Hi everyone.
tuesday march 24, 2010 was my very first AG brewday! (thanks to brewstew for the ag how-to guide.
I brewed 'FOOLS GOLD' an IPA style recipe
basically it was MO pale malt, Crystal malt and a bit of torrified wheat
hopped with Pacific gem 90 mins,
and Aurora 15 mins (recipe 44 IBU)
i started at 9.50 am...an hour later than planned because i had to drive back home (i brew at my dads) cos i'd forgot the extension lead, and the tap connector for the chiller wouldn't go on dads square taps so i swung by homebase for one that would work!
The set up!
HLT into Mashtun
Mashtun into Boiler
close up of inside the Boiler
10.20 hlt water to strike temp of 74 degrees
doughed in and put to sleep
mash temp was only 62 degrees! hope this is ok?? i think i took too long doughing in and also i think i should have stirred the HLT water to ensure an even reading before taking the temp. aah well lesson learned!
90 mins and one sausage butty later....ladies and gentlemen i proudly present...the Wort
Heating to the boil....looks a bit like the moon!
the Boil starting to break through!
The rolling boil....cunningly obscured by steam on the camera!
straining, aerating and filling the fermenter
showing the strainer set up in perspective
i managed to get the required 27 litres for the boil by adding 1 and a half litres of water to the boil, i ended up with more or less the required 23 litres in f.v (looks just more than 22.5) so i'm happy!
tested the gravity and i hit the required 1.047 very pleased with this! when using beer engine i had to guess efficiency as 80%, as i hit my target does this mean i'm 80 percent efficient???
lessons learned.
1. brew beer ...its great!
2. stir HLT water before taking temp reading!
3. my syphon pipe fell off in the HLT so that needs sorting for next time
4. brew beer ...its great!
All in all i couldn't have hoped for better results with my first brewday...i just hope it turns out ok! but from pics of other members brewdays it seems that each stage resembled what it should! so i have high hopes. My next brew is going to be a blonde ale, followed swiftly by a stout then a bitter. all that remains to be seen is whether i can carry over some consistency to my future brews or whether yesterday was beginners luck!
KJ :party:
tuesday march 24, 2010 was my very first AG brewday! (thanks to brewstew for the ag how-to guide.
I brewed 'FOOLS GOLD' an IPA style recipe
basically it was MO pale malt, Crystal malt and a bit of torrified wheat
hopped with Pacific gem 90 mins,
and Aurora 15 mins (recipe 44 IBU)
i started at 9.50 am...an hour later than planned because i had to drive back home (i brew at my dads) cos i'd forgot the extension lead, and the tap connector for the chiller wouldn't go on dads square taps so i swung by homebase for one that would work!
The set up!
HLT into Mashtun
Mashtun into Boiler
close up of inside the Boiler
10.20 hlt water to strike temp of 74 degrees
doughed in and put to sleep
mash temp was only 62 degrees! hope this is ok?? i think i took too long doughing in and also i think i should have stirred the HLT water to ensure an even reading before taking the temp. aah well lesson learned!
90 mins and one sausage butty later....ladies and gentlemen i proudly present...the Wort
Heating to the boil....looks a bit like the moon!
the Boil starting to break through!
The rolling boil....cunningly obscured by steam on the camera!
straining, aerating and filling the fermenter
showing the strainer set up in perspective
i managed to get the required 27 litres for the boil by adding 1 and a half litres of water to the boil, i ended up with more or less the required 23 litres in f.v (looks just more than 22.5) so i'm happy!
tested the gravity and i hit the required 1.047 very pleased with this! when using beer engine i had to guess efficiency as 80%, as i hit my target does this mean i'm 80 percent efficient???
lessons learned.
1. brew beer ...its great!
2. stir HLT water before taking temp reading!
3. my syphon pipe fell off in the HLT so that needs sorting for next time
4. brew beer ...its great!
All in all i couldn't have hoped for better results with my first brewday...i just hope it turns out ok! but from pics of other members brewdays it seems that each stage resembled what it should! so i have high hopes. My next brew is going to be a blonde ale, followed swiftly by a stout then a bitter. all that remains to be seen is whether i can carry over some consistency to my future brews or whether yesterday was beginners luck!
KJ :party:
