rosy future
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- Apr 18, 2013
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I made my first AG brew yesterday. What a mess. Four kilos of barley is a lot to dispose of, and hops, they get everywhere don't they. Particularly if your boiler isn't big enough. I also discovered the difference between a 'rolling boil' and boiling to death. I had to separate my wort into two unequal parts as my Baby Burco wasn't big enough. I bought it many years ago, and maybe it had already had the thermostat bypassed because it just continued boiling.
The point of this ramble is that I followed the instructions in Brew Mate. That's another thing. Brew Mate said to use ten and a half litres for the mash, my water was a little hot so I tried cooling it down just a little. Big mistake. I added a further eight and a half litres of boiling water to keep the mash temperature up to 66 degrees. Then I discovered that although I had given the barley a good stir, my temperature probe was taking the temperature of the barley not the water! I'm not convinced that the original ten an a half litres is sufficient for a 'good stir' to be honest.
Anyway, back to the plot. Because I had boiled away so much of the wort, I made it up to around 22 litres in the FV by adding water. I was trying a clone of Old Speckled Hen and this quantity of water gave me the right OG.
Two questions. It may sound a given, but is it the correct thing to do to just add water if you have boiled too much away. And has such a fierce boil damaged the hops in any way.
Thanks in advance.
PS Despite the mess, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and it's now like waiting for the first child to be born. And no, I will not be letting it condition for nine months.
The point of this ramble is that I followed the instructions in Brew Mate. That's another thing. Brew Mate said to use ten and a half litres for the mash, my water was a little hot so I tried cooling it down just a little. Big mistake. I added a further eight and a half litres of boiling water to keep the mash temperature up to 66 degrees. Then I discovered that although I had given the barley a good stir, my temperature probe was taking the temperature of the barley not the water! I'm not convinced that the original ten an a half litres is sufficient for a 'good stir' to be honest.
Anyway, back to the plot. Because I had boiled away so much of the wort, I made it up to around 22 litres in the FV by adding water. I was trying a clone of Old Speckled Hen and this quantity of water gave me the right OG.
Two questions. It may sound a given, but is it the correct thing to do to just add water if you have boiled too much away. And has such a fierce boil damaged the hops in any way.
Thanks in advance.
PS Despite the mess, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and it's now like waiting for the first child to be born. And no, I will not be letting it condition for nine months.
