AG number 2

[mrwilkes]

Upgraded my boiler and put another SNPA clone on today, no pictures as I was happy to just crack on with the brew got my brew time down to around 4hrs from start to pitching yeast. still ended up 2ltrs short though :hmm: even after adding an extra 2ltrs to my HLT.

 

[joe1002]

4 hours, that's quick. How long do you mash and boil for?

I'm normally about 6 hours by the time I have cleaned up etc.

 

[mrwilkes]

90 min mash 60 min boil, just under an hour to crash chill. think i have pulled back alot of time by adding another element to my boiler.

 

[mrwilkes]

Krausen after 24hrs, seems to have more break material than last time, could this be due to a more vigourus boil? used yeast which I top cropped from my last brew.

 

[mrwilkes]

AG number 2 died and went down the plug hole Think I must have dropped a clanger with the top cropped yeast, going to try again this week with some fresh wlp001 and hope for a better result. Was a bit disappointed after having such a good result with AG number 1.

 

[scott-ayling]

What was actually wrong with it mate ?

 

[BIGJIM72]

Don't be in a rush fella-4 hours seems mighty quick to me.

Get into good practice now & find a yeast that works for you. I go with S-04 every time now-its a good reliable yeast to start with & suits my tap water down to the ground. Never gone for liquid yeasts- too scared TBH

I have mixed experiences with top cropping yeasts & I am many many AG brews ahead of you,so don't get glum about it.

 

[pittsy]

Always smell your yeast before pitching it , vinegar is the smell you don't want . Use star san , a quick spray on everything you use to touch the yeast before hand . I often bleach my yeast containers before using (plus rinse many times first) spray with star and cover with foil straight away and pop into fridge . Everyone has a few batches ruined by germs , you're just ahead of the pack :thumb:

 

[mrwilkes]

What was actually wrong with it mate ?

Smelled like vinegar, it fermented more aggressively than my first batch with flocks of yeast flying around the fv.

 

[mrwilkes]

Don't be in a rush fella-4 hours seems mighty quick to me.

Get into good practice now & find a yeast that works for you. I go with S-04 every time now-its a good reliable yeast to start with & suits my tap water down to the ground. Never gone for liquid yeasts- too scared TBH

I have mixed experiences with top cropping yeasts & I am many many AG brews ahead of you,so don't get glum about it.

Yep, think your right! going to slow it down for the next one and try not to change too many things at once like I did with this one. :thumb:

 

[mrwilkes]

Always smell your yeast before pitching it , vinegar is the smell you don't want . Use star san , a quick spray on everything you use to touch the yeast before hand . I often bleach my yeast containers before using (plus rinse many times first) spray with star and cover with foil straight away and pop into fridge . Everyone has a few batches ruined by germs , you're just ahead of the pack :thumb:

Thanks for the tip, going to give everything a good sterilizing before the next one, normally use wvp before and after a brewday to clean everything, didnt do my mash tun and boiler last time though as I thought any nasties would be killed off in the boil :hmm:

 

[mrwilkes]

Hi guys, didnt want to start a new post so will just keep adding to this one. AG#3 has been a success :clap: despite having problems with my power tripping out whilst I was mid brew. Have stuck to my original grain bill and yeast and its turned out good again like my first AG brew, hope to get another brew on soon and I am going to try a different yeast this time just to see how it alters the taste. Will try the WLP500 this time and report back. :thumb: