Orange Bucket Brewing - A Brew Day

[Jon474]

Evening all

After a gap of...let me count it...six years and seventeen days, I am preparing to brew another batch of beer. I last brewed on 22 May 2011. Much water (and beer) has passed under many bridges since that date. Friends have come and, sadly, gone. Not sure anyone on here will remember me but I used to be quite active on this forum, and on JBK as well.

Anyway, I have gone through two pallets of equipment and buckets and jugs and...brewing stuff. Many things have been thrown away and a few things have been bought.

I have re-opened long-locked archives on my computer. I have rediscovered old books, and bought a few too many new ones. I have audited my home brew kit, repaired and replaced a few components, ordered fresh ingredients, bought three of the new-style sachets of WLP002 yeast...and purchased a new 56L SS brew kettle and a gas burner. I have, quite simply, rediscovered my passion for brewing.

So, tomorrow is a Brew Day! Orange Bucket Brewing (HQ: in my garage) is back up and running. I have spent a week putting things together, taking things apart, trying out configurations and layouts and now I am ready to brew. The HLT is full of water and the timer is set. Alkalinity has been measured and Graham Wheeler's Water Treatment Calculator (still an invaluable tool) has guided me on my mineral salt additions. A Campden tablet has done for the Total Chlorine content of my water. The mash tun is wrapped and the ICC has been cleaned and boiled...it has been stored for a long time.

What to brew? I am still using Beer Engine - I cannot fault its simplicity - although I have done a comprehensive update of the hop database it contains. I also updated my copy of Beersmith. So, how about this? Calling it Ancient and Modern. I am looking to get smooth bitterness with the flavour of honey from the Golding hops matched with fruit from the Mosaic. Aroma is a given!

Batch size: 33L
OG: 1044
IBU: 36

Grain
Pale malt 92.3%
Crystal malt (130) 4.4%
Torrified wheat 3.0%
Roasted barley 0.3%

Hops
Goldings 60 mins 56g
Goldings 20 mins 30g
Mosaic 15 mins 10g
Mosaic 10 mins 10g
Mosaic 5 mins 10g
Mosaic at flame-out 5g

I am really looking forward to the day. I'll do brew porn tomorrow.

Take care
Jon

 

[fuggled]

Great stuff mate, looks good to me :) have fun!

 

[Slid]

Evening all

After a gap of...let me count it...six years and seventeen days, I am preparing to brew another batch of beer. I last brewed on 22 May 2011. Much water (and beer) has passed under many bridges since that date. Friends have come and, sadly, gone. Not sure anyone on here will remember me but I used to be quite active on this forum, and on JBK as well.

Anyway, I have gone through two pallets of equipment and buckets and jugs and...brewing stuff. Many things have been thrown away and a few things have been bought.

I have re-opened long-locked archives on my computer. I have rediscovered old books, and bought a few too many new ones. I have audited my home brew kit, repaired and replaced a few components, ordered fresh ingredients, bought three of the new-style sachets of WLP002 yeast...and purchased a new 56L SS brew kettle and a gas burner. I have, quite simply, rediscovered my passion for brewing.

So, tomorrow is a Brew Day! Orange Bucket Brewing (HQ: in my garage) is back up and running. I have spent a week putting things together, taking things apart, trying out configurations and layouts and now I am ready to brew. The HLT is full of water and the timer is set. Alkalinity has been measured and Graham Wheeler's Water Treatment Calculator (still an invaluable tool) has guided me on my mineral salt additions. A Campden tablet has done for the Total Chlorine content of my water. The mash tun is wrapped and the ICC has been cleaned and boiled...it has been stored for a long time.

What to brew? I am still using Beer Engine - I cannot fault its simplicity -
although I have done a comprehensive update of the hop database it contains. I also updated my copy of Beersmith. So, how about this? Calling it Ancient and Modern. I am looking to get smooth bitterness with aflavour of honey from the Goldings matched with fruit from the Mosaic. Aroma is a given!

Batch size: 33L
OG: 1044
IBU: 36

Grain
Pale malt 92.3%
Crystal malt (130) 4.4%
Torrified wheat 3.0%
Roasted barley 0.3%

Hops
Goldings 60 mins 56g
Goldings 20 mins 30g
Mosaic 15 mins 10g
Mosaic 10 mins 10g
Mosaic 5 mins 10g
Mosaic at flame-out 5g

I am really looking forward to the day. I'll do brew porn tomorrow.

Take care
Jon

Welcome back to the fold, mate. Looks good to me as well.

 

[chthon]

Do you have orange buckets? Or where they buckets for oranges? Success! I only discovered brewing two years ago. Lucky that the internets exist, both for information about brewing and for ease of ordering books.

 

[Jon474]

Right, sorry for delay in posting outcomes. Finished up at 3pm and the wife took me to the pub...

I've taken some pictures and I hope they come out okay. Some preview a bit big and there doesn't seem to be a SPOILER wrap around anywhere! Sorry if this messes up your viewing...er...pleasure! [EDIT: fixed that!]

The set-up...with one of quite a few orange buckets (I get them from B&Q).

Grain bill...

