Update to AG#1 Broadford Pale - now with pics

[broadfordbrewer]

That looks lovely. my suggestion would be to mash at about 67c to add a bit more body. Could be a little thin with the low amount of malt and 500g sugar :thumb:

Thanks Robsan :thumb:
I was basing it on 90 minute mash at a guestimated 70% efficiency @65c. The 'brewstew guide for 1st AG' says to mash at 68c, if this is acheivable would you go for this temp? or is this temp difference negligible?

 

[robsan77]

I would rather 68 than 65 but i do prefer a sweeter beer. 500g crystal will add good sweetness too and to be honest i didnt see that before. Yes 1 degree can make a difference but all in all its a matter of preference and difficult to weigh up the body given by the crystal malts against the temp for mashing. My instinct would be to try and mash at 67. us05 does favour the hops as opposed to the malts and finishes low. Hope that helps.

 

[robsan77]

Its the kind of recipe where if it was more of an ipa with loads of pale malt to get the abv up then i would probably mash a little lower as there should be plenty of body from the malt. The more sugar you add the higher the alcohol which thins the beer too. So if there is a low amount of pale malt, i would worry about adding sugar which will thin the beer without getting body back in there some how. Likewise if there is a high amount of pale malt, a little sugar to cut through it is good.

 

[broadfordbrewer]

Cheers Robsan. could i add another 500g of crystal malt to make total of 1kg and not use the brown sugar? that would make a total if 5kg of grain.

 

[robsan77]

If you havent started yet, I wouldnt add more crystal malt 500g is lots for crystal. More pale malt Maris otter would be the best bet :thumb:

 

[broadfordbrewer]

Cheers Robsan but started at 7am yesterday so didn't get your post... I'd decided to go ahead no matter what anyway as I needed to take advantage of my window of opportunity. Just writing up and uploading photos. :thumb:

 

[caerleon]

Cannot wait to see your results there Bishop!

 

[broadfordbrewer]

I finally made my transition to the Dark Side on Sunday 12/12/10. I started brewing in January 2010 and have patiently watched while many of my THBF peers have jumped with both feet into the abyss... how I have longed to do the same :twisted:. The brew day was a success as a first attempt at the craft, but it wasn't without it's hitches. I brewed my own Pale Ale recipe, (which is yet another change from the recipe I posted the other day). I made a school-boy error of not checking the quantity of Cascade hops that I had based my entire recipe on! I went to weigh them out while mashing-in and found only 60g (recipe called for 100g). Thankfully I did have other hops in the freezer and decided on the following;

Broadford Pale
4kg Marris Otter
1kg Crystal Malt
50g East Kent Goldings @90mins
12g Fuggles @90mins
25g East Kent Goldings @15mins
10g Cascade @15mins
Safale US-05

Expected OG 1045
Expected FG 1011
Expected ABV 4.5%
Expected IBU 35.0
Expected SRM 10.3

Loss calculations:
Mash tun dead space = 1.4L
Estimated loss to hops = 0.5L
Estimated loss to boil off = 2L
Estmated Loss to grain = 4L
Total loss = 7.9L

23L brew length target, so a total of 31L liquor needed.

I set up my 'stream-line' brewery, which consists of a 5 Gallon Cordon Brew 'Mark 2' Bruheat boiler and a Mash bag. I used the Bruheat Boiler as my HLT, Mash Tun and Boiler. I knew this would be a juggle, but it's what I have to play with, so I was happy to have a bash and maybe drop a few balls!

Started the HLT at 7am with 12.5L liquor (treated with a campden tablet), (based on ration of 2.5L / 1kg) and this was at strike temp of 78c in around 50mins.

Meanwhile I weighed the grain bill and gypsum addition and put them in the Mash/Grain bag.

I lowered the Mash Bag in to the 78c liquor and tried my bloody best to stir the porridge! Oh boy was this not easy.... and ultimately it did affect the efficiency of the sugar extraction (but more on that later). I did however manage to keep the Mash temp at a steady 68c for 90mins.

Lid on and went about weighing the hops and additions.

At the 70 minute mark I raised the temperature of the mash tun to 85c for mash-out, in an attempt to hit my target of 76c (I achieved 74c).

I started sparging, by having as much boiled kettle water at the ready, and started running the wort out of the HLT/MT/Boiler into a jug and recycling (all the while with an FV and sieve catching the rest . I then switched between recycling the wort and adding the boiled kettle water to sparge (added a further 14.5L - giving a running total of 27L liquor).

