Have a go at simple AG

[Tony1951]

Minimalist AG brew gear.

I did this because my FV is in use with another brew, but the £17 Wilco pot can work as a FV as well as a brew kettle. :)

I wrapped the pot to level out temperature fluctuations in the same towel that I used to keep the mash temperature stable yesterday.

The fermentation is going well and there is enough space in this 12l pot for the krausen not to spill over and make a mess.

You can see the clingfilm covering the mouth of the pot to prevent anything getting in from outside. I made a pin prick in the top of it to let the gas out.

Gorgeous smell of cascade coming out of the pot. Looking forward to trying it.

 

[Tony1951]

I brewed for a while before checking my thermometer accuracy, fortunately it was good. A £3 glass one as well. Something everyone should do.

Check your thermometers twice. Once in ice water, it should be 32 degrees F/ 0 degrees C. And again in boiling water, it should be 212F / 100C obviously, or near as dammit.

Mine shows 104C on a rolling boil and +1 in iced water. It's a £3.50 Young's one. Not great in this case, but like you say, probably near enough. I'm thinking it is probably about 2C high at the mashing temperature range, but that's guess work.

edit:

Later discussion has made it clear that wort is not just water and has a higher boiling point because it contains sugars. See later discussion in thread. The thermometer performed correctly in fact.

 

[clibit]

I don't think you need a pin prick in the cling film. The gas gets out without it. Clever stuff gas, Houdini-esque.

 

[MyQul]

I don't think you need a pin prick in the cling film. The gas gets out without it. Clever stuff gas, Houdini-esque.

You right about this. I'm not sure how it escapes though. Does it seep out from under the sides? Another member (can't quite remember who) mentioned a while back that C02 can pass through thecling film?

However it escapes I've always just covered my FV an not worried about putting a hole in it

 

[LarryF]

Using a big pan as an FV, ingenious........I've just bought a big pan....oh dear..........I know where this goes. So, how to convince SWMBO?

 

[Tony1951]

Using a big pan as an FV, ingenious........I've just bought a big pan....oh dear..........I know where this goes. So, how to convince SWMBO?

LOL - just ply her with fragrant, fruity hoppy beer and see how that helps. :)

Cheers

 

[LarryF]

LOL - just ply her with fragrant, fruity hoppy beer and see how that helps. :)

Cheers

Beating her off the "fragrant, fruity hoppy beer " might be nearer to the point Tony:wink: Being a newbie (January) and In my naivety every time I brewed a beer I'd be shouting "come and try this one light of my life", the next thing I know when I'm loading up the fridge on Wednesday night I'm loading bottles for her too (not good and why I started my WOW campaign). However with the FV under the stairs, the 16L of TC under the kitchen table (Kitchen smells like a Somerset pub) and 10L of WOW in one of the bedrooms a second FV might be a bit much. Although one thing does jump to mind, if all my hop additions were in bags and could be easily removed couldn't I just top off the pot with cold water and cool 21c, pitch the yeast and seal the top with clingfilm as in the pictures and off we go?

 

[clibit]

I started AG after reading a simple guide like my own. In that guide, it told you to cool the beer in the sink then pitch the yeast straight into the pot and put the lid on. :thumb:

 

[Slid]

I brewed for a while before checking my thermometer accuracy, fortunately it was good. A £3 glass one as well. Something everyone should do.

Check your thermometers twice. Once in ice water, it should be 32 degrees F/ 0 degrees C. And again in boiling water, it should be 212F / 100C obviously, or near as dammit. This isn't 100% fool proof, it doesn't guarantee total accuracy within mash range, but it's good enough for the likes of most of us to make beer.

Impurities alter the freezing and boiling points of water. I would suggest that 104C boiling temps for a wort might not be as far out as you first think.

If you really want to re-calibrate the thermometer, you need to do it using just boiling / freezing water, not a wort.

There are intrinsic inaccuracies with thermometers, due to the fact that they have linear scales and less than infinite reservoirs of expanding liquid. Since mashing temperatures are near the middle of the claimed range, they are likely be pretty reliable at measuring what surrounds them.

There are likely to be significant temperature variances within the mashing pot and these will have greater impact on your beer than the measuring inaccuracies of a decent thermometer. Best way to address this is by agitating the contents of the pot during the mash.

