Hi , been brewing all grain for a while , used pellets and never bothered with a bag . Today brewing an Amber ale I realised I had leaf not pellets . Do I use a bag ? No , do I wish I had yes , yes , yes ! I know I'd seen it advised but didn't think the difference between leaf and pellets was so great , will never make that mistake again ! What other rookie errors should I be aware of ?
Hop bag or not
- Thread starter Dean1967
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Too many to mention, I’ve a long list of favourites from my early days and im still clocking them up every brew day. A solid cold crash should sort out your pellet problem, if not you can filter it from primary into secondary via a nylon bag.
I'm using a brew monk , taps , pump , blocked with leaf had to syphon into fv , used filter so the wort was clean but I just couldn't believe the difference in mess between leaf and pellets ! Lesson learnt
MmmBeer
Brew Pub Brewer
I'm not overly familiar with the Brew Monk, but I'm assuming it is similar to other all in one systems. Most recommend using leaf hops, as the cones form a filter bed around the pump filter, that removes solid particles in the wort. I generally find leaf hops easier in my Grainfather.
As for rookie errors, I misremembered the advice for treating water with Campden tablets and added 1/2 a tablet in the mash water and 1/2 in the sparge water too, instead of 1/4 in each. It tasted foul and the worst thing was not realising what I had done wrong, I repeated it another 3 or 4 times, all rank. But my doozie of an error was fitting the pump filter over the thermowell rather than over the pump inlet, then wondering why it was taking so long for the boil to register 100°C, despite the bubbles and why the pump was so slow. D'oh!
As for rookie errors, I misremembered the advice for treating water with Campden tablets and added 1/2 a tablet in the mash water and 1/2 in the sparge water too, instead of 1/4 in each. It tasted foul and the worst thing was not realising what I had done wrong, I repeated it another 3 or 4 times, all rank. But my doozie of an error was fitting the pump filter over the thermowell rather than over the pump inlet, then wondering why it was taking so long for the boil to register 100°C, despite the bubbles and why the pump was so slow. D'oh!
My absolute worst balls up was not strictly brewing related. I set the Grainfather up for an overnight sous vide and didn’t put the temp probe into the thermowell. Came out the next morning expecting to see 51C on the controller and 8kg of prime brisket half way to perfection. What I saw was 10C on the screen, a boiled dry and tripped out GF and 3 melted plastic bags with chunks of what looked like Michelin tyre off cuts stuck to the bottom.
Then I had 8 hours to come up with a Plan ‘B’ for the 10 guests arriving that evening expecting something delicious from the BBQ.
Then I had 8 hours to come up with a Plan ‘B’ for the 10 guests arriving that evening expecting something delicious from the BBQ.
WRT to adding hops during the boil. Not sure what the Brew Monk is like, but I had similar problems with early brews on the Grainfather. Now I chill rapidly to 75C, try to get a good whirlpool going and then leave it to sit for 15minutes. Then most of the ***** has settled away from the filter and I can transfer the rest to the FV without too much crud either blocking the filter or ending up in the fermenter.
Can’t believe I got censored! The word in question was good enough for the Times Crossword last week.
£1000 is getting a lot of rubbish wine (5,3)
GRAND CRU (d)
Although, I did wonder at its appropriateness for inclusion in a Times.
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