Popped my brewing cherry with a double AG brewday!

[dennisdk2000]

It's official: I've made my first ever brew (or rather first two brews), and I jumped in at the deep end and went straight for all-grain. I made a Chocolate Maple Porter and a Trippel, both are now fermenting away, hopefully they turn out well! :pray:
I'm only doing small batches (4.5L/1gallon) due to space restraints; this also allows me to experiment quite a bit. I can't wait to put on another brew - never knew how addictive this brewing lark is!
When I get a little more time, I post photos and a description of my "nano-brewery" setup. I'd like to thank evanvine - without his help I'd still be waiting to get started! :clap:

Dennis :drink:

 

[pittsy]

welcome my friend the force is strong in this 1 lol , easy though ain't it really

 

[Darcey]

If you going to lose your AG cherry it might as well be with two beers rather than one...

 

[dennisdk2000]

If you going to lose your AG cherry it might as well be with two beers rather than one...

:rofl: Does that make me a brew-sl*t? :rofl:

Forgot to mention, the OG of the Porter was 1.058 (corrected) and the OG of the Trippel was 1.076... :whistle:
Guess I'm in for a couple of fairly strong brews!

Dennis

 

[RobWalker]

howdy, welcome! you might wanna check out yeast harvesting if you havn't already, it will save you plenty of cash doing small batches like this, unless you are pitching 1/5th packets? :P You can split the leftover junk into enough active yeast for your next 3 brews from one packet, then just keep them in the fridge in a sterilized airtight container and feed before brewing.

I do the same thing as you with 1.7 gal batches, leaves plenty of room to muck about and try new things. glad your brew day went well, sounds like you're into some crazy beers! good luck pal :)

 

[dennisdk2000]

RobWalker, yeah, I intend to get into yeast harvesting, might even "nick" some from Thwaites Very Nutty Black. This time around I pitched half packets of Nottingham and Safbrew S-33 respectively and vacuum-packed the rest back up. But once I get into the swing of things properly, I plan to harvest the yeast and "re-use" it. Just seems like another fun thing to muck about with!

Dennis

 

[Easy Peasie]

Dennis
Can't beat starting from the top, both sound great brews. :thumb:

 

[james1988]

That chocolate maple porter sounds good! Well done for jumping straight in the deep end, it'll be worth it! Would you mind posting the recipe up, I'd quite like to have a go at it! :

James

 

[dennisdk2000]

I'll post it in Share Your Recipes and link it to here, James.

Dennis

 

[james1988]

Cheers Dennis! Much appreciated! Keep us updated with how it turns out. :thumb:

James

 

[dennisdk2000]

Here you go, James:

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=24717

Let me know how you get on!

Dennis

 

[Hawks]

Impressive way to start... look forward to photos :thumb:

 

[graysalchemy]

Welcome to the Darkside young Padwan.

: :

Nowt wrong in popping your cherry with a threesome :lol: :lol:

 

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Welcome to the Darkside. :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[dennisdk2000]

Bottled my brews yesterday, and here's what I ended up with:

Chocolate Maple Porter (which I've renamed St George's Dark Side):
9 and a quarter-ish of 450ml Grolsch bottles (courtesy of the pub where I work)
Calculated the ABV to be 6.0%
(using the formula ABV={[76.08*(OG-FG)]/[1.775-OG]}*{FG/0.794})

Tripel (which I've decided to name Three Dragons Tripel):
8 and a quarter-ish of 450ml Grolsch bottles (lost quite a bit to VERY ferocious initial fermentation)
Calculated the ABV to be 8.1%
(using the formula ABV={[76.08*(OG-FG)]/[1.775-OG]}*{FG/0.794})
(the simpler formula ABV=(OG-FG)*131.25 underestimated the ABV in both cases)

Now the hard part starts: waiting! :whistle:

Dennis

 

[dennisdk2000]

So, both brews turned out nice - and they're nearly all gone - I've been VERY disciplined to make them last this long!

Apologies for the lack of pictures - once I pop open a brew, the camera isn't the first thing I think about! Not had amazing head retention, and the head hasn't been particularly impressive, but the beers taste nice and have nice mouth-feel!

Dennis

 

[Green Ninja]

Try torrified wheat to aid head retention. It won't up the gravity so bung some in next time and watch the head stick to the glass.

Brave man for forst AG doing 2 batches.

I take my hat off to you.

 

[Sideboard]

I missed out kits and went straight to all grain. Also my first bike was a 900 Fireblade. Neither has killed me yet.

 

[dennisdk2000]

I missed out kits and went straight to all grain. Also my first bike was a 900 Fireblade. Neither has killed me yet.

:clap: :lol:

Green Ninja - not so brave really, considering I only do 4.5L batches! But thank you! And thanks for the feedback - will give the torrified wheat a go. How much do I use if I simply want to improve head retention?

Dennis

 

[Green Ninja]

My last recipe for 22 litres was 340g so I reckon if you put in 65g you should be ok.
Someone else may have an exact figure for you.