Have a go at simple AG

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That's just what happens. There are ways to minimize the trub but it'll always be there due to yeast dropping out and proteins settling as well as hop bits.
I used to stretch these kind of fine drain nets over a colindar and pour my wort through that. It would catch a lot of ****.
Now I just give my wort a fast fast stir and wait for 10 minutes or so. All the **** will gravitate to the center. Then I drain it into my FV. I've reduced my trub by 80%. Now I just have less than half centimeter at the bottom.
 
i looked at my pics i took whilst doing the brew and i think the problem was the grain soaking up a lot of the original water before the final boil. the pic of the final boil showed a not quite half full 32l pot. also tis stopped bubbling after a few days and the room is warm enough so that the ferment isnt too cold.
 
Grain will take a liter per kg. So if you got 6kg of grain, you'll probably loose 5 to 6 liters. If your brew in a bag, BIAB, some people squeeze the bag but I tell people not to because you'll get this grain husk taste.
When brewing, you start calculating backwards. Size of the batch, 23 liters, boil off, 2.8 liters, grain size, 6 kg so 6 liters, trub loss in boiler, 2 liters... Add it up, need about 34 liters. When you sparge let the grain bag drain for a good 20 to 30 minutes. You'll get some back. I don't BIAB, but when I sparge I go real slow, I do small 14 liter batches but I'll sparge for 30 minutes. Just let it trickle out.
 
JapanBrew said:
Grain will take a liter per kg. So if you got 6kg of grain, you'll probably loose 5 to 6 liters. If your brew in a bag, BIAB, some people squeeze the bag but I tell people not to because you'll get this grain husk taste.
When brewing, you start calculating backwards. Size of the batch, 23 liters, boil off, 2.8 liters, grain size, 6 kg so 6 liters, trub loss in boiler, 2 liters... Add it up, need about 34 liters. When you sparge let the grain bag drain for a good 20 to 30 minutes. You'll get some back. I don't BIAB, but when I sparge I go real slow, I do small 14 liter batches but I'll sparge for 30 minutes. Just let it trickle out.
Click to expand...

wow thanks for that info, my grain was around 4kg, i guessed that was the problem. i started with 32litres so 3 for boil 29, 4 for grain 25, trub loss 2l 23,
but i ended up with 15.5 ltrs. unless i didnt measure the 32 correct. i filled the burco boiler to max then took out enough to allow the grain bag to mash with out overflowing. i sparged with water i had preheated, i did squeeze the bag a little, but then realized a lot of white stuff was going into the mix so stopped. what was left was added to the other pot with preheated water, this was then boiled for over 60 mins plus. usual procedure after. need to get a wort chiller as it took along time for the temp to drop to below 29 or less.
 
You might want to check how much your boiler actually holds. From there, design your recipes. Everything tries for 5 gallons or 23 liters. But I brew 14 liters at a time. The amount that works best for my small fermenters. If brewing 15 liters works best for your setup then go that way. Just back off the grain a bit. For 14 I use just under 3 kg.
 
it wasa ringwood best clone kit from worchester hop shop so the grain was set. i may have messed up with the water quantity, i dont know, the aim was to finish with 23l with that grain count. when i do my next i will deff measure the water i use.
 
Why not add irish moss last 20 minutes - also straining does not give clear wort does it clear during the boil ?
 
Tried this simple AG recipe/process yesterday, and I did think it simple until I measured the gravity before adding the yeast. I thought I had followed page 1's recipe and steps to the letter, but ended up with a gravity of 1032 which I don't think is right? I gave the grain (in a bag) a good squeeze to get the last bit of liquid out, would that be an issue? After adding the wort to the FV I needed to add another 2L of water to get to 5L, too diluted? I boiled without a lid, was that right? I am hoping to try again next week, but not really sure where I went wrong :(
 
Thanks, I got those bits right at least, doesn't appear to have helped with the OG though!
 
Rickster said:
Tried this simple AG recipe/process yesterday, and I did think it simple until I measured the gravity before adding the yeast. I thought I had followed page 1's recipe and steps to the letter, but ended up with a gravity of 1032 which I don't think is right? I gave the grain (in a bag) a good squeeze to get the last bit of liquid out, would that be an issue? After adding the wort to the FV I needed to add another 2L of water to get to 5L, too diluted? I boiled without a lid, was that right? I am hoping to try again next week, but not really sure where I went wrong :(
Click to expand...

Just to double check, but you did take that reading of 1032 AFTER the boil didn't you? It wasn't a pre-boil gravity?
 
First off, what kind of grain and how much did you use? What was your mash time?
 
I used Maris otter, 1kg added to bag in 3L water at 76 degrees, stirred then insulated and left for an hour. Strained into FV, then heated 4L water to 80ish, then stirred and squeezed bag for 10. Drained grain, then binned adding worts together in pan. Gravity at this point was1030 @58 degrees, temp adjusted to 1042 which looked ok. Set to boil, hops added etc, an hour later cooled in sink to about 20 degrees.

Poured wort into FV, added 2L cold water to top up to 5L. Gravity now showing 1032... This is from my notes, now I was concerned by the earlier 1030 so a chance I wrote this wrong- but I don't think so.

Yeast added, and it's smelling good at least.

Any help or advice appreciated. I'm hoping to try again next Wednesday, more grain and hops ordered :)
 
So your planned volume was 5 liters? A few tips I'll give.
1 kg of grain for planned 5 liter is a little low. Not by much. Because your not doing a proper sparge, I would use 1.4 or so.
If your planned taget was 5 liters, you'll loose 1 liter in the grain, boil off 2 liters and loose in trub 1 liter. So you'll need like 9 liters of water.
Another thing, for 1 kg of grain at this time of year, you'll only drop a few degrees when you dough in. So 76 was too high of temp. You were probably mashing at above 70. That will be the border line where the amylase stops, more like is destroyed. So there is where part of your low gravity comes in. That amount of water I would, just off the top of my head, 70 to 71. That'll get you to 67 or 68. That's a good balance. I personally like dry beers so I start low, 64 the build up over 20 minute steps to get to 68. 68 gives you in fermentables but gives you a good body taste.
Don't be discouraged you are giving it a go and that's what matters. Keep trying. You'll get it.
 
Thanks for the feedback, I'll make some notes in preparation for Wednesday! I thought I was pretty close to the guide on page 1 for the 5L, much to learn! It smells good, so hopefully the few bottles I get taste good too.
 
Like many of us, when you first start AG brewing your efficiency isn't quite there yet. It takes a while to hone your method, I've now got mine to the point that sometimes I overshoot my OG, here's what works for me:
- stir the mash at the start, half way through, and at the end.
- get some pH strips and measure the mash. Ideal is around 5.4, mine usually starts out at nearer 7 to I add a little AMS/CRS solution to bring it down. Note that you don't need much of it, first time I used it I dropped the pH way too low.
- as JapanBrew said, sounds like your mash was a little hot. I start with 74C for a 10L brew and that usually drops nicely to 66C when I add the grain. Drop the thermometer in after you've added the grain and and a bit of hot or cold water to adjust.
 
I've ordered a bigger pan (16ish litre) and some PH strips. I'll also not use the BIAB method but strain the initial mash into the FV. Do you think this bag would suffice?

Home Brew & Wine making - VinClasse® Large Straining Bag - Fine Mesh https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0036ARJKK/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Not cheap, but I'm mainly using 23L FV's, so fits that. I can't find a link to my current bag, but it looks to be densely woven nylon, so possibly the mash isn't mixing with the water that well.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Acquired a pair of the wife's tights, so will use those as BIAB or for a filter when transferring to FV, not sure which as yet.
 

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