Baz Chaz
Landlord.
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2010
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I have no idea how or what the hell happened today, we all have them, but today .......
My first attempt at a Belgian wheat beer
Kept the recipe simple and just a 15 litre batch, nothing too arduous?
2.5 kg Europils
2.5 kg Wheat malt
.100 crystal malt
30 g SAAZ @ 60 min
40g Hallertau blanc @ flame out
MJ M20 Belgian yeast.
Slow start as you don't need to rush a brewday, done it hundreds of times, gathering the stuff together, boiler ready, table with all the bits and bobs out ready, 2 x 5 litre water bottles filled and carried out to garage.
Poured them into boiler, closed the tap when I felt water hitting my shoe! Back up for a top up of water, the water bottle handle snaps on way back to garage, water splattered all down leg!
Eventually sorted out water and boiler, left it to heat up ready to mash.
The grain, 3kg bag of Europils, remove 500g into spare bag for another day, similar with the 3 kg bag of wheat malt. Pick up the spare bags, the Europils bag had a split, by the time I'd got to the storage bin, half of it was on the floor.
Swept up and binned the stuff off the floor.
The grains for the brew in a bucket, mixed in the hot water, emptied the water which had been warming the mash tun. Give it all a good stir, checked the temperature 68°c
45 minutes later, water heating to top up for a 2 step sparge. Check temperature, what the .... heater had been set at 75°c thermometer reading 93 ..... what!
Thermometer readings way out, held the probe in my hand, apparently my palm was ..... 52°c off to house to see what I could find in kitchen, nothing of any use.
Pressed on best I could, ended up with a boiler full of liquor and thermometer in bits, no obvious reason, not able to reset, nothing. Times ticked by and boiler is getting up a head of steam, literally, bittering hops in spider and into boiler, then forgot to press 'start' on timer so had to guess how long boil had been, was intending 45 minute boil but?
The spent grain, emptied mash tun and double bagged it as usual, left it to cool a while then took it to my neighbour for his chickens, as I went through the gate, caught the bag which promptly split, emptying 5 + kilo of wet grain onto the track which was the immediate attention of several hungry hens and a dog! Luckily Al grabbed a bucket and shovel while I tried shooing dog and hens off the grain. Still got my half dozen eggs though, so something positive!
Back into garage, bagged up the aroma hops, weighed down with a spoon and put them in the wort, put in the cooling coil, which had been set aside ready sanitised as usual, turned on hosepipe attached to coil, nothing! Water from tap, check, water coming out of pipe from coil, no, water going into coil, no! Take 50 yards of hosepipe off the reel to find a twist in the pipe right by the reel, rewind straightening as I went, now hands and trousers filthy and wet, again!
Somehow or other, I managed to get 15 litres of wort into the FV, pitched the yeast, all by guesswork regarding temperature.... put it in the brew fridge and the inkbird registered 24°c .... how? God only knows!
Not only that, the OG was supposed to be 1.074 ..... I got it to 1.072 and no I didn't drop the hydrometer!
In my nigh on 50 years of brewing have never had anything like it, my normal 9am to 12.30ish brew morning didn't finish until 2 pm
Does anyone use one of these fancy 'all in one systems' to brew 15 litre batches, because after today I could be sorely tempted!
My first attempt at a Belgian wheat beer
Kept the recipe simple and just a 15 litre batch, nothing too arduous?
2.5 kg Europils
2.5 kg Wheat malt
.100 crystal malt
30 g SAAZ @ 60 min
40g Hallertau blanc @ flame out
MJ M20 Belgian yeast.
Slow start as you don't need to rush a brewday, done it hundreds of times, gathering the stuff together, boiler ready, table with all the bits and bobs out ready, 2 x 5 litre water bottles filled and carried out to garage.
Poured them into boiler, closed the tap when I felt water hitting my shoe! Back up for a top up of water, the water bottle handle snaps on way back to garage, water splattered all down leg!
Eventually sorted out water and boiler, left it to heat up ready to mash.
The grain, 3kg bag of Europils, remove 500g into spare bag for another day, similar with the 3 kg bag of wheat malt. Pick up the spare bags, the Europils bag had a split, by the time I'd got to the storage bin, half of it was on the floor.
Swept up and binned the stuff off the floor.
The grains for the brew in a bucket, mixed in the hot water, emptied the water which had been warming the mash tun. Give it all a good stir, checked the temperature 68°c
45 minutes later, water heating to top up for a 2 step sparge. Check temperature, what the .... heater had been set at 75°c thermometer reading 93 ..... what!
Thermometer readings way out, held the probe in my hand, apparently my palm was ..... 52°c off to house to see what I could find in kitchen, nothing of any use.
Pressed on best I could, ended up with a boiler full of liquor and thermometer in bits, no obvious reason, not able to reset, nothing. Times ticked by and boiler is getting up a head of steam, literally, bittering hops in spider and into boiler, then forgot to press 'start' on timer so had to guess how long boil had been, was intending 45 minute boil but?
The spent grain, emptied mash tun and double bagged it as usual, left it to cool a while then took it to my neighbour for his chickens, as I went through the gate, caught the bag which promptly split, emptying 5 + kilo of wet grain onto the track which was the immediate attention of several hungry hens and a dog! Luckily Al grabbed a bucket and shovel while I tried shooing dog and hens off the grain. Still got my half dozen eggs though, so something positive!
Back into garage, bagged up the aroma hops, weighed down with a spoon and put them in the wort, put in the cooling coil, which had been set aside ready sanitised as usual, turned on hosepipe attached to coil, nothing! Water from tap, check, water coming out of pipe from coil, no, water going into coil, no! Take 50 yards of hosepipe off the reel to find a twist in the pipe right by the reel, rewind straightening as I went, now hands and trousers filthy and wet, again!
Somehow or other, I managed to get 15 litres of wort into the FV, pitched the yeast, all by guesswork regarding temperature.... put it in the brew fridge and the inkbird registered 24°c .... how? God only knows!
Not only that, the OG was supposed to be 1.074 ..... I got it to 1.072 and no I didn't drop the hydrometer!
In my nigh on 50 years of brewing have never had anything like it, my normal 9am to 12.30ish brew morning didn't finish until 2 pm
Does anyone use one of these fancy 'all in one systems' to brew 15 litre batches, because after today I could be sorely tempted!