I sparged like a manic thing :shock: and kept checking the gravity, until I felt that I was getting no improvement.. disappointingly this was only 1030. But this is also where I realised a gap in my knowledge... was this a problem at this stage? need to find out for next time.

I removed the Mash Bag and tried to get as much of the wort out as possible (which was futile!). Gave the HLT a quick rinse out to get rid of the grain-escapees and then added the wort back to the boiler and set to max (total 17.3L / 4.5G).
Time for a beer - thanks to Markp here... just sampling the AG TT Landlord's Apprentice we brewed :thumb:

At this point I removed 1L of unhopped wort and set this to boil in a pan on the hob. This was reduced to 200mls and added back to the boiler (really lovely caramel flavour!).

Acheived a rolling boil within 30 mins and skimmed most of the impurities that had formed on the surface.
First additions of 50g Goldings, 12g Fuggles and other additions (gypsum, epsom salts and table salt).

Second additions for last 15 minutes of the boil; 25g Goldings, 10g Cascade and a protafloc tablet.

Turned boiler off after 90 mins and started running the hopped wort off through a sieve and into an FV. Inevitably, with no hop stopper, the tap jammed up and despite my efforts I couldn't sort it. Resorted to removing the wort with a jug :|

Final volume was just shy of 15L with a disappointing gravity of 1.040.... so p1ssed off at this stage. My target was 1.045 and my inefficient mash forced my hand... I boiled up 600g soft brown sugar in 2L of liquor (now running total 29L) and added this to the FV. I pressed the trub in the boiler and tipped as much of the wort through the sieve as possible. This raised the gravity to 1.046.... (I decided to stick with 17L @ 1.046 and didn't want to liquor back and have a weeker beer).

Covered the FV and placed in a sink of iced water (refilled once the water warmed up) and achieved a good cold break.

Left the wort to cool to 22c and pitched the yeast... all tucked up, done and dusted

A big thank you to all that have given me advice along the way and a special thanks to my Jedi master MarkP :thumb:
What a fantastic day! It took me about 6 hours (plus some clear up time), but I did have some fun and games with the boiler - so a fair bit of hanging around!)

 

[Good Ed]

Nice one BishopsF; well done I'm sure it will taste lurvely :

You did well at 6 hours, it took me 7 1/2 on Staurday for my first one :lol:

:drink: :drink:

 

[broadfordbrewer]

Cheers Good Ed, just reading yours now! well done!
I must say it probably took me 90 minutes to clear away... I made a right mess! and damaged the worktop! :whistle:
Happy days... no looking back for us now! : :

 

[Good Ed]

Ha ha, you did well with just the one bucket, very tricky :clap:

 

[robsan77]

good effort. shame about the efficiency, could be something to do with that bag. Next step.... make yourself a mash tun :thumb: Good work with the hop changes :thumb: were you plannng on throwing the rest of the cascade in dry hop?

in future I dont think the wort reduction is needed on a brew with 1kg crystal malt but it looks like it'll be a nice sweet one.

Now we wait and see. Good luck with the ferment and let us all know how it turns out. :drink:

 

[caerleon]

Welcome to the Darkside Bishops!

 

[JustBri]

Nice one Bishop, looks good mate, you will learn with every brew, as i have done, so keep up the good work mate


: : : :

JB

 

[broadfordbrewer]

Welcome to the Darkside Bishops!

Cheers Caerleon.

 

[broadfordbrewer]

Nice one Bishop, looks good mate, you will learn with every brew, as i have done, so keep up the good work mate


: : : :

JB

Thanks JB. Just can't wait to do another! Probably during Christmas if i'm well behaved!

 

[broadfordbrewer]

good effort. shame about the efficiency, could be something to do with that bag. Next step.... make yourself a mash tun :thumb: Good work with the hop changes :thumb: were you plannng on throwing the rest of the cascade in dry hop?

in future I dont think the wort reduction is needed on a brew with 1kg crystal malt but it looks like it'll be a nice sweet one.

Now we wait and see. Good luck with the ferment and let us all know how it turns out. :drink:

Not sure when to dry hop and how much to use (using Cascade... I have about 50g to play with). Can anyone advise? :thumb:

 

[simco999]

Nice one - it's a learning curve for us all.

Still its fun trying!!!

: :clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[Good Ed]

Just back from the pub after a few pints of Worthington White Shield, I thought it was a bit harsh on the bitterness, however it didn't stop me drinking it