First Extract Brew - Way to Amarillo - Timings & Lessons Learned

[sausagefingers]

Great stuff, thanks for the replies. I just need to decide which one to go for, my mouth starts watering just reading some of the descriptions although I've been really enjoying IPA lately ( if I'd said that 6 months ago I would have punched myself in the face - bloody lager yob :???:

 

[BigJC]

I've got a wort cooler and hop strainer, but you don;t need that. You can put the hops in a muslin bag and cool in iced water in a sink.

I've just bought a 32l brewpot with the hop strainer and ball valve from BrewUK, used it on Wednesday to brew up an Old Peculier extract clone. The instructions stated to only use 5l of water for the steeping and boiling and top up the remainder once in the FV. My only problem is that my pot is too big to fit in the kitchen sink so I ended up placing it outside for 30 mins to try and cool down however this wasn't sufficient. In my haste I then went online and ordered a plate wort cooler but on reflection it would seem a bit OTT to use on 5l of wort and is likely to cool it down too much especially when you add the additional water.

Am I correct in thinking that with future brews I should just use all the water required and then cool it via the wort cooler rather than topping up?

 

[TartanSpecial]

BigJC..Hi,
I think the 5lts boil recommendation in the instructions is so people can brew extract recipes using normal kitchen equipment. Personally I think if you've got a 32lts boil kettle and wort cooler you should boil the full volume and only top up afterward to offset evaporation loss (to get to your target fermentation volume/ starting gravity). Boiling the full volume mimics what you would be doing if you were doing all grain..and I also understand you get better hop utilisation with lower gravity/larger boil volume.
One thing I found important after doing my first extract full volume boil recipe was to oxygenate the wort well. If found my second and third extract attempts fermented much quicker after giving the cooled wort a good shake. I split the volume in three batches as I emptied the brew kettle, draining into a 25ltr screw top wine fermenter and gave is a vigourous shake. Brupaks antifoam helps to control the foam.

 

[TartanSpecial]

additional point...I did my first full volume boil in the kitchen and the walls were soaked in condensation....other half wasn't too pleased. Now I do my mashing indoors but move outdoors to do the boil. Luckily I have a nearby outside tap to connect the copper coil wort chiller to. Only thing is you need to plan brewday in advance and check the weather forecast to avoid rain (my brew kettle is electric).

 

[BigJC]

Thanks TS, those were my thoughts but I wanted to be sure. Thanks also for the advance warning about the boil steam, fortunately my kitchen has french windows and a couple of skylights that I can open so that should help get rid of the steam.

I quite enjoyed my first extract brew and itching to do more however I've got no room for another FV nor any more storage space. My wife doesn't share my affection for the big boil kettle that now sits precariously on top of one of the kitchen cupboards!

 

[Brewski]

Yes, agree that this will be be an interesting experiment.

PPS - I see next Saturday's fixture as a winnable game for Scotland - only Wales after all.

"Sometimes it's the hope that kills you." :hat:

:whistle:

http://youtu.be/jm67t2F5GX0

 

[Slid]

:whistle:

http://youtu.be/jm67t2F5GX0

Back to the 1960's when Scotland had a centre called Jesus E Dropptit.
Very popular player with my late father - it's all I can remember him shouting whilst watching Scotland at rugby.

 

[Toffee]

End result after 3 weeks in the bottle:



frankly, I am staggered how good this tastes.

 

[Covrich]

Looks good mate!! Looking forward to trying mine.

 

[Brewski]

If it tastes half as good as it looks then I'd be very happy with that.

Back to the 1960's when Scotland had a centre called Jesus E Dropptit.
Very popular player with my late father - it's all I can remember him shouting whilst watching Scotland at rugby.

I'm sure he's played for Wales too. Speaking of fathers, I remember mine was always reluctant to right-off the Scottish side regardless how far behind they were. "You've got to watch 'em - like wounded animals they are".

 

[Hops_and_Dreams]

Thanks, great thread. Definitely going to give extract a try after reading this once I get myself a big enough stock pot.

Looking at the Brew UK site, I see they do a Mosaic IPA, if this is anywhere close to the Adnams one, I'll be very happy!

 

[Toffee]

Looking at the Brew UK site, I see they do a Mosaic IPA, if this is anywhere close to the Adnams one, I'll be very happy!

yeah, I really liked that Adnams Mosaic too. I am tempted by that kit as well. But tomorrow I am dipping my toe in a 10L BIAB Allgrain....see how that goes and how much faff it is. :hmm:

 

[Hops_and_Dreams]

yeah, I really liked that Adnams Mosaic too. I am tempted by that kit as well. But tomorrow I am dipping my toe in a 10L BIAB Allgrain....see how that goes and how much faff it is. :hmm:

Good luck with that. Put a Youngs IPA on today, sticking with the easy stuff for the first few!

I was pleased to find out over Christmas that my dad's local has Mosaic on tap, good reason to visit more often!

 

[Toffee]

10L BiaB AG - well I did it....and it was not too bad. i'll do a similar timeline/lessons learned for it when I get a chance.

 

[Hoonigan]

10L BiaB AG - well I did it....and it was not too bad. i'll do a similar timeline/lessons learned for it when I get a chance.

Excellent, look forward to seeing how you got on. I'm going to do the same next week hopefully for my first AG, 10lt SMaSH, Simcoe and Maris a otter pale, I will hopefully gain a few tips from you:thumb:

 

[Brewski]

10L BiaB AG - well I did it....and it was not too bad. i'll do a similar timeline/lessons learned for it when I get a chance.

Great stuff. I look forward to seeing it. :thumb:

Excellent, look forward to seeing how you got on. I'm going to do the same next week hopefully for my first AG, 10lt SMaSH, Simcoe and Maris a otter pale, I will hopefully gain a few tips from you:thumb:

^ ditto, good luck. :thumb:

 

[Toffee]

Great stuff. I look forward to seeing it. :thumb:

OK, here it is!

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=51895

sorry if its a bit rambling. feel free to ask any questions if I did not make myself clear!

 

[Toffee]

so - wonder if anyone can help me. the first few beers from this batch I cracked had a lovely head/carbonation - see pic here:

http://www.thehomebrewforum.co.uk/showpost.php?p=475104&postcount=28

but the last few have been a little flat.

plastic bottles, i would wonder if I have reused the tops too many times, but at least one glass bottle was flat. anyone seen this before?

not totally flat, still some carbonation on the tongue, but nothing like the head and small bubbles I had before. they were two weeks warm conditioning, and now have had 3 weeks in the garage (around 12 degrees) for a total of 5 weeks conditioning.

used 90g of sugar for the 20L batch.

any ideas?

*edit* glass bottles actually are fine. so maybe its the lids on the plastic ones.......

 

[Toffee]

so I just sunk the last bottle of this. someone once recommended to take 6 of your brew and hide them away for 6 months. I have been doing this, but to be honest, not sure I will bother.

Two of the 6 were nasty. not sure if I got too much oxygen in during bottling during my first few brews. Possibly. the others, whilst drinkable had lost the hop aroma during the 6-7 months.

The woodfordes wherrys were OK after 6, but not really gained too much either.

So I am going to drink them fresh from now on, certainly before 4 months is up I reckon.