Small recipe idea

[AMyd666]

Starter and rehydrating are two different things. Rehydrating takes mere minutes.

Hi Drunkula. Rehydrated yeast on the go

On an experimental note, I left the grain bag on top of my spare pot, whilst watching the rest boil. It still dripped away and those contents tasted nice. Anyway. I completed my boil and left to cool overnight. Out of curiosity after reading about astringency from the bag, I thought I'd test that and poured another 1.7 litres of water over the bag into the spare pot and left overnight too. I now have 2litres of wort that tastes quite nice, albeit just slightly watered down and with good colour. I have just boiled it for 30 mins with 5g ekg, just too see how it turns out. Could be weak, tart rubbish but who knows?! I don't want to risk adding it to my main brew though.

Have you ever tried this before?

 

[GerritT]

Hi Drunkula. Rehydrated yeast on the go

On an experimental note, I left the grain bag on top of my spare pot, whilst watching the rest boil. It still dripped away and those contents tasted nice. Anyway. I completed my boil and left to cool overnight. Out of curiosity after reading about astringency from the bag, I thought I'd test that and poured another 1.7 litres of water over the bag into the spare pot and left overnight too. I now have 2litres of wort that tastes quite nice, albeit just slightly watered down and with good colour. I have just boiled it for 30 mins with 5g ekg, just too see how it turns out. Could be weak, tart rubbish but who knows?! I don't want to risk adding it to my main brew though.

Have you ever tried this before?

Parti-gyling.

https://draftmag.com/parti-gyle-brewing-how-one-mash-becomes-two-beers/
https://byo.com/article/introduction-to-parti-gyle-brewing/
https://beersmith.com/blog/2015/05/22/parti-gyle-brewing-two-beers-from-one-mash-revisited/

 

[AMyd666]

Parti-gyling.

https://draftmag.com/parti-gyle-brewing-how-one-mash-becomes-two-beers/
https://byo.com/article/introduction-to-parti-gyle-brewing/
https://beersmith.com/blog/2015/05/22/parti-gyle-brewing-two-beers-from-one-mash-revisited/

Ahaaa! I'll research. Thank you!

 

[AMyd666]

I wonder if the second runnings will produce something closer to a porter or dark ale.

 

[AMyd666]

Damnit. Original Gravity reads 1.036. Beersmith calculator estimated 1.055 and that was with 60% efficiency. It also estimated Final Gravity as 1.013, which would've made it 5.5%.
Now I'll have summat around 3%

Mind you I pitched my yeast 5 hours ago and forgot about taking the OG until just now. Could the yeast have made a difference already?

 

[dwhite60]

Some table sugar sure wouldn't hurt this if you want to increase the abv. By your recipe you have plenty of flavor and body.

 

[AMyd666]

True. I might just combine the two worts. I already added some golden syrup and soft brown sugar to the 2nd running.

 

[dwhite60]

If you blend them don't pour them. Splashing causes oxidation.

I would wait until bottling and siphon one into the other and give them a gentle stir to mix them.

 

[AMyd666]

Any idea why my efficiency was poor? I wrapped the pot in towels. Started 68 Celsius, ended 60 mins later at 62 Celsius. Gave the grain bag a good squeeze for ages. Admittedly I ended up with 11 litres, not the target of 10.

 

[AMyd666]

I may have sparged the grain too quickly upon reflection. Perhaps I should have dunk sparged for longer and maybe given the grain a stir too.

 

[dwhite60]

May not have been crushed fine enough. Too coarse and efficiency suffers.

 

[AMyd666]

Well I added my 2nd runnings in the end. Got about 13 litres total in the FV. Should've resisted temptation and not drunk two cups of the first running!
FG came out at 1.010. So approx 3.5%. Trial jar tasted not bad and the colour is closer to a porter.
One keg and 12 bottles (using the Terrym squeeze method) filled today. I did manage to fill two and a half more bottles but they were so close to the trub line, especially the last half bottle. However with the latter bottle it's settled into the dimples and not beyond. Hopefully I can trust a fart after one of the trub bottles
The whole process has been food for thought when improving the next batches (stronger stout and a Cali Common)!

 

[AMyd666]

Hey. Turns out the trub bottles actually turned out very tasty 2 weeks after bottling and in truth there wasn't a lot of trub; settled into the dimples quite compact. I could trust a fart too- bonus!!
Is it usual for AG brews to compact better than kits? I felt more confident about bottling closer to the trub line this time.

My remaining 12 bottles and mini keg aren't getting touched for a few weeks yet. I'm very pleased with the result at so young an age. Pleasant roasting, good mouthfeel and very session-able.
Well done me on AG#1 if I do say so myself!

 

[AMyd666]

Tried my first bottle now that it's 6 weeks old. Not too bad at all. It has a head on it; a first ever for any stout I've made. Chocolate aroma, roasty and not too bitter, taste doesn't linger long.
This will age well.