Almost a smash, but I had some unused Chinook to finish off which I used for bittering.
Going to call this one "Birchseed Blizzard" as it was a windy day, we're surrounded by birch tree, and the results were impressive. I'm sure a couple made it into the FV!
So, up at 7.00 and still in pjs into garage, in the pouring rain, to get the water on. Oh, the things we do for love (of brewing)!
Fed kids breakfast, SWMBO got a lie in.
Doughed in at 8.30, 6kg extra pale malt, 16.5L @ 75c. Mash temp low at 61c, so added 2 kettles of boiling water to bring up to 67c. I think the malt was at lower temp than anticipated, at 12c. I did warm the mash tun with a couple of kettles full off boiling water, too.
Had a shower, got myself and the kids dressed.
First runnings at 9.30, then 2 x 20 min 6L sparges at 75c, giving a total of 20.6L in the boiler. adjusted OG 1064 (aiming for 1056, so I think my efficiency may be higher than my estimated 65%.
Boiling by 11.00, and hop schedule :
6.7g Citra, 12.7% AA, 60 mins.
12.1g Chinook, 14.6% AA, 60 mins.
20g Citra, 10 mins.
20g Citra, 0 mins.
1/3 Protafloc tablet @ 10 mins.
Meanwhile 3 y/o emptied the mash tun. "Can I do digging, please, daddy?" It' be churlish not to let him, bless.
Cooled using a copper cooling coil, and down to 28 deg and in FV by 12.30.
A problem I have with the Cygnet boiler is that I lose a lot of wort when I drain it out, even tipping it up. The Bazooka filter clogged up with fine gunk, and sticks so far into the boiler, and is so high up the side, that I left about a litre and a half in there with all the trub.
Might drill a hole lower down for the tap, and put a blank in the current one, or fit a thermometer, perhaps...?
Anyway, ended up with 13.75L in the FV which I was disappointed with, until I measured the gravity at 1078. Added 8+ L of cold water to bring it down to about 1048. This is slightly stronger than planned, and a slightly shorter brew accordingly, however it is for my own personal stock, and will be drunk in the early vestiges of Autumn, so a bit of strength will be quite pleasant, I think.
Pitched yeast - Whitelabs WLP001 - Californian Ale Yeast.
Ended up with 22L, of lovely pale, golden ale. It's now in the fermenting fridge at a steady 19c for the next two weeks +. Going to dry hop with 30g Citra at 3 days, and another 30g at 12 days. (Am I overdoing this, perhaps....?)
And I managed to hoover the house in-between, too!
Dog?
Going to call this one "Birchseed Blizzard" as it was a windy day, we're surrounded by birch tree, and the results were impressive. I'm sure a couple made it into the FV!
So, up at 7.00 and still in pjs into garage, in the pouring rain, to get the water on. Oh, the things we do for love (of brewing)!
Fed kids breakfast, SWMBO got a lie in.
Doughed in at 8.30, 6kg extra pale malt, 16.5L @ 75c. Mash temp low at 61c, so added 2 kettles of boiling water to bring up to 67c. I think the malt was at lower temp than anticipated, at 12c. I did warm the mash tun with a couple of kettles full off boiling water, too.
Had a shower, got myself and the kids dressed.
First runnings at 9.30, then 2 x 20 min 6L sparges at 75c, giving a total of 20.6L in the boiler. adjusted OG 1064 (aiming for 1056, so I think my efficiency may be higher than my estimated 65%.
Boiling by 11.00, and hop schedule :
6.7g Citra, 12.7% AA, 60 mins.
12.1g Chinook, 14.6% AA, 60 mins.
20g Citra, 10 mins.
20g Citra, 0 mins.
1/3 Protafloc tablet @ 10 mins.
Meanwhile 3 y/o emptied the mash tun. "Can I do digging, please, daddy?" It' be churlish not to let him, bless.
Cooled using a copper cooling coil, and down to 28 deg and in FV by 12.30.
A problem I have with the Cygnet boiler is that I lose a lot of wort when I drain it out, even tipping it up. The Bazooka filter clogged up with fine gunk, and sticks so far into the boiler, and is so high up the side, that I left about a litre and a half in there with all the trub.
Might drill a hole lower down for the tap, and put a blank in the current one, or fit a thermometer, perhaps...?
Anyway, ended up with 13.75L in the FV which I was disappointed with, until I measured the gravity at 1078. Added 8+ L of cold water to bring it down to about 1048. This is slightly stronger than planned, and a slightly shorter brew accordingly, however it is for my own personal stock, and will be drunk in the early vestiges of Autumn, so a bit of strength will be quite pleasant, I think.
Pitched yeast - Whitelabs WLP001 - Californian Ale Yeast.
Ended up with 22L, of lovely pale, golden ale. It's now in the fermenting fridge at a steady 19c for the next two weeks +. Going to dry hop with 30g Citra at 3 days, and another 30g at 12 days. (Am I overdoing this, perhaps....?)
And I managed to hoover the house in-between, too!
Dog?