Have a go at simple AG

[bobukbrewer]

I always bottle into a couple of 1 litre tonic water bottles and the rest in glass 500 ml bottles - to give me an idea of carbonisation level. Seagull - I am in northamptonshire - where are you ?

 

[thegoatboy]

I have a day off Tuesday so hopefully gonna take my unused peko boiler for a spin.

 

[Gareth_H]

Thanks, a great easy to follow guide! I have just followed this to make 15l, I used Citra and put in the extra hops as per the guide.

One question though, would adding more hops by dry hopping make this too hoppy? I have 100g and have used around 45g for this, just wondering if using the remaining would be too much.

Also, how much sugar to add before bottling?

 

[SeagullRich]

Update - 3 AG batches in now, bottled the first one on Fri night, still to carb - but the difference at that stage between this and a kit is very discernible. I used the original recipe, Fermented for 18 days, then cold crashed for 2. It really does look very promising at the moment - have done two more IPA's from recipes and next up is a Brewdog Punk IPA. It is fair to say I am enjoying this. Technique is improving and timings are getting shorter. Will see how I go, but I think I may have to invest in a mash tun/boiler etc at some stage. ANother huge thumbs up for this thread from me! Will let you know when I have tasted it in a few weeks.

Gareth_H Almost all on here more experience than me, but rough rule of thumb I have read is 5g sugar per litre

 

[bobukbrewer]

priming rate - I use 1 to 2 gm of brewing sugar per litre, but do bottle after only 4 or 5 days, and as mentioned above always have 2 one litre PET bottles to give me an idea of pressure in the bottles....

 

[dps51]

i put 60g sugar in a 23ltr barrel which lasted all must 3/4 used up before I had to use a co2 cartridge
@seagullrich I have a ace mash/boiler for sale with a lot of other stuff if you are interested in it
http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=73428

 

[SeagullRich]

so..original recipe made

18 days fermenting
2 cold crashing
17 conditioning (5g sugar per l)

an I tasted one..........it was really rather nice indeed, definitely better at that stage than all kits I have done. As has bee mentioned, none of the kit 'twang' and I think I am an AG convert, I also tried a Festival US Steam which I bottled at the time and the AG was definitely better!

4 AG brews in now, got 2 in bottles and two fermenting including a Punk IPA which I am very excited about. Dark IPA next!

Still brew a little short due to equipment (I topped up the Punk IPA with 1.5l) to get more in demijphn - ABV will go down by around 0.75% which is fine.

DPS51 thank you for offer, think I need to make some space etc first and save some cash, but in future I will be getting some gear.

All in, from an absolute amateur, this thread is brilliant and has enableed me to take the next step! Go for it, if a numptey like me can do it then anyone can!

 

[Luke_Buckaz]

I have been reading this thread in depth.

I have just purchased the maris otter and some admiral hops and some yeast this morning. It's happening tomorrow.

 

[BeerisGOD]

I have been reading this thread in depth.

I have just purchased the maris otter and some admiral hops and some yeast this morning. It's happening tomorrow.

Make sure UV got a small bottles of water in the freezer over night to chill the wort. I use about 7 500ml bottles in total. Gets it down to around 35c within the hour for a ten litre batch.
After it's been transferred it's normally ok to pitch depending on the yeast strain

 

[kendhansak]

Deleted this message as it was moved from another topic and doesn't reference any of the posts in this thread. :)

 

[Luke_Buckaz]

So, I've followed all the steps. Before bottling I put the whole demijohn into the fridge to clear it. Came to bottling and decided to put a small amount of sugar directly into the bottles, but I don't seem to be getting any carbonation. I have bottled into PET bottles and they just don't seem to be firming up. I've had them in the warm for a week now.

Have I made all the yeast drop out by chilling it before priming?

 

[chub1]

What's a small amount of sugar?. Always leave the bottles in the warm for 10/14 days to carb up. You might possibly have not added sufficient sugar.

 

[Luke_Buckaz]

I added 5g per 500ml bottle. I'll leave it another week then. Was hoping to have one Xmas eve but looks like I'll have to wait til new years eve. Oh well plenty of wine in, haha!

 

[Mikeyd]

Ok so i tried this last night, recipe was simple.
2 kg pale malt, 100g crystal, 20g challenger

I pitched the yeast last night when I had cooled the wort and this morning nothing, no airlock activity and there’s nothing on the surface to suggest fermentation has begun. I’m not sure where it’s gone wrong. I’ve try the usual things for stuck fermentation, stired the wort, warmed it a little, added a bit of yeast nutrient however nothing. I’ve even added some additional yeast starter today which was foaming well before it went in but no joy still.

I mashed at 68 degrees and it finished after an hour at 62 ish
When I checked the sg before adding the yeast it was 1.062 so thought I’d done an ok job with the mash?!

Any ideas please, thanks.

 

[BeerisGOD]

What yeast did you use? Some are slpw starters. Mangrove jacks can take a full day or so to get going

 

[Mikeyd]

What yeast did you use? Some are slpw starters. Mangrove jacks can take a full day or so to get going

I used so4 initially. Must admit it was the second half of a packet I had opened some time ago. Then today I used some wilko Gervin as that was all I could get my hands on.

 

[Oneflewover]

I reckon that it's a bit early to get too concerned yet. I bet the wilko yeast kicks off in the next 24 hours

 

[BeerisGOD]

That might be why then. And a different yeast added.. Pretty sure this isnt good but brewers have done this.
How did u strore the opened packet?

 

[Mikeyd]

Ok I’ll not panic just yet then. I’ve only done kits before and they’ve always been quite quick to get going. Fingers crossed I’ll have some activity tomorrow. Was just bit worried I’d messed something up with the mash or boil as it’s my first all grain.
My Sg beforehand I topped up was 1.070, is that pretty reasonable for clibits recipe?

 

[Mikeyd]

That might be why then. And a different yeast added.. Pretty sure this isnt good but brewers have done this.
How did u strore the opened packet?

It was just taped up in a sealed bag....
I made a little starter with cool boiled water and a pinch of brewing sugar. Seemed like it was doing something before I put it in. Mind you, it wasn’t as much activity as the gervin that I then added today using the same technique (although I added some yeast nutrient to that starter also).