My 1st AG brew day

[Bigjas]

Awesome! Sounds like a very useful bit of kit :thumb:

Its a great little urn and is ideal for 5l batches. So if/when I start to experiment with my own recipes, I will use this method. I have since made a 25l boiler, so will use that for larger brews and keep the small one for trying out new things.

Jas

 

[Bigjas]

One thing I lack as a home brewer is patience!!! This, my first AG brew has been in the pressure barrel for just under 2 weeks conditioning. I couldn't help myself and poured a pint this evening. OMG!!! I am so impressed with it. It is one of the nicest beers I've ever had, and I've had a few. It's better than I can get from my local boozer. It's so much nicer than kits and has cleared nicely already. And it's not even matured properly yet. I'm so happy :thumb: this moment makes all the hours making it so rewarding. Looking forward to tasting my second AG brew now, but that is still in the FV at the moment......

Jas

 

[Dads_Ale]

One thing I lack as a home brewer is patience!!! This, my first AG brew has been in the pressure barrel for just under 2 weeks conditioning. I couldn't help myself and poured a pint this evening. OMG!!! I am so impressed with it. It is one of the nicest beers I've ever had, and I've had a few. It's better than I can get from my local boozer. It's so much nicer than kits and has cleared nicely already. And it's not even matured properly yet. I'm so happy :thumb: this moment makes all the hours making it so rewarding. Looking forward to tasting my second AG brew now, but that is still in the FV at the moment......

Jas

Yep it may take a lot of effort but it is certainly worth it :thumb:

 

[Wrongway]

Its a great little urn and is ideal for 5l batches. So if/when I start to experiment with my own recipes, I will use this method. I have since made a 25l boiler, so will use that for larger brews and keep the small one for trying out new things.

Jas

It looks an interesting little urn. Does it have a concealed element. It's the sort of setup I am thinking about as you saw in the thread I created the other day here http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63827
It's a bit of a dilemma. I have the Grainfather which is fantastic for 23L batches. But like you, I would like the ability to experiment with the occasional 1 gal batch. That way if it's rubbish I only loose 1 gal and not 5. I could use another boiler for sparge water for the Grainfather so could possibly kill 2 birds with one stone. The plastic boiler you use looks like this one Swan 8L Plastic Urn might be a bit small for the GF Sparge water. But they do Stainless Steel versions at similar prices in all sizes. I was thinking the 20l one might be a good compromise. The official Grainfather sparge heater is 18l and ��£85 as well as out of stock. The Swan ones are half that price.

I would like to find a smaller cool box mash tun though as it seems your main problem was the 3deg heat loss probably due to head space.

I put the strike water in to the mash tun and started to add the grains, but there didn't seem enough water and the grain was clumping up. I added about another litre of water and then set it aside to mash for an hour at 65c.

Was this a calculation error with the spreadsheet? Or do some calculations go out the window with small batches.

 

[Bigjas]

Hi, yes it does have a concealed element and it looks the same as the one in your Amazon link. I think its a great set up for small batches. This was my first ever AG brew and I was learning a lot on the way. The calculations in my spreadsheet were fine, it was me worrying and not really knowing what I was doing that was the problem
I used the cool box mash tun for my second brew and this time I wrapped a sleeping bad around it and put some old bath towels on top. You can see it in this thread of my 2nd brew day http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=63498 This time it only lost 1°c over 90 mins! I have bought some insulation to cover the outside of the cool box and will get that fitted before my next brew day.

Jas

 

[Wrongway]

I think I have had a bit of luck Jas. Digging in the garage I found an old boiler/mashtun I had about 15 or so years ago. Possibly older. It looks around 20 ltrs so will do as a sparge water for the Grainfather and a boiler for the small 1 gallon brew.

Just need to sort the small insulated mash tun now. Was looking at something like this.

 

[Bigjas]

Haha nice one, great find :thumb: That looks like it will do the trick.

That small cooler looks just right for a small mash tun, I'm sure its better than my one.

Good luck with your experimental brews, be good to see what you create :smile:

Jas

 

[Wrongway]

Do you know how much 10mm microbore you needed. Wondering if it's more economical to get a 10meter coil locally from Screwfix or Ebay who sell it by length but more expensive.

 

[Bigjas]

I bought this from ebay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151696003...49&var=450898469865&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

I bought 10 metres of 10mm coiled copper pipe. Its gone up a couple of quid since I bought it!! I bent it round a paint tin. It took a little while as if you rush it can kink quite easily. It works very well, when using it be aware that the water coming back out of the coil will be very hot. I found out the hard way I wasn't expecting it to be that hot......

Jas

 

[Wrongway]

I have a Screwfix down the road who have this http://www.screwfix.com/p/wednesbury-microbore-copper-pipe-coil-10mm-x-10m/82431 . Quite a few spots on ebay cut to length but are slightly dearer. I just thought if I only needed 2 or 3 meters then that way would be cheaper. It will probably come in handy any left over anyway. This looks nice for small 1 Gal brews. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B002IJX7YC/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20.

 

[Bigjas]

That's the stuff from Screwfix, good price. I wouldn't cut it down, you want it to be as long as possible to efficiently cool down your wort. When you start bending it to shape it soon uses up quite a few metres of pipe.

Yes I like that boiler, being 10 litres helps with boil volumes and not risking a boil over. My 8 Litre boiler is a bit tight.

Jas