Brew UK Forum | Grain
Advice for 1st AG Brew
Hi again
Just a couple of questions before my first AG brew:
Is it ok to do small brews such as 10-15L? I struggle to drink 25L of beer quick enough, plus I like to try different recipes currently with the extract method.
Im planning on the batch sparge method for the mash, there seems to be a few decent examples on youtube.
Do I treat the water with anything other than the usual campden tablet.
Im trying not to make things difficult & confusing as this has put me off taking the plunge in the past
Thanks as always!!
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Gazz,
As far i am concerned it's fine to do 10 to 15ltr batches. That's what i usually do and like you can't drink 25ltrs quick enough. Although beer does keep for a while in the right conditions.
Water treatment depends on the area you live in i guess? Is it hard water or soft? You could ask your water company what is in their water. I personally don't treat it because the water is fine here in Norfolk although hard it tastes fine and not too much chlorine and other things like that.
I did my first AG brew 3/4 weeks ago. Once you've done your first you'll never look back... Extract brewing is great too though.
Hope this is of some use? Although i am sure the experts on here (Greg, Tony & Nath) would be able to help out somewhere along the line.
Neil
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
I agree with Neil. Small batches are fine although I find that 23 litres doesn't last that long, especially if friends come over. Also best to try and get a stash together so you don't have to drink it young.
Keep the water treatment simple to start with while you master your equipment etc so yes Campden tab should be fine. You could use bottled water if you wanted.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Thanks Guys
I use bottled water with my extract and I have noticed a difference from tap water.
I do know that the water harness in my area is 10.5 which im told is moderatley hard. Is this ok?
When im sparging do I have to carry on until the wort has extracted every last bit of sugar which will probably lead to to having more than my wanted 15L OR do I just sparge until I have near enough 15L of wort in which case I might have not sparged enough??? This bit confuses me :-/
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
If you want 15l of beer at the end then you will need more than that to start off with for the boil.
You will loose water when you mash as the grains absorb some and also when you boil as it will evapourate and also in the dead space and leftover hops at the end of the boil and when the wort cools the water will "shrink".
Phew!
Without knowing how much grain you will use and how much water to mash with I cant really give you a better figure than treating about:-
22l of water, putting the required amount in the mash tun for 60-90 mins and batch sparge until you have at least 18l in the boiler. That "should" get you around 14-15l of yummy scrummy beer!
If you post the recipe up, or need one converted to a beersmith layout then you can always post it and one of us will do it for you, this will give you a better indication of how much to use.
Ta,
Nath
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Thanks Nath,
This is what im going to attempt this Sunday as my 1st AG.
15L Brew
2700g Maris Otter
150g Crystal Malt
150g Torrefied Wheat
30g Cascade 90min
18g Cascade 10min
Just a nice easy recipie I found. I have also purchased a Mashkit - Rauchbier that im really looking forward to but want to get a bit of practice in before I jump to that.
Does this recipie seem ok & how much wort would I need to collect.
Thanks Again....
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Sounds like a good beer to me! I would probably add another 15-20g hops at flame out for more great cascade aroma but thats just me!
Batch Size: 15.00 L
Boil Size: 21.00 L
Estimated OG: 1.043 SG
Estimated Color: 13.9 EBC
Estimated IBU: 32.7 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes
Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU
2.70 kg Pale Malt - Marris Otter (5.9 EBC) Grain 90.00 %
0.15 kg Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (118.2 EBC) Grain 5.00 %
0.15 kg Wheat, Torrified (3.3 EBC) Grain 5.00 %
30.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (90 min) Hops 28.0 IBU
15.00 gm Cascade [5.50 %] (10 min) Hops 4.7 IBU
Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 3.00 kg
----------------------------
Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Step Time Name Description Step Temp
60 min Mash In Add 7.50 L of water at 74.7 C 67.8 C
--------------------------------------------------
Without knowing the alpha content of your hops its set at 5.5%aa so the ibu may change a little dependant on that and I also didnt know the colour of your crystal malt so I left it at 118ebc. Give us a shout and I can change for you.
