Am i ready for my first AG brew

[Triker750]

Good Evening, If i may I am going to post what i think i have to do for an AG brew.

First the equipment.
I have made an HLT/Boiler from a stainless steel firken.
A Mash tun from a 42Ltr coolbox with 2" Insulation added all round and on the lid.
Manifold from 15mm copper pipe with slits all down one side as per the pics on the net.
A chiller coil made of 12mm id copper pipe.(Lots of surface area)
FV is 33Ltr bucket with airtight lid and air lock.

This is what i think i have to do from my reading so far.

Raise the temp of the water in the HLT to Strike temp, Mash temp is 66 so strike at 77.
Run this water into the mash tum as required by the recipe.(heat the mash tun with some hot water first)
Pour grains into mash tun and stir well, make sure there are no clumps,
Leave with lid on for 60 mins.( length of time stated in recipe)
Start running off the wort, putting it back in the tun until it runs clear.
Sparge by keeping the water in the tun an inch above the grains,(this water is still at 66??)
Continue sparging until the wort leaving the tun has an OG of 1010.
Transfer this wort into my boiler and raise to the boil.
Add hops, boil for 90 Mins, adding hops as required by the recipe.
10 mins before the end of the boil, put my chiller in the wort to sterilise.
Rapidly cool with chiller to 22/25deg
Run wort into my FV, check temp and add yeast.
Ferment, test FG and bottle.

There, that is what i have in mind. Are there any glaring mistakes or misunderstandings on my part here.

Long post but i hope i am on the right track.
Recipe i am going for first is a summer lightning using S04.
Any Advice or do i just do it.
Cheers and beers, and thanks for taking the time to read this.
Bob : :

 

[leeboozer]

go for it Bob, seems like youve got everything covered, it took me till ag#5 before i could even explain what i was doing without running back to this website ,it looks like youre going about things the right way, best o' luck :thumb:

 

[Runwell-Steve]

Generally speaking it looks as though you have it sussed.

Make sure you add a campden tablet to the water before you start to remove the chlorine and chloramines.
As to other water treatment thats a whole other subject.

I would say a strike temp of 77C is a little high.

I usually have my strike water at 71 - 72C and then add the grains and usually end up about right, assuming your Mash Tun is preheated which you said it was.

For sparging I raise the temp of the water that I am sparging with to 75C

I also just keep sparging until I have enough wort, I don't bother checking the gravity of the runnings any more, but it's worth doing on your first few batches to make sure things are going to plan.

Add finnings to the boil 15 minutes before the end at the same time as your Immersion Chiller. I prefer protofloc tablets.

Check your OG just before pitching your yeast.

Apart from that all looks good, now get on and brew.

 

[Good Ed]

As above :thumb: Yes take the plunge; have you looked at the how to http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=493

The only other things to consider are the volume of your mash liquor, usually 2.5L/kg of grain, and your pre boil volume, which you will get used to by experience. I use a plastic bucket with electric heating element and find that, based on 90 min boil, I generally need 32L pre boil to get 23L finished wort.

Good luck : what are you brewing?

 

[keith1664]

You seem to have got your head around the process, just a few points to bear in mind.
I think most of us mash for 90 minutes.
When you sparge you're looking to raise the temperature of the grain to stop the enzymes, so sparge water will need to be in the low 80's looking to raise the grain temp to 75ish.
Don't forget to compensate for temperaturre when checking the gravity of your wort.
15 minutes is the usual length of time to sterilise your chiller.
Check your gravity before pitching yeast as well as after fermentation.
Make sure your hop strainer is fitted.
Ensure all taps are closed!
Good luck.

 

[orange]

I've only done 4 AG's myself. I wish i'd had it so sussed out before my first. It's really good to get the first one done so you can get to know your kit and tweek your temps. Good luck. :thumb: :

 

[Triker750]

OK, thanks for the replies so far.

Got it with the sparge temps, missed that in my reading thank you.
Also, i have made a hop strainer from a stainless flexi pipe with the rubber removed.
Had not even thought about camden tablets or finnings, i have now, again, thank you.
First attempt will be Summer lightning, looks like a good choice for the first timer.
15 mins to sterilise the chiller, got it, thanks.
Temp compensation for the hydrometer, more reading required there i think.
Great advice so far,.
Thanks again,
Bob :thumb:

 

[Runwell-Steve]

If you click on the calculators button in the header there is a hydrometer temperature conversion thing in there.

 

[keith1664]

Look at the top left of the page, click on Calculators then scroll down.
Basically if your wort sample is sitting in your trial jar at 60 degrees and it's sg is 1010, well it's really 1025. At 60 degrees 1010 is actually 995.

 

[Triker750]

Ah, I see the calculators now, Brilliant.
Great forum this,
Thank you all so much.
Bob

 

[luckyeddie]

Kick ass, Bob. The Dark Side awaits.

:thumb:

 

[evanvine]

Don't take what LE says too literally, you don't want to go upsetting those little yeasties. :whistle:

 

[TheMumbler]

72 should be about right for your strike temperature. I just went with 72 or so for my first 26 brews you can check temp as you go and adjust up or down with boiling or cold water.

I finally bothered to calculate strike temperature on my last brew. There are calculators online, but not on this forum as far as I can see. The formula is below if you want to do it by hand or make an excel spreadsheet. Using Kg, litres and degrees celsius as units

Strike temperature =

(mash temp × (weight of water + 0.4 × weight of malt) - (0.4 × weight of malt × temp of malt)
________________________________________________________________________________
(weight of water)

 

[Mr.Everready]

Nice post Triker.

I'm just about in the same place as yourself. I made up my boiler/hlt last week and fitted my tap to a thermos coolbox yesterday, just need to cut the slits into the copper pipe BigYin is making a cooler for me then I'll be ready to go. Just need to get my head round sparging before I go :wha:

 

[Triker750]

Decided today to make a sparge type thingy, Just got some 15mm copper pipe, some elbows and a t, put it together and started drilling 1mm holes in it.
Then the boss wanted me to do some work, what a cheek, dose he not know i have beer to brew.
Should get it finished tomorrow and then i am all set for a trip to "The dark side" on Saturday.
Thanks again to all who replied to my post and rest assured i will treat my yeast with the utmost respect and will not "kick it ass"
Thanks again,
Bob :