Here we go then, First AG (Pic Heavy)

[EskiBrew]

Moved this topic into Brewdays Jeltz because that's what it is :thumb:

Great pics by the way

 

[tazuk]

this why i love diy builds ie 2 tesco elements ie when things go pete tong m8 aka fail safe :thumb:

Disaster!
The element is cutting out @ 96C Peco Services are sending a new one but that doesn't help me boil me wort.

Any ideas? can a wort be boiled the following day?

 

[Jeltz]

I don't really get the time to DIY things at the moment and I managed to pick this boiler up for £50 brand new as the LHBS which doesn't do AG had had it in stock for a long time, to their credit Peco Services (the maker) were as helpful as they could be and sent a new element out 1st class, it arrived today.

Its just one of those things that the element didn't work, I should have run a test boil for an hour. As it was I just checked that it was getting up towards boiling with water and assumed it was fine. I work Saturdays so I'll try and boil the wort this evening and hope that its not all fecked.

I reckon that the extra cost over the DIY is worth it though :-
A Tesco kettle £6.50
Bucket, tap & delivery £23.46 - The electrim bucket is one of the opaque white type which stays much more rigid with hot wort in it
Holesaw kit from Argos £15 as I don't have one.
Mrs J not looking on it as a potential death trap - Priceless!

But I take your point that there would have been as 2nd element as a back up

 

[PD]

yes these things are sent to try us.... and they do.
good luck on your boil tonight...... hope you haven't got a cut out on yours !!!

I think mine would have been ok but I'd lost a lot of volume in the boiler with mashing mistake so that didn't help

 

[tazuk]

i started with 33 ltr bin soon changed to to 60 ltr one like far better m8 it cost me 28 squid from local hbs

I don't really get the time to DIY things at the moment and I managed to pick this boiler up for £50 brand new as the LHBS which doesn't do AG had had it in stock for a long time, to their credit Peco Services (the maker) were as helpful as they could be and sent a new element out 1st class, it arrived today.

Its just one of those things that the element didn't work, I should have run a test boil for an hour. As it was I just checked that it was getting up towards boiling with water and assumed it was fine. I work Saturdays so I'll try and boil the wort this evening and hope that its not all fecked.

I reckon that the extra cost over the DIY is worth it though :-
A Tesco kettle £6.50
Bucket, tap & delivery £23.46 - The electrim bucket is one of the opaque white type which stays much more rigid with hot wort in it
Holesaw kit from Argos £15 as I don't have one.
Mrs J not looking on it as a potential death trap - Priceless!

But I take your point that there would have been as 2nd element as a back up

 

[Jeltz]

Part 2

Well unwrapped it looked a rather good

Time to remove the bag, I'm very glad that I made a hoist as it is quite heavy and quite hot!

Water has been heated in a stock pot to do a sparge, easiest way was to lower the bag into it and swoosh it around.

Pre boil gravity overshot the target by a big margin

Time to start the boil - or not as the case may be.

That was the point at which I found the element was cutting out @ 96C after a quick call to Peco and a replacement was dispatched. I was working Saturday so I had the element delivered there.

 

[mountain]

Isn't there a good chance that you have extracted things other than sugars from the grains by leaving it over night? Could you pull out tanning and starches that haven't and wont convert thus resulting in a higher OG?

I'm curious about this as well - thought there was an upper limit on how long an extraction should go before there's diminishing returns.

Mrs J not looking on it as a potential death trap - Priceless!

haha!

 

[Jeltz]

Part 3

New element fitted and tested and its time to bring it to the boil!

A good boil was achieved

I think this was the hot break

Half an hour in and its time to put in the 60 minute hop addition
So hops are related to cannabis, you don't say!

More hops added in at 15 with some irish moss & finishing hops put in at 5 mins along with the chiller, then its time to cool the wort.

Transfer it to a fermentation vessel

What a lot of hops and stuff left behind!

Post boil gravity rather too high but it evaporated a lot more than I expected.

I had about 17L of wort which I diluted to a bit over 20 and added in some golden syrup giving me a OG of 1.050, the yeast starter I cultured from a bottle of beer had oxidized so I just pitched in the packet of yeast which came with the grain. Now to wait and see if it comes out drinkable!

A real learning experience, number 2 will be somewhat better!

 

[PD]

Congratulations on a mammoth brew.
Long Haul Ale is in the fermenter at last..... I'm with you 2nd one has got to go better.... he hee Fun though ain't it.

 

[evanvine]

Well done Jeltz. :thumb:
We all have our disasters, the secret is thinking on your feet to drag youself out of the mire!
Many a fine brew has been developed this way.

 

[TRXnMe]

Where did you get the stainless mesh pipe?

I'm building my own boiler and mash tun, and that stuff looks a lot less hassle than making one from copper tube and drilling / sawing little holes all over it :)

 

[PD]

Its a flexible pipe for washing machines etc use search on forum or youtube for instructions how to take the rubber pipe out of the middle

 

[TRXnMe]

Its a flexible pipe for washing machines etc use search on forum or youtube for instructions how to take the rubber pipe out of the middle

Ahh, thank you, it's been bugging me for a couple of weeks now and I'd not seen anything like in the DIY stores :)

 

[BrewDan]

Looks great, I hope I can give biab a go very soon! Looks like good fun

 

[Jeltz]

Well the good news is that I did a hydrometer test today and its done fermenting 1.010 or there abouts, its still too early to have cleared but it tastes good already albeit a little thin, although I did over dilute so that would explain it. As it goes once its cleared and matured a bit I think it will be a nice pint. Better than any of the kits I've done.

 

[gurtpint]

Good going Jeltz! I'm also curious about your steep rise in efficiency with the overnight mash when compared to your calculations. I've done it a few times and my efficiency went up a notch but not substantially. I actually prefer mashing overnight if I can get organized, as it shaves nicely a couple of hours off your brew day and I haven't noticed any ill effects neither taste nor storage-wise so far.

 

[Buster]

Nice job Jeltz, just one question, where did you get that LARGE Boil In The Bag bag bag ( too many bags but hey ho ) I want one for my 30 litre boiler. :thumb:

 

[Jeltz]

Its just net curtain fabric, from our local fabric and craft shop.

Mrs J is a dab hand with a sewing machine. The cord goes through the bit that the wire normally does which had extra stitching to strengthen it, at her recommendation.

She did 2 for me the 1st one for the stock pot which I can't use and the 2nd for the electrim.

The fabric cost about £1.50/m I bought 3m and the cord for less than a fiver :) and have some left over after 2 bags which would easily be enough to make a hop sock.

 

[Jeltz]

Good going Jeltz! I'm also curious about your steep rise in efficiency with the overnight mash when compared to your calculations. I've done it a few times and my efficiency went up a notch but not substantially. I actually prefer mashing overnight if I can get organized, as it shaves nicely a couple of hours off your brew day and I haven't noticed any ill effects neither taste nor storage-wise so far.

I don't have the experience to know what it was all about.

There was a lot of dust in the malt and I'm now wondering if that had anything to do with it.

 

[evanvine]

There was a lot of dust in the malt and I'm now wondering if that had anything to do with it.

The white dust is the bit that matters, the rest is just husk!
You need the husk to enable sparging.