Have a go at simple AG

[wfr42]

Somewhere between 8 and 9 litres waiting for the yeasties to work their magic.
A few learning experiences along the way.....


Ps just home after 3 hours since pitching....is this "normal"?

 

[Bunglebrewsbeer]

Yeah be fine. Just wait a bit. I always get nervous until I see it bubbling away.

 

[wfr42]

Yeah be fine. Just wait a bit. I always get nervous until I see it bubbling away.

The 2 layers isn't something to worry about?

It is happening in both demi johns so I am at least consistent...

 

[Bunglebrewsbeer]

I always can see a layer in mine not long after I lob yeast in. Not as clear as that though as I use plastic buckets. But clear lines still. Be whizzing about working its magic in no time.

 

[wfr42]

Thanks bungle, what great service on this forum, glad I caught some one more knowledgeable than me.

 

[Bunglebrewsbeer]

There's far more than me I assure you. Im just going off my brews I've done and on into ally seeing a big pile of something being a different colour assumed it had gone wrong maybe. But was all good not long after. Always reassuring seeing the airlock seating to bubble.

 

[wfr42]

It'll be between 60 and 80% barring an error or a magnificent first mash, 65-70 is probably a good estimate. Depends a lot on the grain crush.

Had estimated 60%...got 1.048 instead of 1.042....70% spot on, as if we didn't know already, clibit knows his stuff.

 

[acuk63]

It's 20 days since I put my first AG on, so I've taken a hydrometer reading, 1.008 and bottled it up. Tastes really great and quite clear, over the moon. Here's a little piccie of the finished brew, now to leave it to condition. Many thanks Clibit :hat:....................................now what shall we brew next :grin:

 

[geigercntr]

First attempt at using grains went into the FV today. Think it'll be a bit more bitter than I intended, but you live/you learn I guess! :) OG came out at 1.048, so pretty happy with that

 

[Notlaw]

I've just put a kit in the FV that I've just bought, but I fancy giving this a shot purely to see what happens. Could I use a big mayonnaise bucket as an FV if I thoroughly washed it out and Miltoned it?

This sort...

 

[Bunglebrewsbeer]

Don't hold me to this but don't see why not. It's clearly food grade.

 

[Ryedale_Brassage]

Notlaw, it's food grade plastic so will be safe to use. You could even drill a hole in the lid to put an airlock in if you wanted to.

 

[Brightonnik]

I've manufactured albeit rather crudely a fv out of a 20 litre plastic oil drum. To fit the airlock I heated the tip of a Phillips screwdriver on my gas hop for a few minutes and pierced the lid, to test if it was airtight I put 10 litres of boiling water in with the lid on and right enough I had a bulge in the lid with the steam only escaping via the airlock.

 

[Tony1951]

I've just put a kit in the FV that I've just bought, but I fancy giving this a shot purely to see what happens. Could I use a big mayonnaise bucket as an FV if I thoroughly washed it out and Miltoned it?

This sort...

You must REALLY like mayonnaise Notlaw.

 

[Notlaw]

You must REALLY like mayonnaise Notlaw.

Since we got those bloody hens.... I can't take another egg mayo sarnie.

Haha, wor lass works in a conference hall type of place. I got her to twoc it for me. 😉

 

[H0PM0NSTER]

This is an epic thread!
I'm about to embark on my first AG having only done kits and a couple of extract brews so far. I have two large pots (25 and 15 ltr) but the rings on my electric hob are not powerful enough to get a good rolling boil with the lid off if I brew a large volume.

I bought my second pan for sparging (tea bag style for biab), so I'm thinking of boiling this separately rather than adding to the main wort. Will boiling in two pots increase the amount I'll lose in evaporation??? Not sure if the evaporation rate has anything to do with surface area which will be doubled if using the two pots. What do you think?

Also thinking about the option of doing a partial AG and adding some DME to produce a full 23 ltr batch. This would make the mash and boil volume more manageable but will the end result be noticeably different?

Last question! I have bought my grain, hops and yeast but forgot to order Irish moss. I know this helps with clearing but I could live with cloudy beer if there's no difference in taste. (I do have a packet of wilko finings - could I use this instead of Irish moss?)

 

[Bunglebrewsbeer]

I did a few extract beers when I started. Very nice they were too!!

 

[clibit]

@HOPMONSTER:

Will boiling in two pots increase the amount I'll lose in evaporation??? Yes. It'll be trial and error, maybe have a practice run with water.

Also thinking about the option of doing a partial AG and adding some DME to produce a full 23 ltr batch. This would make the mash and boil volume more manageable but will the end result be noticeably different? I wrote a how to on this too, it works well, a partial mash beer with DME can be very close to AG beer in quality.

Last question! I have bought my grain, hops and yeast but forgot to order Irish moss. I know this helps with clearing but I could live with cloudy beer if there's no difference in taste. (I do have a packet of wilko finings - could I use this instead of Irish moss?) Yes just use the finings.

Good luck. :thumb:

 

[Greenhorn]

My first ever AG going on today.

I'll put a thread on the "brewday" section.

Wish me luck.

 

[Notlaw]

My first ever AG going on today.

I'll put a thread on the "brewday" section.

Wish me luck.

May the force be with you 😉