146 replies to this topic

[Deerslyr]

... And Beach is right, this is not anywhere close to the worst brewday possible.

Yeah, like having a brew table collapse during the sparge, tipping over the partially filled brew kettle.

Edited by Deerslyr, 09 July 2012 - 03:25 PM.

[Jdtirado]

For sure it was a good thought process. Kudos for paying attention. I was just pointing out a way easier option. And i agree, coming in a few points off is the least of worries on learning equipment and processes. Id like to revisit the manifold. Something fishy is going on that shouldn't be.

I'm thinking that the tubing was way too long and had big loops going up and down. If I would have had a shorter tubing draining to a kettle below it would have been ok. I'm going to test this tomorrow or the next day. I have to say that I'm spent after this brew day

[BlKtRe]

Actually pulling the hops was awesome. Chuck was the first one that ran that by me, but he plans it........Yeah, the manifold is weird. I've done dumber things than forgetting to open a valve and scratching my head................

He plans it for after the boil. Its not a adjustment.

[Hines]

big loops up & down?J, i just got my shipping notification for my weekend brew. I'll read this thread over again before my first AG batch....i'm sure i'll make my mistakes as well! i'm still not sure I understand some of the hop calculations in the MLPA recipe!

[Jdtirado]

big loops up & down?J, i just got my shipping notification for my weekend brew. I'll read this thread over again before my first AG batch....i'm sure i'll make my mistakes as well! i'm still not sure I understand some of the hop calculations in the MLPA recipe!

Hines, kenLenard wants 5 - 5.5 Alpha Units so if you get a Mt Hood that is 4 Alpha Units per ounce you would have to increase the amount to have it be 5 or 5.5 AA.

[Jdtirado]

So to sumarize my fails to today and what I think should be done:1. Mash tun fail. I will test with a shorter tubing to check and see what went wrong. 2. Thermometers not aligning. Since I don't have a thermometer that I can calibrate, I will use a glass thermometer as the control. 3. Too much wort. I will decrease the grain absorption to 1.10 instead of 1.25 as I have it now. This should result I less water being used. I would appreciate any other comments from the experienced users. Thanks

[positiveContact]

missed this thread and don't have time to read. long story short you need to account for the thermal mass of your cooler when calculating strike temps. or you can preheat the cool which is what I do.

[Jdtirado]

missed this thread and don't have time to read. long story short you need to account for the thermal mass of your cooler when calculating strike temps. or you can preheat the cool which is what I do.

Studs when you do that do you then discard the water that you use to heat up the mash tun?

[Deerslyr]

So to sumarize my fails to today and what I think should be done:1. Mash tun fail. I will test with a shorter tubing to check and see what went wrong.2. Thermometers not aligning. Since I don't have a thermometer that I can calibrate, I will use a glass thermometer as the control.3. Too much wort. I will decrease the grain absorption to 1.10 instead of 1.25 as I have it now. This should result I less water being used.I would appreciate any other comments from the experienced users.Thanks

How did you calculate your water needs?

[djinkc]

missed this thread and don't have time to read. long story short you need to account for the thermal mass of your cooler when calculating strike temps. or you can preheat the cool which is what I do.

I still don't get this. Just figure out your strike temp for an ambient temp cooler and be done with it. I hate wasting time on brewday. But if it works for your setup, more power to youl.

[Jdtirado]

How did you calculate your water needs?

I relied on what beersmith told me based on a grist absorption that I estimated as 1.25 quart per lbs

[gnef]

It may take some time to get a good feel for your setup (it took me a while), so I'd recommend a number of smaller batches that are simple in grain bill and hop schedule. Once you get the hang of it, then start adding in more variables, and then you can also see what you need to adjust for as you go along.An easy (but imperfect) way to check your thermometers is using ice water and boiling water - just check your altitude first and adjust. The reason why this is imperfect is because the thermometers are not necessarily linear, and they could potentially read dead on at freezing and boiling, but be off at mash temperatures. The likelihood is small, but possible - small enough for me not to worry about it.The other way to get around this, is just to have more thermometers. Haha. Figure out which ones are best, and get rid of the rest. It is good you used both of your thermometers, keep that up, at least at first, and figure out when you can trust it, and when to check it.Double check your hydrometer and refractometer with the purest water you can (I use RO water since I have a system installed here), and make sure that the temperature is accounted for as well.The biggest thing I can tell you is to just keep brewing so that you become familiar and comfortable with your equipment. The first handful of times can be rough. Once you get your setup dialed in as you want, things will be much easier and more relaxing for you.As for water - my general rule of thumb (this is not scientific at all) is to strike with the volume that I want to end up with. For a 10 gallon batch, I typically mash in using 10 gallons of water (this can change depending on grain bill, etc. but that is where I have developed a feel for my system), and then I typically drain 6-7 for my first runnings from the batch sparge. My sparge water is typically half of my strike water, so for a 10 gallon batch, I put in 5 gallons to sparge with. I adjust depending on how much I was able to actually get from my first runnings, in order to get close to 12-13 gallons pre boil.I know my system well enough to account for variances in outdoor/grain temperature, grain bill size, etc. I feel comfortable enough to do this on the spot with no calculations, just based on my experience brewing with my equipment for many years.Don't fret, you will get there with your equipment soon!

