AG #13 - Apache Longbow APA - Back to the Shed (garage)!
EDIT: Special thanks to 2013 me for getting the process etc. down in a blog, because I've basically forgotten everything. It's here if you're interested (and also in my sig, I notice):
The (increasingly inaccurately named) Shed Brewer
Monday 1st August 2022
9 years, 4 months and a day after my last brew, I've finally sorted myself out and got another brew on. I wouldn't say it was like starting from scratch, but it was stressy enough to provide a couple of obligatory, over-confidence related cock-ups.
The idea was to replicate my SNPA clone from AG #4. and I think I managed it, possibly. I can't remember what that was like to be honest, so let's say I managed it.
Cock-up number 1 - Forgot the Campden Tablet. Some people throw their brew out so as to not risk it, but being a tight ar5e, I put my tablet in with the mash liquor and used it in the sparge. Testing the wort, with a finger, it tasted fine and there were no hints of chlorine. Here's the recipe and timings
Brew length 19L
Grain
3800g Maris Otter
600g Crystal (60L)
Hops
13g Target @ 90mins
13g Cascade @ 30 mins
28g Cascade @ 10 mins (along with Irish moss)
50g Cascade @ 0 (mmm hoppy)
Yeast
Safale US-05
The Mash
Mash was uneventful, thankfully, and I manged to maintain a fairly even 67 degrees agross the tun. I have this picnic rug with a metallic underside which seems to have worked wonders for the heat retention.
Star Spangled
Cozy
Sparge
A tricky first sparge after a long break. I'd forgotten all the tricks I used to use, and found myself wishing I had a sparge rail and/or a recirculating pump. Messy, sticky business it was. However 20L later, I had a decent wort to boil. .990 gravity was achieved with some to spare so I topped up with the HLT.
DIY sparge distribution system
Boil
I managed to knock my initial targets on the floor, so cock-up #2 resulted in me getting the packet out of the freezer and remeasuring 13g of Targets.
I didn't remember how I used to control the first stage of the boil until I read it later. Apparently I used to squirt the top of the wort with fine spray from the hose pipe. Instead it boiled over a bit, so more sticky mess to clean later - cock up #3 - not the end of the world though.
Oops
The boiler held on to a respectable 99.5 degress for the full 90mins. I can't fault these Electrims. Yes, the prices have gone up a bit recently, and my new controller cost ~£50 after VAT and delivery, but they just do the job and do it well. What more can you ask?
Highest temp of the day
Yeast Pitch
I ended up with just shy of 17L in the FV today, which is a little lower than I would like. That said, it was a 90 minute boil so you do lose a bit more to boild off than with a shorter one. Safale s-04 pitched at 25'C, with a temperature corrected starting gravity of 1.046. I've no idea what this will drop to but all things being equal we will see a final gravity of around 1.010 giving us a rather tasty 4.8%. Let's see.
All in all a decent first (13th) brew day. Really enjoyed the process and am already making plans for a sparge rail and a first runnings recycle system. I'm now very much looking forward to the next brew in a month or so.
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