Hops...

Goldings v Mosaic

Water treatment:

CRS: 4ml in HLT
1 x campden tablet
Gypsum: 20g in HLT
Calcium chloride: 3g in MT
Epsom salts: 4g in Kettle

Yeast:

Yeast used was WLP002. Starter: grown on 3L of SG 1.040 wort. Mixed 1.5L of post-mash wort at SG 1.062 with 1.2L of water to create a 2L starter at SG 1.042. Pitched 2L. The image is of the first 1L batch stepping up from the Pure-Pitch pack.

Mash:

Forgot to measure pre-mash grain temperature!

Strike water temperature was 73C. cooling down to 71.4C after a few minutes.

HLT temperature control by me was poor.

Mash temperature: initial reading was 65.6C, second reading showed 66C exactly.

Mash time: 90 minutes. Mash was good, good consistency and no leaks.

Forgot to measure post-mash temperature!

Sparge was poor. Mash out and sparge liquors were below target temperatures of 77C. The grain was poorly stirred. Mash tun over-topped during mash out and batch sparges. Pump developed an airlock that I could not clear. In the end I hand-balled 7 litres into the mash tun!

First runnings: 15L at SG 1.059. Second and third runnings: not a clue. Need a better process.

Ended up with 36 litres at SG 1.036 in the kettle. The experience with the mash has made me order a mash tun and false bottom from Brew Builder.

Boil:

Boil was good. First time with new SS kettle and 7.5KW gas boiling ring. Funny smell from boiling ring for the first hour as all the paint burned off!

Pre-boil volume 36L. Evaporation and cooling losses were 7L. Evaporation rate higher than I expected but the set-up achieved an effective rolling boil.

ICC worked well. Down to 23C in less than 15 minutes using mains water feed.

Post-boil volume 29L. Trub and hop losses were a further 2.5L. This is too high and I need a better process to whirlpool and to create a cone in the centre of the kettle. Volume into the FV: a very poor 26L.

The SS Brew Master kettle looks good...but I wish I had just bought one from Brew Builder!

Trub, cold break etc...

Hop and grain debris...

Fermentation (so far):

Collected only 26L into the FV at 10.4 Brix. SG 1.042 and pitched the 2L yeast starter.

WLP002 works best between 18.9-20C. It is tolerant of higher temperatures...but not too high! Wrapped the FV in insulation and applied three freezer blocks beneath the lagging.

Readings:
• 9 June
â—‹ 3pm. Temp 22.4C. No gravity reading.
â—‹ 5pm. Temp 22.4C. No gravity reading.
â—‹ 10pm. Temp 19.7C. Ambient temp was 14.1C so removed ice-packs. No gravity reading.
• 10 June
â—‹ 9am. Temp 21.4C. No gravity reading.
â—‹ 2:30pm. Temp 22.3C. No gravity reading. Ice-packs re-applied.
â—‹ 4pm. Temp 20.2C. Gravity 7.8 Brix. SG 1.031.

All in all, I feel I had a good brewing session. Didn't get stressed. Took the inevitable problems in my stride and enjoyed myself. Didn't hit my target volume but that was largely due to new equipment and process issues...and those can be fixed.

Thanks for reading.

Take care
Jon

 

[BeerCat]

Why do you say you should of got the brewbuilder pot? I need a new one and can't decide which. Looked at the SS but they are not cheap. I need it for my bufallo induction so reckon it will max out at around 50l. Nice brew by the way. Must feel good to get back into it after 6 years. Cheers

 

[yeastinfection]

wow. If there's a prize for the most comprehensive brew diary..I think you've just won it.
My brew diary says ...Made beer.
Hopes all turns out well

 

[Jon474]

Why do you say you should of got the brewbuilder pot? I need a new one and can't decide which. Looked at the SS but they are not cheap. I need it for my bufallo induction so reckon it will max out at around 50l. Nice brew by the way. Must feel good to get back into it after 6 years. Cheers

In hindsight I think a high-end BB brew pot with a ball valve fitted would have been just as good...and a bit cheaper. The SS kettle is nice and there is absolutely nothing wrong with it, but at the end of the day it is just a stainless steel pot. I feel I have paid quite a lot extra for silicone covers on the handles and an etched logo. :-|

Take care
Jon

 

[Jon474]

Day 5 update:

Well, you never stop learning in brewing. Or in my case, you forget what you have forgotten. I forgot the "skew" factor!

Over the last 72 hours my refractometer Brix% readings have been:

7.8
6.2
5.8
5.6

...and I cheerfully turned these into SG readings of:

1.031 Feeling happy
1.024 Still happy
1.023 Not happy
1.022 Despairing

...and then I remembered the "skew" factor caused by measuring Brix values of fermenting wort. How could I have been so stupid?

So, corrected readings are:

1.024 Feeling happy
1.014 Feeling very happy
1.011 Over the moon
1.010 In clover

I think the beer has finished. OG 1.042 down to 1.010. Apparent attenuation 75%, not bad for WLP002.

Leaving it another day or so to warm up for a diacetyl tidy up, and then it's going in a cask.

Brewing happy
Jon