1st ever AG Brew is underway

[the complete angler]

I had my malt delivery earlier and ive got a free evening so i decided to get it done tonight and have a days fishing tomorrow

I sterilized all my equipment in a big tub with some sterilizing powder earlier today in readiness for tomorrow

in the mash tun I have got 4kg of Maris Otter and 250g of Crystal, I put the water from the boiler into the tun when it was at 72ºC then stirred in the malt which was at 18ºC, it was at spot on 66ºC when I closed the lid and set the timer for 90 Mins

I'll top the boiler up in a bit ready to get it heated up for sparging

FINGERS CROSSED

mike

 

[joe1002]

Excellent, glad you are enjoying it :thumb:

Is it too early to welcome you to the darkside :lol:

 

[the complete angler]

It seems to be fun, lots to think about and to remember to get all the processes in the right order and at the right time in the right quantities.

I'm assuming that All Grain is the " Dark Side", its a shame not to as I only live 5 minutes from a large Maltings

mike

 

[PD]

good luck with your brew.

 

[Tomcat]

enjoy and good luck :thumb:

 

[artyb]

well done ..... :

 

[PD]

and enjoy tomorrows fishing....

 

[dennisking]

Just try and enjoy, we are all nervous first time.

 

[the complete angler]

phew, just sparged the mash, I got 23lt of a pale slightly cloudy liquid that smells fantastic, it ran clear at 18 but I just ran the last 5lt through the mash to top up,
My yeast culture is coming to life and the wort is back in the boiler now at about 90º, the first Hop addition is weighed and waiting for 30 mins to be up

do I leave the lid off the boiler or cover up while boiling?

Mike

 

[the complete angler]

well its boiling away happily, got 20 mins to the first hop addition, then i'll get the chiller coil set up ready

this beer brewing game is fun if not a little stressful for a newbie

Mike

 

[the complete angler]

woohooo job done

1st ever beer brew is now sitting in the fermenting bucket at 20ºc, lets hope there is some action by morning

Mike

 

[Bonesy]

Congratulations :thumb: :thumb:

 

[PD]

well done on your first AG. Ain't it fun.

Hope its bubbling away well this morning.

 

[cnelsonplumber]

Welcome to the dark side :-D

 

[EskiBrew]

Top work there, enjoy the fishing too :thumb:

 

[pittsy]

well done , what was your final volume (short ?) as you collected 23l from the mash then boiling it , you would prob have around 16l left or did i miss something , if so how much water did you use all told ? i use 35 litres to get 23L . :thumb: p.s enjoy your fishing.

 

[jonnymorris]

Contracts on #1.

do I leave the lid off the boiler or cover up while boiling?

I've read that you need to leave the lid off to allow DMS to boil off. However, Aleman suggests that there is likely to be very little of the precursor to DMS in your Maris Otter so leaving the lid mostly on is not a problem. It'll actually help your rolling boil and reduce the volume lost to evaporation.

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Well done on the first brew... :thumb:

BB

 

[the complete angler]

well done , what was your final volume (short ?) as you collected 23l from the mash then boiling it , you would prob have around 16l left or did i miss something , if so how much water did you use all told ? i use 35 litres to get 23L . :thumb: p.s enjoy your fishing.

I got 17.5lt I think I may have got a little more than you as my boiler doesnt get hot enough to do a thrashing boil, just a strong simmer so I guess less evaporation, next time I will run a few extra liters through to try and get nearer to 23lt

Its bubbeing away nicely now, seemed to be slow getting going or I was expecting too much, but now its going hell for leather with the air lock constantly bubbling and occasionally some foam coming out the top so i keep topping it up with 50/50 hot water and whiskey as i thought it might sanitize anything that washed back into the vessel, the temperature in the house seems to be a fairly constant 21º, hopefully in a few days it will slow up a bit

Mike

 

[PD]

Nowt to this all grain is there ?....

Its more enjoyable than " mixing a kit " and makes you feel that its your beer.
Enjoy drinking it in not too distant future