1.002 from 1.053 is a rather impressive 96% attenuation. Gervin is Nottingham (isn't it?) and I've seen reports that sometimes it can attenuate very highly. If you've tasted it and there's no funk or sourness about it then I guess it's OK.
First brew
- Thread starter Rodcx500z
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It could be me reading hydrometer wrong, yes it's Nottingham took off like a house on fire, no nasty taste, all my brews years ago and recently have been kits I have never tasted one this good bitter malty and hops, I feel quite proud of myself
Sounds like you've caught the brewing bug!
I have, this one was a bit of a feck up but if it taste good who cares
PhilBrew
Landlord.
Hi Rod
Such a high level of attenuation might indicate that you've mashed at a lower temperature than you thought you were mashing at ... as a general rule mashing at lower temps favours the production of more fermentable sugars, mashing at higher temps favours the production of less fermentable sugars
... I don't know how you were maintaining your mash temp or whether you've checked your thermometer reads correctly at 0C and 100C (at least) but you may just want to watch whether this keeps happening over your next few brews
Not that it should be too much of a problem ... this kept happening to me when I first started (BIAB) AG brewing, and apart from making stronger beer than expected, with cr@p head retention, there was very little otherwise that would indicate it as a problem (no lack of body, mouthfeel, or anything) ... I eventually tracked down that the temperature of the mash inside of my grain bag was consistently staying around 2-3C lower than the water/wort outside, which was being maintained by the boiler
... I used to have to set a temp of 69C for the mash to be kept at 66C 
... but that little change sorted all my high attenuation problems 
Cheers, PhilB
Such a high level of attenuation might indicate that you've mashed at a lower temperature than you thought you were mashing at ... as a general rule mashing at lower temps favours the production of more fermentable sugars, mashing at higher temps favours the production of less fermentable sugars
... I don't know how you were maintaining your mash temp or whether you've checked your thermometer reads correctly at 0C and 100C (at least) but you may just want to watch whether this keeps happening over your next few brews Not that it should be too much of a problem ... this kept happening to me when I first started (BIAB) AG brewing, and apart from making stronger beer than expected, with cr@p head retention, there was very little otherwise that would indicate it as a problem (no lack of body, mouthfeel, or anything) ... I eventually tracked down that the temperature of the mash inside of my grain bag was consistently staying around 2-3C lower than the water/wort outside, which was being maintained by the boiler
... I used to have to set a temp of 69C for the mash to be kept at 66C ... but that little change sorted all my high attenuation problems Cheers, PhilB
Thanks for advice phil, I set the boiler at 72c thermometer read 71c put the grain in gave it a good stir and it was at 66c had to turn kettle once to maintain temp, hydrometer reading was 1053 as per recipe so it could be me reading it wrong, once again thanks something I keep an eye on with next brew
PhilBrew
Landlord.
Hi Rod
With beer fermenting, you may well find you've got time to do some experimenting/calibration to check whether you can/should trust your thermometer ... try following Dutto's instructions over there (link)
You may as well check your hydrometer measures gravity at 1.000 in water at 20C, while you're at it, too.
Cheers, PhilB
With beer fermenting, you may well find you've got time to do some experimenting/calibration to check whether you can/should trust your thermometer
... try following Dutto's instructions over there (link) You may as well check your hydrometer measures gravity at 1.000 in water at 20C, while you're at it, too.
Cheers, PhilB
Update, just bottled it, only got 24 bottles it tastes nice if a little malty no nasty niffs or anything bad, I know were I fecked up in eagerness to do my first ag I tried without a bag just the base plate and bazooka I had to dig all the grain out I found a bag I use for hops put it all in there and cold sparged it, I will be very happy if this turns out alright, got a bag now just waiting for cooler weather
Well I couldn't resist, just had to taste my first brew a pale ale thingy feck up, opened the bottle it's carbonated poured it well fizzy good head for about 1 minute had a smell yeah nice nothing nasty, Had a taste first thing I got was maltiness and maybe faint caramel swallowed it and the bitterness is just about right for me and the fizz exploded all over my mouth this after 3 days I can't wait for 3 weeks but I will' ? will the fizz die down a bit with age
GotOneBrewin
Well-Known Member
Hi, what equipment did you buy and what was your beef with the bazooka?
Sounds like a success to me. Keep an eye on the carbonation as it won't die down but likely will carb up more. How much sugar did you use for priming?
Get the next one on!
I bought a Klarstein fullhorn electric kettle, my first ag I tried to do without a bag big mistake, because of my mistake I chucked the bazooka in the bin I later fished it out, my second brew I used a bag and the bazooka with the bottom plate in the brew went like a dream, 19l of dark mild now bubbling away in the fv
Hi brew dd2 one gran suger cube per bottle, next one is fermenting as we speak 19l of dark mild
That looks like a nice bit of kit. Good idea on going with a bag too. Just cuts out many potential brew day issues and has no negatives for me. I've tried false bottoms and bazookas and always ended up with one problem or another and ended up going back to mashing in a bag. I might have to consider asking Santa for one of those kettles...
Should have no bother with over-carb with a 1g a bottle priming dose.
It's a good piece of kit and well made with the 10 pound off I got it for £139-99p they also sell a bag for £24-99p I got mine from china for £4-09p
Yeah, some of the mashing bags you see are overpriced. I have quite a few and I don't think I've paid more than a tenner. They all work the same funnily enough.
This one is 30cm diameter and 60cm high fits the kettle easy I didn't have to use anything to keep it in place, got it off amazon took 10 days to get here, which explains my feck up with the brew I couldn't wait to fire the kettle up
GotOneBrewin
Well-Known Member
I just looked at the instructions. So did you have problems with draining the wort? Even if it all went to plan wouldn't it be a pain in the a*s* cleaning all the grain out before you try and pour boiling hot wort back in. I was tempted for a minute but think I will wait and get a coolbox and a simple boiler set up
That was my mistake it's a baib boiler kettle, I tried without a bag, second brew I used a bag viola like a dream, it's a great kettle
