All grain debut.

[wrighty]

Hi all.
Well its finally happening first A.G. this weekend.Just got my gear from ross to make T.L.s SNPA.
following his recepie to the letter.
One thing im unsure of is the sparging regime,after mashing for 60min @64c do i just add my sparge water at 78c?

then drain do i let it rest? Batch ,fly ,decoction think ive read to much and its DMFHI.
Any help much appreciated. Wrighty.

[Gym_]

Believe it or not its rather hard to go wrong .. i have totally stuffed up brews before having the temp 20c out and it still turned out to be not a bad drop .. check "ALL GRAIN BREWING" in youtube there some good vids in there .. ranging from "extremely anal" to "arr shell be right "
Main thing is don't panic, as long as u don't kill your yeast or infect your wort a C there or here and a minute here or there is not going to matter much ..

Cheers

[wrighty]

Cheers Gym,
Temp controls shouldnt be an issue was just trying to simplify the sparge technique.
Just over thinking the whole thing .May just add sparge leave for 15 min and do first runnings pour back in mash until
it runs reasonably clear.

[Gym_]

most of mine i leave between 30 and 60 min but as i said dont stress..
Its only as complacated as u want to make it ..

[warra48]

I suggest you batch sparge for your first few brews, until you are used to your systems and processes.

I still batch sparge after 50 batches, and this is my routine:

1. I heat my mash water to about 8ºC higher than my target temperature. So if I want to mash at 66ºC, I heat my HLT to 74ºC.
2. I preheat my mashtun with 1 kitchen type kettle of boiling water, and drain that off just before mash in.
3. I run about 4 to 5 litres of water from my HLT into my mashtun, and dump in about half my milled grains, and stir for about 30 seconds or so.
4. I then run about 4 to 5 litres more water from the HLT and dump in the balance of the grain. I stir for about a minute to mix it properly and break down any dough balls. I measure the temperature of the mash, and add more water bit by bit until I reach my mash temperature.
5. I cover the mash with a fitted piece of yoga mat to isolate the headspace in my mashtun.
6. Refill your HLT and heat to somewhere between 90ºC to boiling, turn off the heat, and just leave it until you are ready to sparge.
7. At the end of my mash (60 to 90 minutes depending on what I'm brewing, but 60 is fine for your first one) I add about 5 to 6 litres for a mash out and stir. You can choose not to bother adding this if you don't wish to.
8. I vorlauf about 4 or 5 litres, and then start my drain into my kettle. Don't be tempted to run it off too fast. A slower run-off will ensure you don't get a stuck mash or sparge.
9. Once the run-off is complete, check how much you've collected into your kettle (I use a graduated copper tube I have marked in 1 litre increments).
10. Let's say I want to collect 32 litres, and I have 16 litres in my kettle. I then know I need a further 16 litres, so this is what I add to the mash as my sparge.
11. Stir it for about 30 seconds, and repeat the vorlauf and then sparge into the kettle.
12. For my system I need to collect about 32 litres to allow for evaporation and trub loss, to ensure I get 23 litres into the fermenter.
13. Bring your kettle to the boil, add hops at the appropriate times, chill the wort at the end of your boil, drain to the fermenter, aerate, add yeast, and ferment.

It really is quite easy. Good luck, TL's SNPA recipe is a good one. It was my first AG, and I've done a couple more since then.
Keep notes of what you do including temperatures, time frames, volumes etc so you can fine tune your system and routine for your next brew.

[wrighty]

Warra you are the man.
I will print this off and have it pinned on the brew board.
Made a kick arse mash tun from a waco moulded f/glass esky 55lt job.
Tested out for leaks and heat holding shes a beauty.
Have a converted keg as my kettle.
Four ring burner tested out on the keggle all good.
I dont have a chiller as yet but planned on sticking fermentor in a big trough of icy water.
I nominate this for a sticky, what do reckon greg.

Cheers again Warra for your great advice.

[wrighty]

Not off to a good start.
Dropped the digital thermometer in the mashtun water, now R.S
My mashtun smells of f/glass not good.
Just ran out of gas. F.F.S.
Oh well off to bunnings i go for a new t/meter and a cheap esky and a bottle of gas.
Should get a gig on funniest home vids the way this is going.

[Gym_]

LOL i bet ya looking forward to a beer now ..lol

I use one of these that way it don't mater if it gets dropped in the mash to much .. a little expensive but a wonderfully bit of kit

[Bizier]

Good work Wrighty.

No doubt it will be great beer.

[wrighty]

Thanks guys.
Man that was one long day .Had to remake my mashtun inc remaking the manifold 3hrs.
Trip in to town for t/meter,gas and esky,1hr.
Re test new mashtun with srike water.1hr.
Finally doughed in at 2.30pm.Followed Wassa's batch spage regime.
All up about 45min to fully sparge tun,collected 35lt all up.
40min for kettle to boil, 60min boil.

