Did my 2nd all grain today, an amber lager.
10 lbs Pilsener malt
2 lbs Vienna malt
0.5 lbs Crystal 40 (I just couldn't leave it out...)
Mashed for 75 mins at 153 with water adjusted to pH 6. Mash pH 5.7. Drained off 14 quarts of 1.072 wort. Meant to mash for 60 mins but sparge water heated slower than I anticipated.
Sparged with 16 quarts of 180 degree water and drained off 14 quarts of 1.033 wort before it began running very slow.
Boiled 28 quarts for 75 mins with 2 oz of 3.1 AA Saaz hops added at start and 1 oz of 3.1 AA Saaz added at 45 mins into boil. Was intending to stop at 60 mins but forgot to immerse chiller so boiled an additional 15 mins to sterilize chiller.
After boiling I got 6.5 gallons (23 L) of 1.062 wort. Based on my calculations, that was somewhere around 89% efficiency. Could this be possible? I'd be happy if it was but it seems a bit optimistic given that its only my 2nd batch.
Cooled to 15C and put it in a water bath with a wet towel over it. Pitched about 1L of Wyeast Czech Pils starter. Maybe should have waited longer but I wanted to get done and clean up. Freezer with temp controller isn't working - it's a very old (and mouldy)freezer that I was gonna discard anyway and I've already sourced a newer (free) one - so it's sitting in a 12" water bath with a towel over it. Probably won't get it down to 50 degrees like that but should be 60 or slightly less, especially if I add ice occassionally. I considered putting it in the cold room but that is only about 4C and probably too cold to ferment properly. But, that's where it's headed when it's done.