HBC Apollo Mashkit - BIAB with Peco boiler

[Spapro]

Hi I know it looks like I am being pedantic here but I found thats not actually true.. Whilst I probably share a similar view that the time invested and I have to pick a window of time to do a brew I might aswell make it a large 23l batch

However when doing smaller batches heating up water for a 10 liter to mash, then to boil and cool down is considerably less

Us brewers do tend to be a bit pedantic Covrich, its the nature of adding accurate measure of grams of hops at different stages I think that does it !!!

I do take your point about taking a bit less time to heat water and do the cool etc. I reckon a 10l minimash takes me about 4 hours and a 22l BIAB all grain takes me about 5.5 hours (including cleaning up).

In terms of creating a brewing window with SWMBO there is little in it, I need a similar number of brownie points for either

 

[Covrich]

Us brewers do tend to be a bit pedantic Covrich, its the nature of adding accurate measure of grams of hops at different stages I think that does it !!!

I do take your point about taking a bit less time to heat water and do the cool etc. I reckon a 10l minimash takes me about 4 hours and a 22l BIAB all grain takes me about 5.5 hours (including cleaning up).

In terms of creating a brewing window with SWMBO there is little in it, I need a similar number of brownie points for either

Yup those times sound similar to mine

But l suspect you're of a mind like me, that a 4 hour window or a 5 hour window is still a large window for brewing so for the extra time you might aswell make a fuller batch.. It is easier for me to do that, the downside is of course you have less experiments (unless you ever want to do a quick 1G which I suppose isn't too much trouble) and there is a greater risk if you mess it up you lose more

 

[SiMania]

Time isn't much of an issue as I work from home and I'm up early with kids so I can get it done with minimal effort and do the time intensive stuff around lunch time. It also means bottling time is a bit reduced.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still planning on doing 20L batches too as I have 2 cornies to fill. The small batches are to get a decent variety for family and friends without looking like a have a bit of a problem!

 

[Spapro]

Quick update on this Apollo brew - remember I held 1kg of the 6kg grains supplied in the mashkit and just went with 5kg of grain in the mash (wanted it not too strong). Starting Gravity was 1048.

This has been in the FV for 11 days now at 18°C. Measured gravity last night and its down to 1010 - could even be 1009. Should give me 4.9% ABV or 5.1% after priming.

Had a taste out of the trial tube and it is tasting really, really good - very hoppy but no rough edges. Got very high hopes for this one. Will probably rack to secondary at the weekend and leave for another week to clear before bottling.

 

[Leon103]

Good to hear it tastes good. I am going to make something similar at the weekend but with Citra for dry hopping

 

[Spapro]

Good to hear it tastes good. I am going to make something similar at the weekend but with Citra for dry hopping

Not used Citra, but have used Cascade and Centenial which are similar I think and always been impressed with the results, good luck with your brew.

 

[Leon103]

Thanks. May get to do it today.

 

[Leon103]

You may have already answered this elsewhere but how long did it take you to heat the water? Mine seems to be taking ages.

 

[Spapro]

You may have already answered this elsewhere but how long did it take you to heat the water? Mine seems to be taking ages.

Mine takes roughly 45 minutes to raise tap water to 73°C for the mash. Then a similar time to bring the wort after the mash from 66°C up to a rolling boil.

Are you popping the lid on while heating ? I do this and it must help speed the heating process. Then take the lid off as it nears boiling.

I always pop the boiler on as my first job on a brew day, and then use the time while its heating to weigh out the malt, have some breakfast and a cupp of tea and generally ready myself for the mash. Then when heating to a boil I am weighing out my hops, getting rid of the used grain and cleaning as I go to minimise cleaning at the end.

 

[Leon103]

My problem was/is a dodgy connection between the power lead and the element. I need to wiggle it around, pull it out slightly and hold it up to work. I must have kept knocking it off when I was unwrapping the sleeping bag to check the temperature. I got there in the end but really need a replacement from HBC. Once I sorted the lead out heating the water for the mash and boil was very quick. I kept the lid on for most of the boil, only removing it for the last 20 minutes when I had enough of the water spitting out of the hole in the lid. I tend to do most of my cleaning using water coming out of the immersion chiller.

 

[dweb]

Good post.I have the same kit in the fermenter as I brewed last Monday.It`s the most hops I`ve used in a brew to date.
With regards to your boiler,I also have a Peco boiler and must say it`s a bit **** really,due to the long wait times on the mash water and boil.I use a 18l tea urn to heat my mash water which helps a bit but I`m currently pondering whether to go all out and get a Grainfather.
I may just add another element which will help to heat for the boil,then i can knock one of them off for the rolling boil.
My SG was 1.62 which is maybe a bit high for me(I bought 4 kits from a guy who was emigrating and didn`t know what each kit was until I met him),can I still add 5 litres of water after 7 days to increase the volume and lower the gravity?
It`s been 7 days,so it`s time to dry hop.Can anybody enlighten me as to how long I dry hop for?
Cheers

 

[Spapro]

My problem was/is a dodgy connection between the power lead and the element. I need to wiggle it around, pull it out slightly and hold it up to work. I must have kept knocking it off when I was unwrapping the sleeping bag to check the temperature. I got there in the end but really need a replacement from HBC. Once I sorted the lead out heating the water for the mash and boil was very quick. I kept the lid on for most of the boil, only removing it for the last 20 minutes when I had enough of the water spitting out of the hole in the lid. I tend to do most of my cleaning using water coming out of the immersion chiller.

