Actually did this on Sunday - fermentation seemed to take a while to get going but I checked last night and it's now well on it's way.

Looks and smells like it could end up largery - I'll let you know!

Thanks to everyone who posts on this forum - my first 2 brews have been pretty successful mainly due to the large amount of info I've plundered from this site.
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roger the dog

Post by roger the dog » Wed Apr 30, 2008 2:49 pm

Great pictures of a good looking set-up (compared to mine at least !)

I particularly like the temp. control box 8)
Last edited by roger the dog on Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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russt1969

Post by russt1969 » Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:02 pm

Good photos. Like it alot :)
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Garth
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Post by Garth » Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:18 pm

Great setup there Steve, nice piccies, is it in you loft or summat?
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stevet

Post by stevet » Wed Apr 30, 2008 3:24 pm

Thanks - unfortunately I'm only 3 brews in and the electronic thermometer's already spannered. Either the mash temperature sensor is a duff one or it's just not suitable for immersion. When I'm happy that the design's reliable I'm going to post it.
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Vossy1

Post by Vossy1 » Wed Apr 30, 2008 4:50 pm

Tidy set up Steve 8)
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DRB

Post by DRB » Wed Apr 30, 2008 10:05 pm

That is really clear stuff in the hydro, mine never gets that clear.
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mixbrewery
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Post by mixbrewery » Thu May 01, 2008 8:12 am

Tasty electrics setup. 8)
Hope the brew turns out ok.
Check out the beers we have for sale @ Mix Brewery
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stevet

Post by stevet » Thu May 01, 2008 9:50 am

Garth wrote:Great setup there Steve, nice piccies, is it in you loft or summat?
- It's in the garage - which does have a ridged roof. I'm tempted to move into it for extra height. At the moment I'm using a pump to pull the wort from my boiler through the cooler - each time I use it it sounds like it's about to croak - gravity would be more reliable.
DRB wrote:That is really clear stuff in the hydro, mine never gets that clear.
I reckon it's the false bottom mash tun design - I've never tried anything else (and I've only done 3 brews) but each time it's run clear almost straight away.
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