AG No. 1! Sara Carter's Bombay(ish)

[SimonS]

Well guys, thank to a lot of reading (mainly on this forum!), and a little dutch courage, I finally bit the bullet and did my first all grain!

My aim was Sara Carter's Bombay - but I did drift a little away as you shall see

Ingredients
6kg Maris Otter
500mg Vienna Malt
These were the quantities I bought them in, so I decided to just chuck 'em in - efficiency is going to be low on my first time, isn't it?
25g Gypsum ('cos thats what Brewsmith said to use - Stockport water is soft as!) No epsom salt though - I didn't have any

This is what a cool box with a load of maris otter looks like, by the way
http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b63 ... 20b141.jpg

Mash at 66 degrees (I think - troubles with hot spots, dubious thermometers, adding cold water, adding hot -what a palaver!) for 90 mins
Then (tried to) fly sparge through perforated tin foil - you know the drill! Final runnings 1.013, giving 30 L (pre-boil SG of 1.050)

Hops! (These smell AMAZING by the way)
http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b63 ... a95beb.jpg
11g Northern Brewer 75mins
10g Centennial 75 mins
8g Amarillo 75 mins
10g Northern Brewer 45 mins
10g Centennial 45mins
8g Amarillo 45 mins
40g Northern Brewer at turn off and steeped for 30 mins
40g Cebtennial as above
30g Amarillo as above
Irish Moss at 15 mins

Or that was the idea. But as there was quite a bit in the packets, in the end I just distributed the remainder between the three timings, so 100g of each in total. Like I said, they smelt GREAT.

Here is a hot break (I think)
http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b63 ... 34a557.jpg

All went well, wort chiller using water from the water butt did grand, and I ended up with 19L at an OG of 1.060
http://i1295.photobucket.com/albums/b63 ... f98f52.jpg

Into the FV with 2 packets of re-hydrated Nottingham and a fair bit of splashing, and it is currently fermenting nicely.
There was a load of hops left in the boiler, as you might expect, with a really horrible oily substance - is this the cold break?

In any case, lessons learnt
1. Don't make up recipes on the fly when you don't have a clue. Next time I wont end up with a massively over hopped, very bitter, dark, attempt at an IPA. Hopefully ageing will sort it out.
2. Get a proper thermometer. Not some cheap eastern digital **** off ebay you don't really trust.
3. Stir the mash.
4. How to post photos on the forum (I hope)!

Any comments? And what kind of efficency am I running at? Beersmith reckons 56.5% (ouch!) - is this about right? What can I do to correct this?

 

[Good Ed]

well done on a very nice beer, the thing to do when following a recipe is just to do that.

good temperature monitoring is essential, I just use the glass thingy now after the digital ones broke down.

stirring the mash is very simple, just stir to break up any dough balls and get the grain mixed together

use photobucket very easy http://www.photobucket.com/

forget about efficiency, they are just numbers that you put in to your brewing software to get a good beer

and above all well done on your first ag :thumb: :

 

[Good Ed]

also I forgot to say where are the pics? :lol:

 

[SimonS]

Dammit!

I thought I had done it through photobucket. I will do some reading when I get back home tonight.

 

[PD]

agree with not so good Ed.

On your first few brews its better to pick a simple recipe and stick to it, temps volumes and amounts are important, so you ensure a good beer and more importantly you understand the relationship between them all and the various differences in taste. Slight variations in amounts of hops especially will alter the taste/bitterness aroma of your beer.
Graham Wheelers book gives easy uncomplicated recipes which if followed make very good beers.
You can't beat the old fashioned ! glass thermometer looked after and not dropped they are very reliable.