Cheers for this post, its made my mind up for me. I've done a few kits now and wanted to venture into extract or ag. You have just shown how easy it can be done. I was reluctant to try a 23l batch just in case it went wrong. :
AG #1 The Amber Lager (aka the rise of the tiny shiny)
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Abiruth
Well-Known Member
alf1887 said:Cheers for this post, its made my mind up for me. I've done a few kits now and wanted to venture into extract or ag. You have just shown how easy it can be done. I was reluctant to try a 23l batch just in case it went wrong. :
Great, hope it goes well, sure you won't be disappointed :)
:drink:
Great great post!!
This is so perfect for me here.
Am starting a kit next week (once my ferm fridge is built) but after that I was gonna just get on with all grain.
Innitially was gonna do biab as I just do not the room for anything bigger but this actually looks easier.
Just wanted to clarify a couple of things as I am a complete newbie (so forgive me if they sound thick).
When you sparged, how many times did you run the wort through the mash? Was the "new" water at a certain temperature? How much extra water did you allow for evaparation during the boil?
Before putting the cooled wort into the FV did you need to sieve anything out of it (obviously the hops). Anything specific to do this with?
Also if I was to be following peoples recipes here that require a Hydrometer reading, at which points would I take those.
Sorry for these q's but a lot of googling has left me with more questions than I started with, lol.
This is so perfect for me here.
Am starting a kit next week (once my ferm fridge is built) but after that I was gonna just get on with all grain.
Innitially was gonna do biab as I just do not the room for anything bigger but this actually looks easier.
Just wanted to clarify a couple of things as I am a complete newbie (so forgive me if they sound thick).
When you sparged, how many times did you run the wort through the mash? Was the "new" water at a certain temperature? How much extra water did you allow for evaparation during the boil?
Before putting the cooled wort into the FV did you need to sieve anything out of it (obviously the hops). Anything specific to do this with?
Also if I was to be following peoples recipes here that require a Hydrometer reading, at which points would I take those.
Sorry for these q's but a lot of googling has left me with more questions than I started with, lol.
Abiruth
Well-Known Member
Hiya,
Glad to be of use ok here goes:
I probably washed the mash about 3 times. I used the sieve for this but also added water to the mash tun a couple of times once the initial mash water had been taken off. It's all a bit messy and a bit hodge podge but it's ok for a start. Brewmate gave a sparge temp of about 85oC, but I didn't stick to much to this. I just tried to make sure the water wasn't boiling.
When you cool the wort quickly you get the cold break thing, which means the sediment starts settling quicker. This is also aided by adding irish moss 10mins toward the end of the brew. So now once the brew is cool I siphon the wort off to try and leave the sediment behind. This process left just about all the hop matter behind too. First time round I used hop bags but these are a bit of a hassle and not really necessary for the small amount of hops needed for these brews.
You want to take the SG reading once the brew is cooled and before you add the yeast. This is because hydrometers work with liquid at a standard 21oC (ish) and as this is to measure the sugars prior to any fermenting it is done before yeast addition.
Sorry some of these answers are vague, there's a lot of trial and error. The most important things are to keep everything clean and to leave the beer to condition. Get those right and you should be pretty pleased with your first brew even if it's not perfect.
:drink:
Glad to be of use ok here goes:
salv said:
I probably washed the mash about 3 times. I used the sieve for this but also added water to the mash tun a couple of times once the initial mash water had been taken off. It's all a bit messy and a bit hodge podge but it's ok for a start. Brewmate gave a sparge temp of about 85oC, but I didn't stick to much to this. I just tried to make sure the water wasn't boiling.
salv said:
When you cool the wort quickly you get the cold break thing, which means the sediment starts settling quicker. This is also aided by adding irish moss 10mins toward the end of the brew. So now once the brew is cool I siphon the wort off to try and leave the sediment behind. This process left just about all the hop matter behind too. First time round I used hop bags but these are a bit of a hassle and not really necessary for the small amount of hops needed for these brews.
salv said:
You want to take the SG reading once the brew is cooled and before you add the yeast. This is because hydrometers work with liquid at a standard 21oC (ish) and as this is to measure the sugars prior to any fermenting it is done before yeast addition.
Sorry some of these answers are vague, there's a lot of trial and error. The most important things are to keep everything clean and to leave the beer to condition. Get those right and you should be pretty pleased with your first brew even if it's not perfect.
:drink:
Abiruth
Well-Known Member
salv said:
I've got a 1 gallon sized auto siphon that is my favourite bit of kit.
:drink:
Wol
Active Member
After seeing this, im definately going to try a mini AG brew as im really getting into brewing again, but was always a bit aprehensive about a full scale AG setup as i have limited space and it always seemed a bit complicated for my tiny mind!!
The thing that baffles me most is the recipe side of it, was your recipe one you've used before and divided down to suit 5ltrs? Or did you just wing it due to previous experience? (only just started looking at AG since seeing this post, so expect some really stupid questions :? )
The thing that baffles me most is the recipe side of it, was your recipe one you've used before and divided down to suit 5ltrs? Or did you just wing it due to previous experience? (only just started looking at AG since seeing this post, so expect some really stupid questions :? )
Great post - exactly what I've been looking for.
I have a question. I own a pot just like the 5L pot pictured, but how do you account for lost volume during the boil? I've seen videos on youtube with people adding several litres to account for this in their 23L brews, do you need to have a margin of error for this?
Also, can someone give an indication of timings for mash and boil? Does it differ to the bigger brew?
Cheers
Mike
I have a question. I own a pot just like the 5L pot pictured, but how do you account for lost volume during the boil? I've seen videos on youtube with people adding several litres to account for this in their 23L brews, do you need to have a margin of error for this?
Also, can someone give an indication of timings for mash and boil? Does it differ to the bigger brew?
Cheers
Mike
pittsy
Landlord.
Hi mash needs 90 mins regardless off amount and you need 60 mins for boil , 90 better . Lost volume when boiling won't matter as far as strength goes , you just fill up to 23 litres afterwards .
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