What ths amounts to is simple. Stir the mash half way through.

 

[Tony1951]

Impurities alter the freezing and boiling points of water. I would suggest that 104C boiling temps for a wort might not be as far out as you first think.

If you really want to re-calibrate the thermometer, you need to do it using just boiling / freezing water, not a wort.

Well - You're right and I was wrong. And now you've pointed it out, the reason is pretty obvious. The boiling point of water is 100c. Highly sugared wort is a different proposition. I just put the thermometer into a boiling kettle away from the element and the indicated temperature was 100c. Come to think of it, I've read of psychopath convicts scalding one another with sugared water to create even more damage than the ordinary sort. I learn things here every day.

Apologies for the misinformation.

 

[bquiggerz]

Yeah if you think of making sweets which I do often, the syrup which is mostly water and a lot of sugar can get to 150C easily but that's taking it to the extreme obviously

 

[BeerCat]

Have to say a really big thanks to Clibit for this thread. I am definitely a convert and now on my 5th go. Had a really peculiar dream last night. I woke up and thought i had brewed a batch with chopped onions. Luckily not.

 

[Tony1951]

I woke up and thought i had brewed a batch with chopped onions. Luckily not.

Funky! :)

 

[H0PM0NSTER]

mesh grain bag ordered today to go with my 20 ltr pot. Then I'll be having a go at this. Thanks for the simple step by step guide.

 

[Padawanrob]

Just completed my 4th small batch AG after being inspired by this thread, big thanks to @clibit , so today I had a free day as my sea fishing trip was cancelled so went to my local brew shop and got some supplies, I messed with brew mate and Im experimenting with the following

Maris Otter 1kg
Crystal 120 .75g
Wheat Malt .75g

Summit 5g @ 60min
Cascade 5g @ 15min
Cascade 5g @ 5min

Lemon Peel 10g @ 5min

Safe Ale US5 3gm

looking for a citrus refreshing ale for what I hope will be a warm August.

 

[clibit]

Sounds good :thumb:

 

[Padawanrob]

Sounds good :thumb:

@clibit I tasted the wort as i measured the OG and it wasn't very bitter and not much from the cascade, will this come better with fermentation? Should I do a dry hop and if so when is best? My OG was 1.040 so that was disappointing and not sure what I did wrong to get a low OG :? Thanks again

 

[MartinHaworth]

OK, just put in my order from the Worcester Hop Shop (are there any other Worcester Brewers out there?). TT Landlord clone.

I have a couple of questions:

1. Wondering about using an spare insulated plastic FV as my mash tun - any reason why not?
2. Can I leave it to mash overnight - sure the temperature will go down low, but does this matter/are there risks?
3. Looking at boiling in two pans - topping up with sparged water - would this be OK / any risks with this?
4. Thinking of cooling hot wort with blocks of sterilized-water-ice placed into the wort - would this be OK / anyrisks?

(bottled my first SMaSH yesterday - got 24 pints - cloudy, but the fresh hop taste is incredible already!)

Thanks

Martin

 

[clibit]

@clibit I tasted the wort as i measured the OG and it wasn't very bitter and not much from the cascade, will this come better with fermentation? Should I do a dry hop and if so when is best? My OG was 1.040 so that was disappointing and not sure what I did wrong to get a low OG :? Thanks again

Once the sugars have been converted by the yeast the bitterness will increase. Taste it after 10-14 days and decide if you want to dry hop.

 

[clibit]

OK, just put in my order from the Worcester Hop Shop (are there any other Worcester Brewers out there?). TT Landlord clone.

I have a couple of questions:

1. Wondering about using an spare insulated plastic FV as my mash tun - any reason why not? Fine.
2. Can I leave it to mash overnight - sure the temperature will go down low, but does this matter/are there risks? Fine.
3. Looking at boiling in two pans - topping up with sparged water - would this be OK / any risks with this? Fine.
4. Thinking of cooling hot wort with blocks of sterilized-water-ice placed into the wort - would this be OK / anyrisks? Less fine. I'd cool in sink if you can.

(bottled my first SMaSH yesterday - got 24 pints - cloudy, but the fresh hop taste is incredible already!) Excellent!

Brief answers above!