[positiveContact]

Studs when you do that do you then discard the water that you use to heat up the mash tun?

nope. I overheat the strike water and let the cooler absorb some of the heat. I then open the lid and let the water cool to the right strike temp and mix in the grain. it's worked pretty consistently for me in terms of nailing a mash temp.

I still don't get this. Just figure out your strike temp for an ambient temp cooler and be done with it. I hate wasting time on brewday. But if it works for your setup, more power to youl.

it takes time for the cooler to stabilize and if you are mashing during this period your mash temp isn't what you intended. you can also do this step while accomplishing other stuff that needs to be done.

[Big Nake]

Hines, kenLenard wants 5 - 5.5 Alpha Units so if you get a Mt Hood that is 4 Alpha Units per ounce you would have to increase the amount to have it be 5 or 5.5 AA.

The last few times I have picked up Mt. Hoods, they have been 4.0%, 5.5% and 6.1%. If they're 4%, go with about 1.35 ounces (5.4 AAUs), if they're 5.5%, just use an ounce (5.5 AAUs) and if they're 6.1%, go with about .9 ounces (5.49 AAUs). If they're something else, just try to get around 5.2 to 5.5 AAUs at 60 minutes and you're good. Cheers.

[Jdtirado]

The last few times I have picked up Mt. Hoods, they have been 4.0%, 5.5% and 6.1%. If they're 4%, go with about 1.35 ounces (5.4 AAUs), if they're 5.5%, just use an ounce (5.5 AAUs) and if they're 6.1%, go with about .9 ounces (5.49 AAUs). If they're something else, just try to get around 5.2 to 5.5 AAUs at 60 minutes and you're good. Cheers.

That

[Big Nake]

I have it on tap right now (second beer to hit the taps after the beerpocalypse) and I used 1 ounce at 5.5%. I had some people over last Friday when it was 100°+ here and there was a lot of my blonde ale going down because it was light. But at some point I came downstairs to the bar with one of my BIL's friends and he said, "You know, the last beer I got was this Memory Lapse and I'm going for that one again!". Giddy up. Good luck on the first AG beers guys.

[Mindblock]

So to sumarize my fails to today and what I think should be done:1. Mash tun fail. I will test with a shorter tubing to check and see what went wrong. 2. Thermometers not aligning. Since I don't have a thermometer that I can calibrate, I will use a glass thermometer as the control. 3. Too much wort. I will decrease the grain absorption to 1.10 instead of 1.25 as I have it now. This should result I less water being used. I would appreciate any other comments from the experienced users. Thanks

Re/ (2).....this is probably overkill, but I have found it to be one of my best brewery purchases:https://vwrlabshop.com/vwr-waterproof-thermometers/p/0013422/

[Jdtirado]

Re/ (2).....this is probably overkill, but I have found it to be one of my best brewery purchases:https://vwrlabshop.c...ters/p/0013422/

That looks good, but I really want a thermapen, but unfortunately it is very expensive

[gnef]

Re/ (2).....this is probably overkill, but I have found it to be one of my best brewery purchases:https://vwrlabshop.c...ters/p/0013422/

I've been eyeing that thermometer for years. Do you think the .2C is worth the price over the 1C accuracy? I've been thinking more about thermometers as of late, and this one has always been on the back of my mind. The cost has always kept me away though.

[Jdtirado]

I've been eyeing that thermometer for years. Do you think the .2C is worth the price over the 1C accuracy? I've been thinking more about thermometers as of late, and this one has always been on the back of my mind. The cost has always kept me away though.

Well I guess you won't be getting the thermapen then at 80 dollars...ouch!