Clibit's 'Simple AG' - Questions

[Notlaw]

Gents, I'm going to have a bash at Clibit's simple AG on Friday (our lass is at work on Friday evening, so got the place to myself). I called in after work last night and got myself a kilo of Maris Otter, a packet of Goldings and a sachet of Gervins Ale Yeast. Before I jump in, I've just got a couple of questions...

1. I've got a 5l stock pot which is fine for the mash and the sparge, but the boil will be about 6l of wort. Can the boil be split over 2 pans if I use the same size ring under both pans?
   
2. As I'll only be using part of the packet of hops, cn the others be kept if I wrap them up again and store them in a tight tupperware box on their own?
   
3. I'll also only be using 3g of an 11g sachet of yeast. My scales don't measure fractions of a gram, so how crucial is it that I only use 3g? If I'm over, does it matter and how far over could you go before it becomes a problem?

OK, that was 3 questions, not a couple.... sue me.!! :grin:

I should add; I've already got a kit in an FV and this is solely to play about. If it goes **** up, I'm not too worried... nothing ventured and all that.

 

[monkier]

Think you might want to freeze the unused hops to preserve their freshness.

Unfortunately can't help with your other questions.

 

[Sonnal]

Gents, I'm going to have a bash at Clibit's simple AG on Friday (our lass is at work on Friday evening, so got the place to myself). I called in after work last night and got myself a kilo of Maris Otter, a packet of Goldings and a sachet of Gervins Ale Yeast. Before I jump in, I've just got a couple of questions...

1. I've got a 5l stock pot which is fine for the mash and the sparge, but the boil will be about 6l of wort. Can the boil be split over 2 pans if I use the same size ring under both pans?
   
2. As I'll only be using part of the packet of hops, cn the others be kept if I wrap them up again and store them in a tight tupperware box on their own?
   
3. I'll also only be using 3g of an 11g sachet of yeast. My scales don't measure fractions of a gram, so how crucial is it that I only use 3g? If I'm over, does it matter and how far over could you go before it becomes a problem?

OK, that was 3 questions, not a couple.... sue me.!! :grin:

I should add; I've already got a kit in an FV and this is solely to play about. If it goes **** up, I'm not too worried... nothing ventured and all that.

1. Never had to split the boil myself but can't see a major problem with it. I presume you will be adding an equal amount of hops to both.
2. You can store your hops in the freezer. I remove as much air from the pack as possible then put it in a sealable bag (zip strip food bag) and bung it in the freezer. I have 2 draw fills now!
3. You won't do any harm by adding a bit too much yeast. Half the pack won't overdo it.

Good luck. You won't regret it. Even if you make a few mistakes it will still make better beer than you will get from a kit.:thumb:

 

[HisDudeness]

1. Yes that's ok

2. Try and get all the air out of packet, seal with tape and put in freezer they will keep for a while like this

3. Not too critical better more than less

Good luck!

 

[HisDudeness]

Beaten to it but looks like we agree so what he said!

 

[Slid]

Gents, I'm going to have a bash at Clibit's simple AG on Friday (our lass is at work on Friday evening, so got the place to myself). I called in after work last night and got myself a kilo of Maris Otter, a packet of Goldings and a sachet of Gervins Ale Yeast. Before I jump in, I've just got a couple of questions...

1. I've got a 5l stock pot which is fine for the mash and the sparge, but the boil will be about 6l of wort. Can the boil be split over 2 pans if I use the same size ring under both pans?
   
2. As I'll only be using part of the packet of hops, cn the others be kept if I wrap them up again and store them in a tight tupperware box on their own?
   
3. I'll also only be using 3g of an 11g sachet of yeast. My scales don't measure fractions of a gram, so how crucial is it that I only use 3g? If I'm over, does it matter and how far over could you go before it becomes a problem?

OK, that was 3 questions, not a couple.... sue me.!! :grin:

I should add; I've already got a kit in an FV and this is solely to play about. If it goes **** up, I'm not too worried... nothing ventured and all that.

Hi Notlaw, answers to others:

1. Yes, put all the hops in the large pan, though, is the usual advice, and top this one up from the other if necessary.

3. Half an 11g sachet is fine for a 10L brew. If in doubt pitch too much, as too little stresses the yeast.

Happy brewing and be sure to let us know how it goes :thumb:

 

[Birkin]

Gents, I'm going to have a bash at Clibit's simple AG on Friday (our lass is at work on Friday evening, so got the place to myself). I called in after work last night and got myself a kilo of Maris Otter, a packet of Goldings and a sachet of Gervins Ale Yeast. Before I jump in, I've just got a couple of questions...

1. I've got a 5l stock pot which is fine for the mash and the sparge, but the boil will be about 6l of wort. Can the boil be split over 2 pans if I use the same size ring under both pans?
   
2. As I'll only be using part of the packet of hops, cn the others be kept if I wrap them up again and store them in a tight tupperware box on their own?
   
3. I'll also only be using 3g of an 11g sachet of yeast. My scales don't measure fractions of a gram, so how crucial is it that I only use 3g? If I'm over, does it matter and how far over could you go before it becomes a problem?

OK, that was 3 questions, not a couple.... sue me.!! :grin:

I should add; I've already got a kit in an FV and this is solely to play about. If it goes **** up, I'm not too worried... nothing ventured and all that.

I did a split boil for my first all grain, this was pre brew kettle! I did a 23l batch in a 15l soup pot, I heated the mash water, stuck it in the mash bin, heated the sparge water, then after the hour sparged with 10l, put some more water in the pot on the heat while I drew off the sparge (longer it takes the better), the final sparge until I had my 30 litre pre boil target.

I then just halved the hops, and halved the boil vol.

Cool it as quick as you can, I used an ice / water bath (have a chiller now), in my Belfast sink.

Then stuck it in the primary to sit while I did the other boil, took a while but turned out absolutely fine!

After the second boil was done, cooled and in the primary I pitched the yeast.

Only think was, I did a 90 minute boil, so it was a long day and 30l wasn't really enough.. Ended up with about 19l.

I freeze my hops once opened, they keep for months and don't seem to suffer for it.

From what I read its hard to over pitch when making home brew, under pitching is more of a concern, so just put half a sachet in of you want to be sure!

My boiler isn't big enough for a 90 min boil 23 l batch, so next time I plan to have a gallon or so boiling in the soup pot ready to pour in as the kettle vol drops..

Just improvise as needed, it'll be fine! Beer wants to be made, it is your friend.

 

[clibit]

Good luck!

 

[keat64]

From what I can gather with the boil, the important part is the hot break, this can take anything between 5-15 minutes.
You'll know when this has occurred as it looks like egg soup.
The next important part of course is the hops and the bittering extraction.

Therefore couldn't you just boil 5 litres, with the hop addition, and use the additional litre to top up at various intervals.

When i did my first AG, i never achieved a hour long rolling boil, as the boiler kept cutting off.
My beer turned out fine.

 

[Favershambrewer]

What they all said... two pans ok, just make sure you boil the wort for an hour . Second pan could be water top up. Unused hops in freezer. Generous yeast approximation. Good luck and welcome to the dark side. The hard bit is waiting for it to condition...