Ok, I finally put all this shiny new equipment to use. I suspect cleaning will never be that easy again.
I made the recipe at the top of this page with the exception of using Lallemand Nottingham Ale yeast because of a supply issue.
I milled the grain myself using a Kitchen Aid grain mill. My first shot turned the Biscuit malt to powder, so I completely readjusted and got what I believe is a nice grind on the second attempt. Lesson 1.
I calculated a 3.9 gallon strike volume for a 3.5 gallon boil. Raised the temperature of the water with the gas burner on the stove and when it hit 158 I turned the burner off and added the grains. I stirred for a few good minutes and took another temperature reading hoping for 150-152. I got 156. Hmm. Maybe if I slid the pot OFF the still hot burner grate, maybe the temperature drop would have been what I expected. Or maybe there is just a lag time that I didn't take into account. Next time I'll move the pot and wait a minute to see if the temp stabilizes before I add the grain. Lesson 2.
I covered the pot and let the BIAB steep, checking temp every 15 minutes.
@ 45 - 154
@30 - 151
@ 15 - 149
@ 0 - 146
Not very consistent at all. I considered the oven method but wasn't sure if the pot would fit. I measured after, it would have. Maybe next time. Lesson 3.
I removed the grains to a bowl and measured the boil volume. 3.5! I got something right.
Fired up the burner, and waited for boil. It came soon enough with a strong but manageable hot break. I waited for it to subside and added the bittering hops. That started another volcano, but it was handled with a spritz of water.
Boil continued uneventfully, hops added at 30 and 0. Irish Moss at 15. I let the wort sit for 10 minutes off the heat so the Fuggles got some play time. Final volume, 2.75 gallons. Only 3/4 gallon boil off in an hour. Boil looked vigorous, maybe not vigorous enough?
Took a gravity reading. 1.030. Ugh!! I was hoping for 1.042, but was expecting a little less. Not that far south however. Some brewhouse efficiency, that.
Forward, march. The pot went into an ice bath with a thermometer and foil for a lid. I question the use of the foil but I couldn't see using a lid and removing it every five minutes to stick a thermometer in there. Anyway, it took about 30 minutes to get to 70. A wee too long, more ice next time. Lesson number...I lost count.
In the meantime I had rehydrated the yeast and that looked just like all the pictures in Palmer's book. Nice and frothy.
Racked to a 3 gallon carboy with the auto siphon (greatest invention ever) and pitched the yeast. Stuck the air lock in and set the carboy, wrapped in a towel, in a 65 degree closet. If I understand Palmer, it's beneficial to start a little cooler and then move to about 70-72 after about a week. We shall see.
All in all, 4 hours and an absolute great time.
BUT, why the poor OG?? My guesses:
1. Poor grain milling. I never did it before, but it sure looked just like all the pics I found on line. I really want to believe this wasn't the problem.
2. After the initial stir of the mash, I left the grains alone. That has to be a mistake. A little nudging around the pot from time to time probably would have helped. I can't see that being the entire problem however.
I suppose I can mash for longer, or sparge. Or just add more grain (last resort).
If you made it this far, my compliments. But for what it's worth, I'm hooked.