Smokestack Brewery AG #1 - Oatmeal Stout

[Ceejay]

One thing I didn't factor in here. I now only have one FV, since I butchered my spare to make a boiler.

If I were to secondary ferment in the boiler, is it likely I'll encounter problems with the heater elements in terms of sanitising?

I might just leave it in the primary for 2 weeks, then bottle. Any thoughts?

 

[Aleman]

Any thoughts?

Chinchillas have the highest fur density (in terms of hairs per square cm) of any creature in teh animal kingdom. In fact it is so dense they don't get fleas!

 

[Ceejay]

Any thoughts?

Chinchillas have the highest fur density (in terms of hairs per square cm) of any creature in teh animal kingdom. In fact it is so dense they don't get fleas!

I did not know that! Thanks AM, you're the best :lol:

 

[disgruntledgoat]

We've encountered a similar problem twice now...

First time we siphoned into the mash tun whilst we cleaned out the vessel we did primary in, then transferred it back.

Second time I went out and bought a new FV whilst itwas in primary.

 

[graysalchemy]

Any thoughts?

Chinchillas have the highest fur density (in terms of hairs per square cm) of any creature in teh animal kingdom. In fact it is so dense they don't get fleas!

:lol: :lol: :lol:

Thanks for the trivia I will bore someone with that one. :lol: :lol:

 

[graysalchemy]

They also have about sixty hairs per follicle, now that would be a cure for baldness just a bit genetic therapy using a chinchillas DNA :hmm: :hmm:

 

[Tony]

What a great post ceejay... fantastic record of the brew!

:

 

[Ceejay]

Cheers :thumb:. Did you know that Chinchillas (and other lagomorphs) can't throw up?

 

[pjbiker]

Then, for some really stupid, annoying, idiotic reason (conciding with the "Next" delivery man knocking on thedoor and me answering it) I turned the boiler on with next to no wort in it and melted a hole right through the fecking bottom of it!

:sick: :nono: :lol: :sick: :shock:

So, I errr, improvised. Got my tools out, cut and filed holes in the fermenting bucket (which is a nice, sturdy old one, luckily) and made a replica boiler, which actually did the trick rather nicely! I ended up wasting probably a couple of litrs of wort, but considering the circumstances, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. :pray:

Well Done! We've all had similar days. It's always good to have spare vessels available if only for temporary storage. Is that an Immersion heater element? what Wattage etc.? just curious.

Regarding using the boiler as secondary FV. If you sanitise it, no reason why you can't use it IMO. Thinking of doing the same myself this week.

 

[Ceejay]

Cheers; a week in the boiler it is then! It's a Backersafe 3kW element. Similar to this: http://www.immersionsdirect.co.uk/product.asp?iProductID=18, but I'm not sure exactly which model...

 

[Ceejay]

Racked into secondary today ( I stopped being a cheapskate and bought another FV), it's gone 1.010 now and the airlock has all but stopped. Syphoned off a pint to have a good old sample, and what a cracking pint!! It obviously hasnt cleared yet but if I'd quite happily drink it how it is! You get a hint of sweentess on the nose, a big hit of hops (which I wasnt expecting) and a really nice long aftertase with espresso coffee and chocolate. It tastes really "clean" and if it's going to get better after the week in secondary and then a few in bottles, this is going to be one hell of a drink! :

Going to start planning AG #2 soon, a TEA/best bitter type thing. Not quite sure what yet but if I get hold of a decent TEA recipe I might do that.

 

[rickthebrew]

Well done ceejay, sounds like your hooked

 

[Baz Chaz]

Thats it, another one taken the leap over to the dark side and found the end result is excellent :thumb:

nice one ceejay :

 

[Ceejay]

Woohoo! Bottled 35 bottles. I lost 2 pints to the "sample fairy" and 2 pints of slurry, which I bottled and are now in the fridge. Hopefully I'll be able to use this yeast in subsequent brews. Going to condition for 2 weeks minimum before sampling any more, and work on my next brew, which will be in 2 weeks too :thumb:

Bottling isn't as bad a some folks make out. The bit that took the longest was getting all the fecking labels off! :x

I think the main things for a beginner are working out efficiencies, and how not to lose beer when transferring from vessel to vessel (i.e getting as much beer as you can before you get to the trub). I planned a brewlength of 23 litres this time, and got about 21, if you include 1 litre to the sample fairy, so it's not too bad i guess.

As Bazchaz and RTB said, I think I'm hooked :drink:

 

[Tony]

Nice one ceejay!

I bottled mine today - got 53 from the original 30 ltr batch. This one is going to take a while conditioning by the taste of it - like yours I found mine to have a strong hit from the hops and a 'clean' edge ... need it to thicken up in the bottle for a month or two!

 

[rickthebrew]

Going to condition for 2 weeks minimum before sampling any more

Good luck with your willpower Its a great site all those filled bottles lined up isn`t it : Once you`ve bottled a few brews it gets a bit quicker

 

[Ceejay]

They sure do! Did up my labels last night:

:party:

 

[gurtpint]

Bottling isn't as bad a some folks make out. The bit that took the longest was getting all the fecking labels off! :x

Say no more. I removed all the labels for my first batch after I started brewing again at one go and didn't really enjoy it, to put it mildly. Now I try to get the labels off my store-bought beer as soon as I can, usually doing 4-5 bottles at a time.