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Author Topic: My first brew  (Read 7092 times)

Offline yso191

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My first brew
« on: October 22, 2012, 09:26:13 am »
After studying and accumulating gear since June, I finally brewed a 5 gallon batch yesterday.

What went wrong:
1. Got to enjoying the event so much at the store, I misread the grain bill and added ~twice as much Roasted Barley as the recipe called for.  The beer will be darker than intended.
2. I didn't preheat the mash tun adequately and had to add more water to the mash to keep the temp up.
3. My Vorloff (sp?) sucked.  I disturbed the grain bed way too much.
4. First runnings on the batch sparge went well, but stuck the second runnings.  This turned out to be caused by my dip-tube being too close to the bottom of the keggle (legally obtained).
5. WAY too much grain getting by the grain bed/false bottom.  I had to filter the wort through a strainer.

What went right: pretty much everything else.  The estimated OG was 1.053 and I hit 1.051.

It is in the kegerator designated as the fermentation chamber and bubbling away.  We'll see...

Steve
« Last Edit: October 22, 2012, 10:29:22 am by yso191 »
Steve
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Offline Jimmy K

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2012, 09:47:20 am »
If that's all that went wrong, I'd say that's a pretty good first day.
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Offline majorvices

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My first brew
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2012, 11:15:53 am »
All part of the learning process. Congrats on your fist batch!

Offline davidgzach

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2012, 11:20:50 am »
Not a bad first day at all!  Stuck sparge could be more because of the extra roasted barley as well.  How much in total?

Congrats on your first all grain!

Dave
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Offline euge

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2012, 01:04:11 pm »
Congrats! Missing .002 on your first AG is something to be commended on. I take it this is your first time brewing beer at all? Jumping in feet first I see.

Yeah it's gonna be quite roasty depending on how much roasted barley you actually used- if it was just ounces I wouldn't worry. Pounds are another matter... :o
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Offline yso191

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2012, 02:21:17 pm »
Ha ha, Ounces, not pounds.  The recipe called for .09/lb. of Roasted Barley and I looked at another grain which was .25/lb..  When I noticed my mistake I took back out as much as I could without getting too anal about it.  yeah, I think it will just be darker.

Steve
Steve
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Offline saintpierre

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #6 on: October 22, 2012, 02:42:13 pm »
Sounds like a pretty successful brew day. Hell as long as it tastes good I'd say it was a great success! Congrats!
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Offline gauzzastrip

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #7 on: October 25, 2012, 12:47:29 pm »
I commend you going straight to all grain as your first brew.  If I hadn't gone with extract for my first 6 months of brewing I would have had no idea what was going on haha!

Sounds like you had a great first brew day.

Offline Slowbrew

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #8 on: October 25, 2012, 01:03:38 pm »
Way to go on your first brew.  I did go to all grain for several years and I think your first one went better than mine.   :o

Some of my best beers have been born of mistakes.  I can even reproduce some of them.  Now, start planning your next brew.

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Offline weithman5

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #9 on: October 25, 2012, 01:08:21 pm »
Congrats! Missing .002 on your first AG is something to be commended on. I take it this is your first time brewing beer at all? Jumping in feet first I see.

Yeah it's gonna be quite roasty depending on how much roasted barley you actually used- if it was just ounces I wouldn't worry. Pounds are another matter... :o

i don't even record to the thousandths.
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Offline yso191

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #10 on: October 25, 2012, 02:10:41 pm »
Yep, 2nd brew on Saturday.  A Pale Ale, lightly hopped with orange and coriander. I'm not going to be able to drink them this fast!  I'm also scheduled to do a 10 gallon IPA batch with a friend the following Friday.  Need more fermenter room...

Steve
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Offline blatz

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #11 on: October 25, 2012, 02:36:22 pm »
  Need more fermenter room...


the obsession begins...
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Offline sch21c

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Re: My first brew
« Reply #12 on: October 25, 2012, 02:45:35 pm »
Yep, 2nd brew on Saturday.  A Pale Ale, lightly hopped with orange and coriander. I'm not going to be able to drink them this fast!  I'm also scheduled to do a 10 gallon IPA batch with a friend the following Friday.  Need more fermenter room...

Steve

Wow!  Talk about jumping in with both feet!

Sounds like you've got things moving along well.  Welcome to the obsession.