Beersmith worked out the volume at 20.3 so I always round it up. So 21 ltr total liqour, mix 7.5l with the grain and after you collect the first runnings batch sparge with the rest (you can do this in 2 lots if you want to try and maximise efficiency. I put efficiency at 68% so you may well get more (meaging slightly higher abv).
Hope that helps mate.
Ta,
nath
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Thats more than enough, thank you Nath.
Whats flame out???
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
When you stop the boiling process. Just chuck em in after the electric (or gas mr.h!) is turned off.
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Looks like a really nice recipe Gazz. Greg has suggested just adding a campden tablet for water treatment and this is a must (actually half a tab per 25 ltrs is about right) but I've seen a big improvement in my beer since I started treating for alkalinity.
After you've broken your AG cherry :o) have a look into this http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/index.php/chemicals/chemicalschemicals/crs-water-treatment.html and think about checking your water. My water board has all the details on their website. They'll also answer any questions you may have via email.
As I said, something to think about for the future! Good luck - and have fun!
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Right all my ingredients have just arrived so no stopping my 1st AG this Sunday!
Thanks for the advice!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Good luck Gazz - hope all goes well with your first AG brew. Just sipped a pint of my first AG (been in barrel for about 3 and a half weeks - been following the cat up and down the curtains in desperation to taste it!) and you are gonna love the fruit of your labours! It just tastes amazing - a darn lot better than some ales i've paid good money for in certain pubs. The first time round i didnt do much with my water - just added a campden tablet as suggested by the other guys and some CRS that i bought from Greg (top man). The result was excellent - just keep things as simple as you can and dont worry. The first time round i had a leaky mash tun and also forgot to add my Irish moss 15 mins from end of boil so i just extended the boil by 15 mins with no detrimental effects. You will always find a way round any problems. I found the first time a great learning curve and when i did my second AG it felt as natural as riding a bicycle (not under the influence that is!) Enjoy and you'll be looking forward to your next one.
Conditioning - Theakston Old Peculier
Conditioning - Christmas 2010 (Strong Xmas ale)
Maturing - Peach wine kit
Drinking - Summer Lightning, Summer Wit
Posted 1 year ago by Member
I started brewing beer for the first time 6 months ago when the wife bought me the kit to get going, and am totally hooked. I love all aspects of it and spend my time planning my next brew day! My first brew was with malt extract and hops and was suprised at how good it was, but then moved on to AG brewing and now can think of no better way. It has to be AG in my book. I have a batch under the stairs thats just like a hoppy IPA and is going fast, another full batch in the shed thats had its first week in the bottle and I am planning my next brew day for next week.
My best find to date was my mash tun, £20 from COSTCO, a large insulated barrel used for keeping water ice cold for days. Its got a tap on the bottom, makes great malt!
Cheers!
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Nice one ChallengerToo, and welcome to the forum by the way! AG is definitely the way to go.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
:o) Welcome to the obsession Challenger!
I'm not sure if I am driving the missus insane - or she me with all the moaning.
[rollingeyesicon]
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hey Gazz,
Was looking around for a decent recipe using Cascade hops and decided to blow the dust off this thread.
How did your recipe turn out? I'm assuming you've drunk it all by now.
-Barry
Conditioning (Bottles): Sam Adams Boston Lager Clone
Drinking (Bottles): Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone
Drinking (King Keg): McMullen's Country Best Bitter
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hi Bazza
Im on my 7th AG now but this (my first) has been the best so far. I dumped the whole lot into my corny and it came out fantastic, my Dad couldnt believe it!
Had a lovely aroma, taste & head retension. Came out very smooth aswell.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Cant go wrong with cascade, you could do an all pale malt with cascade at 90, 10, and flameout @ around 35ibus. I reckon it would turn out fantastic. Yum yum yum!
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Nice one, Gazz. Glad it worked out well.
Have a bunch of Cascade hops in my freezer so I reckon your recipe might be ripped off in the near future
-Barry
Conditioning (Bottles): Sam Adams Boston Lager Clone
Drinking (Bottles): Sierra Nevada Pale Ale Clone
Drinking (King Keg): McMullen's Country Best Bitter
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