Took notes as Wassa wisley advised.
SG was 1037.witch i put down to this. To much strike water.Missed temp got 62.5.
Over sparged maybe 2-3 lt.
Will be making a wort chiller today as tryin to cool 25 lt fermentor in a 60lt placcy bin was PITA.
Learnt lots ,the next one i do will be a stroll in the park compared to this

[warra48]

Good on you, wrighty.
After all that effort, I hope your brew turns out to knock your socks off.
At least it looks like you avoided one very common beginners' error, which is to collect far too little into the kettle.
If you collect a litre or two too much, you can always fix it by boiling a little more vigorously or longer. The increase in evaporation will get your volume and OG closer to what you planned.

By the way, Wassa and I are different brewers.

[chadjaja]

If you get another digital thermo then get a jam lid and drill a hole in it. Insert the thermo rod and it should float just nicely in your mash tun. Easy, simple and free to make.

[wrighty]

Apoligies Warra ,
I should have run the boil a bit longer was getting a bit weary by then.
Sounds good Chad will give that a go.Just had it to close to the brew on that poxy little clip on the back one knock in she went
Next up Dr Smurtos golden ale.Was going to have a crack at it today but its 45c in the shed.

[wrighty]

Warra .
Question .When i do the vorlaulf do i tip this back in the mash or add it straight into the kettle?.
Cheers mate i already owe you a few beers.
Built myself an immersion chiller today hooked up to a washing machine pump that recycles ice coldwater through a20lt bucket.
that will chill the bugger down a bit quicker.
Brew 2 underway as i type.

[warra48]

Warra .
Question .When i do the vorlaulf do i tip this back in the mash or add it straight into the kettle?.
Cheers mate i already owe you a few beers.
Built myself an immersion chiller today hooked up to a washing machine pump that recycles ice coldwater through a20lt bucket.
that will chill the bugger down a bit quicker.
Brew 2 underway as i type.

The idea of the vorlauf is to drain off the first few litres. This usually contains various bits of grain etc etc, and will be quite cloudy and murky. You carefully and gently add it back to the top of the mash. The idea is to set the grain bed itself up so that it works like a filter for your wort.
When your wort runs clearer (it probably won't be totally clear, but you'll see quite easily when it starts to clear), then run it into the kettle.
This process prevents grains, tannins, proteins etc draining into your kettle.

[Bizier]

Question .When i do the vorlaulf do i tip this back in the mash or add it straight into the kettle?.

Not to steal your steam Warra, but the first one Wrighty... you are recirculating the mash until you lose the chunks. If you are fly sparging, esp with pumps etc, you might go til it is crystal clear. BUT the haze won't hurt you and will feed your yeast.

Killer work on the chiller by the sounds of it, good work. An idea is to use tap water for the first bit to wash a bunch of heat off it (the water will be very hot, so it awesome for cleaning your gear). Then you can switch over to ice and really work the heat down further and save your coldest water.

ED: Did not steal your steam at all. Instead I look superfluous...

[wrighty]

Thanks Warra ,Bizier,
Got the second brew down today .Managed to hit my mash temp pretty spot on 64.5.
Had the sparge water ready in at 90c quick stir and started first runnings 10 min later disaster
F$#@!n manifold had popped out wich i found out after it blocked the inlet full of grain hence no liquid.
Then the fun really began,tip back mashtun glove in hot grain pull out manifold rinse out.
Unblock tap ,shove manifold back in.Swear,curse missed sparge temps.
Finally got it in to the kettle boiled hooked up the new chiller worked a treat. hoo fekn ray
Lesson no 4 dont use pvc on copper in hot mash. mod coming up there.
Be a bloody miracle if this beers any good.

[drsmurto]

Thanks Warra ,Bizier,
Got the second brew down today .Managed to hit my mash temp pretty spot on 64.5.
Had the sparge water ready in at 90c quick stir and started first runnings 10 min later disaster
F$#@!n manifold had popped out wich i found out after it blocked the inlet full of grain hence no liquid.
Then the fun really began,tip back mashtun glove in hot grain pull out manifold rinse out.
Unblock tap ,shove manifold back in.Swear,curse missed sparge temps.
Finally got it in to the kettle boiled hooked up the new chiller worked a treat. hoo fekn ray
Lesson no 4 dont use pvc on copper in hot mash. mod coming up there.
Be a bloody miracle if this beers any good.

Beer will be amazing and you wont ever be able to repeat it!

My 1st AG had the same issue, didn't tighten the manifold properly after a few stirs of the mash out it popped. 66C is too hot even with kitchen gloves on so i dumped the whole mash into another esky, re-attached the manifold and dumped the mash back in.

No turning back now Wrighty, the lure of the dark side is too strong.

[wrighty]

Cheers Doc.
No turning back now i think i got the bug now .The freaky thing was i did my first A.G exactly 12 months to the day as my first post on this site.
(Twilight zone music)I dont want to do that over again thanks Doc. Prob should wait until im drinking it first.
Made a new manifold today all copper complete with brass welded outlet attached.Bomb proof.
Back to my real job for the next few days to support my new habit.

[wrighty]

Taste test last night at near 2 weeks in the bottle.
More than happy with this beer a bit more time in the bottle and will be awsome.
Body and head retention excellent and the malt profile is huge.
Kits and bits pale ales were ok but this A.G. beer has much bigger balls
Knocking up a 3tier stand today to make the job of brewing easier,crates, bricks and other assorted kit
was giving me the shits .Just another day in the shed better than perfect day at work.