Hi Leon,

sorry to hear you having issues with the power connection, bit of a bummer but hopefully you will get it sorted.

You need the lid off for the full duration of the boil, and the boil starts from the point you achieve a rolling boil. Boiling with the lid on gets rid of sulphur compounds which can lead to 'cabbage like' flavour to your beer apparantly. Boiling with the lid on doesn;t allow the sulphur compunds to be boiled off I believe.[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][/FONT]

I only have the lid on to reduce the time to get to the boil, then take the lid off, get to a rolling a boil, add first hops (60 mins hops) and start the boil time from there.

 

[Spapro]

Good post.I have the same kit in the fermenter as I brewed last Monday.It`s the most hops I`ve used in a brew to date.
With regards to your boiler,I also have a Peco boiler and must say it`s a bit **** really,due to the long wait times on the mash water and boil.I use a 18l tea urn to heat my mash water which helps a bit but I`m currently pondering whether to go all out and get a Grainfather.
I may just add another element which will help to heat for the boil,then i can knock one of them off for the rolling boil.
My SG was 1.62 which is maybe a bit high for me(I bought 4 kits from a guy who was emigrating and didn`t know what each kit was until I met him),can I still add 5 litres of water after 7 days to increase the volume and lower the gravity?
It`s been 7 days,so it`s time to dry hop.Can anybody enlighten me as to how long I dry hop for?
Cheers

I kept 1kg of grains back from the mash as didn't want such a strong brew. Should be bottling my Apollo one night this week or at the weekend.

I have never diluted a brew after fermentation but can't see a reason why it would do any harm.

Regarding dry hopping you need to dry hop at the end of fermentation 4-5 days before bottling. Leaving the hops in for much longer than 4-5 days risks imparting grassy flavours to the beer.

 

[dweb]

Cheers.I used the forum calculator and it says I can add 5 litres to bring it down to 4.2% but I think 3L will suffice.

 

[Leon103]

Hi Leon,

sorry to hear you having issues with the power connection, bit of a bummer but hopefully you will get it sorted.

You need the lid off for the full duration of the boil, and the boil starts from the point you achieve a rolling boil. Boiling with the lid on gets rid of sulphur compounds which can lead to 'cabbage like' flavour to your beer apparantly. Boiling with the lid on doesn;t allow the sulphur compunds to be boiled off I believe.

I only have the lid on to reduce the time to get to the boil, then take the lid off, get to a rolling a boil, add first hops (60 mins hops) and start the boil time from there.

I didn't realise that. I was to worried about flies getting in, there were loads about yesterday. When I have used my tea urn to do partial and extract brews I have left the lid on with no issue so hopefully I will be ok.

I emailed Shane last night and to be fair he replied straight away. He wants it back so waiting for his address and to see if he will pay for the postage.

 

[clibit]

You can have a lid partly on - just leave enough space for steam to flow out freely.

You can dilute at bottling time. It's a good time to do it cos you can taste the beer and decide if dilution is necessary. Adding water will reduce flavour, body and bitterness. So dilute if you think it would improve the beer, because it is too bitter, too heavy, too intense. Add a bit at a time and taste the effect.

 

[Leon103]

You can have a lid partly on - just leave enough space for steam to flow out freely.

You can dilute at bottling time. It's a good time to do it cos you can taste the beer and decide if dilution is necessary. Adding water will reduce flavour, body and bitterness. So dilute if you think it would improve the beer, because it is too bitter, too heavy, too intense. Add a bit at a time and taste the effect.

Ok the steam was escaping from the hole in the lid and the one in the side of the boiler so it should be ok.

 

[clibit]

Ok the steam was escaping from the hole in the lid and the one in the side of the boiler so it should be ok.

I'm sure it will be - but ideally it should be easy for steam to escape, I think, so I leave a big gap if I do use the lid, on occasions when it's not boiling well enough.

 

[Spapro]

Right, this HBC Apollo US Pale Ale brew has been in the bottles for 2 weeks, after spending 2 weeks in the FV. I tried one a week ago and had a couple last night. Very, very happy, the carbonation is spot on, nearly clear alreaddy and it tastes superb.

If you like a real citrussy hoppy punch in a pale ale give this all grain mashkit a try - I wished I had weighed the hops in the kit (which I didn't) but there are lots of hops in the kit.

On Friday night I was out with a pal in Wetherby and I had a couple of pints of 'Citra Nova' from the Durham Brewery:
http://www.durhambrewery.co.uk/cask-beers/citra-nova.aspx

The Citra Nova has a published bitterness of 72 IBU's and my Apollo brew has turned out very, very similar all round to this. I must brew more higher IBU pale ales.

 

[Leon103]

Sounds. How much sugar did you add for carbonation?