Metman79
Active Member
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- Apr 20, 2021
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Completed my first brew day using my brand spanking new 32L Brewzilla (formally known as Robobrew) the other day.
Created a recipe to try, dangerous I know, probably should have gone with something tried and tested but I quite like making up new beer recipes. Aiming for something very hop forward but with a smidgeon of bitterness still and wasn't aiming for a dry hop as I have to bottle and wanted to minimise oxidation. Wanted something as a 'Halfway House' between a west and an east coast IPA.
Anyway, everything went pretty well for my first session on the Brewzilla with no major problems and just a couple of learning points for next time.
Mash went well after balancing out the recirculation/drainage speed and I made sure that the pump arm was in the 90°C position, and not directly over the grain basket, to save me having to undo and twist around for the drain and sparge part.
Main issues were a hell of a hot break and had to severely beat down the foam with the mash paddle and scoop some foam out temporarily with my jug before she settled down after a few minutes - slight panic. Good job I was attentively watching it otherwise I could have had a nasty boil over. I think next time when I'm getting up to 96/97°C I'll cut the 2100W down to just the 1600W to approach the boil a little slower.
Also completely forgot to add my Irish moss towards the end of the boil, as I was so concentrated on getting the immersion cooler and whirlpool arm ready and the hops set up for the whirlpool. Hope it settles out okay. I know there's a lot of talk against using hop spiders for hop heavy brew,s but I didn't fancy tempting a blocked pump on my first brew so just went with it.
Recipe:
4kg Extra Pale Maris Otter
1kg of Caramalt
500g of Wheat malt
20L strike water with additional 8L sparge, needed to add an extra L towards the end of the boil.
Mash in 65°C 45mins, mash out 75°C 15mins
Boil 60mins
Hops 10g of Nugget @ 10mins into the boil
Then Whirlpool after at 80°C with 60g Citra, 60g Bru-1 and 50g Nugget
Ended up with 23L with OG of 1055, efficiency ~ 75%. Aiming for around 5.8% with full attenuation.
Started fermenting at 19°C with Verdant yeast, aim is to then up the temp to ~22/23°C later on Saturday and leave for ~4days. Then I was planning to cold crash, but wondered if anyone had any advice on how to go with this? Some reading material says to take it slow and reduce only by 1°C per day to not cold shock the yeast, whereas others suggest cold crash as low as you can go over 1-2days. The only thing that worries me with the cold crash is sucking air in through the airlock and potential oxidation.
I'm a newb to electric AG brewing (previously used a stove top kettle and a cool box) so will happily take constructive criticism on any of this, including my recipe, so please provide feedback if you fancy.
The DIY fermentation fridge seems to be keeping a really steady check on the temperature so far and smells absolutely, insanely delicious right now! Full on smack in the face with the hops. Will attach a couple of picks when I get a sec. Thanks for your interest!!
Created a recipe to try, dangerous I know, probably should have gone with something tried and tested but I quite like making up new beer recipes. Aiming for something very hop forward but with a smidgeon of bitterness still and wasn't aiming for a dry hop as I have to bottle and wanted to minimise oxidation. Wanted something as a 'Halfway House' between a west and an east coast IPA.
Anyway, everything went pretty well for my first session on the Brewzilla with no major problems and just a couple of learning points for next time.
Mash went well after balancing out the recirculation/drainage speed and I made sure that the pump arm was in the 90°C position, and not directly over the grain basket, to save me having to undo and twist around for the drain and sparge part.
Main issues were a hell of a hot break and had to severely beat down the foam with the mash paddle and scoop some foam out temporarily with my jug before she settled down after a few minutes - slight panic. Good job I was attentively watching it otherwise I could have had a nasty boil over. I think next time when I'm getting up to 96/97°C I'll cut the 2100W down to just the 1600W to approach the boil a little slower.
Also completely forgot to add my Irish moss towards the end of the boil, as I was so concentrated on getting the immersion cooler and whirlpool arm ready and the hops set up for the whirlpool. Hope it settles out okay. I know there's a lot of talk against using hop spiders for hop heavy brew,s but I didn't fancy tempting a blocked pump on my first brew so just went with it.
Recipe:
4kg Extra Pale Maris Otter
1kg of Caramalt
500g of Wheat malt
20L strike water with additional 8L sparge, needed to add an extra L towards the end of the boil.
Mash in 65°C 45mins, mash out 75°C 15mins
Boil 60mins
Hops 10g of Nugget @ 10mins into the boil
Then Whirlpool after at 80°C with 60g Citra, 60g Bru-1 and 50g Nugget
Ended up with 23L with OG of 1055, efficiency ~ 75%. Aiming for around 5.8% with full attenuation.
Started fermenting at 19°C with Verdant yeast, aim is to then up the temp to ~22/23°C later on Saturday and leave for ~4days. Then I was planning to cold crash, but wondered if anyone had any advice on how to go with this? Some reading material says to take it slow and reduce only by 1°C per day to not cold shock the yeast, whereas others suggest cold crash as low as you can go over 1-2days. The only thing that worries me with the cold crash is sucking air in through the airlock and potential oxidation.
I'm a newb to electric AG brewing (previously used a stove top kettle and a cool box) so will happily take constructive criticism on any of this, including my recipe, so please provide feedback if you fancy.
The DIY fermentation fridge seems to be keeping a really steady check on the temperature so far and smells absolutely, insanely delicious right now! Full on smack in the face with the hops. Will attach a couple of picks when I get a sec. Thanks for your interest!!
