First All Grain full batch brew day...

After getting kit together over the last couple of months and finally finding time to get it done last weekend I set out to brew an American style IPA to a recipe posted by clibit some time ago. It was an unmitigated disaster...

I used the following recipe:

Batch Size (L): 19.0
Original Gravity (OG): 1.062
Final Gravity (FG): 1.014
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.34 %
Bitterness (IBU): 58.3 (Average)

4.700 kg Pale Malt (95.92%)
0.200 kg Crystal (4.08%)

25.0 g Simcoe Leaf (13.2% Alpha) @ 60 Minutes (Boil) (1.3 g/L)
25.0 g Amarillo Leaf (8.9% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (1.3 g/L)
20.0 g Simcoe Leaf (13.2% Alpha) @ 10 Minutes (Boil) (1.1 g/L)
25.0 g Amarillo Leaf (8.9% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma) (1.3 g/L)
25.0 g Simcoe Leaf (13.2% Alpha) @ 0 Minutes (Aroma) (1.3 g/L)
4.2 g Irish Moss @ 15 Minutes (Boil)

Mash at 66°C for 60 Minutes.
Ferment at 20C with Safale US-05

I heated my strike water to 66 degrees as recommended by Beersmith and all was going well. Mashed in and began to heat my sparge water. When I came back my water was only around 45 degrees (I'd been aiming for 75 degrees) and I noticed that my boiler kept cutting out. After resetting on a number of occasions and adding a dew kettles of water I got it up to about 67 degrees but couldn't wait any longer.

I finally got 22l in the boiler and experienced the same issues cutting out. Problem ultimately seemed to be my extension lead rather than the boiler itself and after about 40 minutes trying to bring it to the boil I finally get it going.

I used my wort chiller and this reduced the initial temperature quite quickly but I had a really hard time getting it to come much lower than 30 degrees so at about 9pm had no alternative than to pitch then.

I brewed on Sunday and got the first signs of bubbling from the airlock on Tuesday, but this has now stopped.

Question is, is the batch screwed?

Probably not.. the first brew is a learning experience for not just the methodology but also the equipment your using.

I can only speak for myself but i expect many other brewers will share a similar experience with brew #1, and in my case it would be easier to list what went right rather than what went wrong.

At the end of the day if you managed to brew a beer with an original gravity above 1.032 and you follow good cold side procedures cleaning rinsing and sanitising your FV and other cold side kit, your probably in for a real treat in a month or so when you start to quaff the conditioned and matured ale..

btw next brew, chill down to 30c, let it stand and settle for 30mins or so before draining into the FV I slide a nylon sieve under the tap to catch any odd hop seeds/twigs and aid aeration, the by the time you have rinsed out the boiler etc the brew should be at an ideal pitching temp..


how sure are you the lid is 100% air tight co2 will escape through the easiest path, while bubbling of an airlock is a good indicator, its far from foolproof and gravity readings are the only way to be sure of yeast activity or the lack of it.

a 4 day primary fermentation isnt unheard of with a hydrated pitch of S-04 and 18-19c maintained in a brewfridge.

What was your OG, did you hit the target? As Fil says, gravity readings are the best way

Take a gravity reading, even if down to 1010-1012 leave for another week before bottling/kegging. I suspect it will be fine for the reasons others have mentioned.

The Beer God's are testing you. It's part of the program. Stay strong and learn from the challenges you have been set...Yeasts have been around far longer than Humans. They know far more than you or I about surviving and they'll make Beer whether you like it or not (it might taste like ****, but that's not their problem). It probably won't win any prizes, but who cares!

:)

My recent brew using US05 fermented out in 4 days. (I kegged and bottled on day 5 and the keg is fully clear and carbed ready to drink on day 14)
Don't take too much notice of the airlock, you really need to take a gravity reading.

Dads_Ale said:

My recent brew using US05 fermented out in 4 days. (I kegged and bottled on day 5 and the keg is fully clear and carbed ready to drink on day 14)
Don't take too much notice of the airlock, you really need to take a gravity reading.

Click to expand...

Damn that's quick did you use finings and what temperature was your keg conditioning at?

mak said:

Damn that's quick did you use finings and what temperature was your keg conditioning at?

Click to expand...

No finings other than Irish Moss in the boil. The keg was kept in my fridge at 6c.
I have cut about 1cm off of the corny dip tube.

Maybe I need to shorten the dip tube then.... because that's similar to what I do and it doesn't clear up. I was beginning to think it was because it was too cold (which I've read slows the aging process if too low)

gedburg101 said:

....................

Question is, is the batch screwed?

Click to expand...

Short Answer - Possibly.

Long Answer - When (if?) summer arrives you will welcome a low alcohol pint so carry on regardless.

Look on the bright side. This is a learning experience and you have survived to try again. :thumb: :thumb:

Congrats on getting your first AG done, treat it as a learning curve to learn what your setup needs and try to iron out any problems for your next batch.:thumb: