Brew UK Forum | Grain
First AG brew - Complete
Afternoon all,
Well, I did it. Finally got round to having a crack at this AG malarky. No major dramas, but a couple of niggles. Firstly, I didn't get anywhere near the pre boil gravity I was expecting. I've just punched the numbers into Beeralchemy and I think it puts my efficiency at something like 50%. Not the end of the world, as I was aiming quite high for exactly this reason, but what's the likely cause? My mash temp was good I think.
Secondly, and this is just an observation, the SS braid strainers in both my tun and boiler are rubbish. The flow rate at the end of the boil was crap so it took an age to get into the FV. I need to replace both with a copper tube matrix type affair I think.
Thanks to all who've answered my questions and offered advice over the months. I wouldn't have got this far without you.
Recipe below. I didn't really know what I was doing, so this is really just a stick in the ground to know how to improve 
Stu.
Expected Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.052 SG
Expected OG: 1.057 SG
Expected FG: 1.015 SG
Expected ABV: 5.6 %
Expected IBU (using Tinseth): 53.0 IBU
Expected Color (using Morey): 12.3 EBC
BU:GU ratio: 0.93
Mash Efficiency: 75.0 %
Boil Duration: 60.0 mins
Fermentation Temperature: 20 degC
Fermentables
UK Maris Otter 5.000 kg 100.0 % In Mash/Steeped
Hops
UK Challenger5.1 % 35 g 19.3 Loose Whole Hops 60 Min From End
UK Fuggle 3.8 % 35 g 14.2 Loose Whole Hops 60 Min From End
UK Golding 6.8 % 35 g 19.6 Loose Whole Hops 30 Min From End
UK Golding 6.8 % 25 g 0.0 Loose Whole Hops At turn off
UK Fuggle 4.5 % 15 g 0.0 Loose Whole Hops At turn off
Other Ingredients
Irish Moss In Boil
Yeast
DCL S-04-SafAle
Mash Schedule
Single Step Infusion (65C/149F)
Responses
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Congrats on "popping the ag cherry" matey! That looks like a sound recipe if ever I have seen one, a nice strong English pale ale.
So what was your actuall og then and at what temp was it and also how long did you mash for?
Dont worry about the minor problems that yu had, I have no doubt that you will love that beer. Well done!
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Cheers Nath. It was 1042 when I pitched. And it was mashed at 65c for an hour.
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Nice one Stu. Obvious question but did you remember to temp adjust your hydrometer?
What did you final volume end up at?
How long did you mash for?
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Hey Greg. Yep, temp adjusted using the calculator thingy in Beeralchemy. On that point though, is the hydrometer that comes with the wherry starter kit calibrated for 20c?
Final volume is hard to say as the bucket isnt marked. I'd guess at 19ish Litres. There was about 21 after the boil, but allowing for the dead space and water absorbed by the hops.
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Good man stu ... no turning back now!
Hope you enjoyed your day ..... you'll be wanting another next weekend :o)
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
I think they are calibrated at 15c but im sure greg knows.
What volume of water did you mash and what volume did you sparge with and did you stir the grain on the sparge run?
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Volume wise, it was pretty much as discussed in the other thread. I ended up having to do 2 batch sparges, just because of space in the tun. There was no way I could get the whole lot in one. And yes, I gave it a good mix each time, and left for 10 or 15 mins
Tony - Cheers
It was quite satisfying seeing it all come together. The weather was a bit moody today, so it all worked out quite nicely.
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
I think 15c too but not completely sure. If it is 15 then that would mean you are better off than you thought. Maybe mash for a bit longer next time. I always mash for 1.5 hrs. You could also get some iodine and check for starch.
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Okey cokey chaps, a little update. I bottled this a couple of weeks ago now. When I transferred from the FV to a barrel to do this, I was quite surprised to see a lot of stuff in suspension in it. Dont know how to describe it really, but stringy gunk is probably closest. Not yeast (i think) as this was in a nice cake at the bottom as per usual. I did my best to avoid it with the siphon, but some did get to the barrel, and then subsequently into the bottles. Its settled out nicely mind, so no trouble when pouring, but I just wondered whether I had done something wrong to cause it?
Anyway, cracked a "sample" open at the weekend, and despite being a bit immature, I was impressed. Lots of hoppy bittery flavourness. I'm just a bit gutted that I only ended up with 37 bottles
After relaying my experience to the group of lads that bought me the wherry kit (for a wedding present!) I thought it fitting that they should get to name it as my first AG brew. I wouldn't have got this far if they hadn't started me on the slippery slope of homebrew. Minor NIggles were words used in my overall summary of the process, which seemed quite apt.
What to brew next is the big question...
Stu.
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
Stu....
I aint kidding here.... Im emotional. It looks great, you have done a mega label and you should be proud.
I can hear that olymics tune in my head, you know the smo mo replay one - chariots of fire (especially if you scroll down slowly)!
Well done dude!
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Cheers buddy
Posted 1 year ago by Moderator
No probs, be proud. It looks great and I bet it tastes great too.
Conditionin' - LEB Pale
Conditionin' - Thwaits Nutty Black
Plannin' - A user upper!
Posted 1 year ago by Admin
Good work Stu. Get planning the next one as I doubt that one will be around for long!!
Fermenting:
Conditioning:Pale with Styrians
Drinking:Cascade Pale Ale, Summer Lightning
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Nice one Stu ... looks the works that! Well done!
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Member
Thanks again guys.
Any ideas about the stringy gunk?
Posted 1 year ago by Member
If its not settling Stu, can you see it in any of the bottles when you hold them up to the light?
Oh... and on a related note (talking of holding them up to the light), hide your bottles in the dark as they're green and green glass doesn't filter out UV rays and this can cause skunking.
:o)
(with grateful thanks to the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers and slightly adapted)
Posted 1 year ago by Member
No fear Tony, I commandeered the cupboard under the stairs for all my brewing kit. I'll have to post a pic at some point, I've quite a stash
The gunk has settled out no problem, and I dont think its affected the taste. I guess I was just wondering if thats normal for an AG brew to have so much in the FV, or if it was something in my method that caused it. Specifically, Hot/Cold break which I confess to not properly understanding yet. My crappy strainer in the boiler got quicjly overwhelmed by the hops, so i had to keep it clear using the long spoon. I guess I wondered if this might have let some rogue proteins from the boil through?
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