Brew Number Two

Today was my first attempt at an All-Grain Brew...what a gong show.  I was warned on a forum that I would have a tough time getting the OG that I was looking for, aaaaand they were right.  So heres how it went.

Recipe:
8 lbs Breiss 2-Row
1 lb CaraMunich
1 lb Caramel 10L
2 lbs Biscuit
1 oz Challenger (60 min)
1 oz Hallertauer (10 min)
1 oz Irish Moss
1 pk S-33 Ale Yeast

My mash was at 158 deg, and my initial mash was at 2 gallons, with 2 gallon sparge.  I got about 3 gallons back after grain absorption.  This is what I was looking for, because my brew kettle is only 5 gallons, and I cant fill it to the brim, so my target gravity was 1.091, so when I added it to 2 gallons of water in the fermenter, Id get 5 gallons at 1.055 gravity.

Lets just say my mashing wasn't to efficient.  I only added a gallon of water in the fermenter, so I have a batch size of 4 gallons, with an OG of 1.045... yeah.

While the wort was boiling I make some bread and mixed the spent grains from the mash into it.  After punching out the dough after the first rise, I rubbed a handful into the top of the dough, let it rise, and baked, good stuff.

I hit my hot break and dropped the Challenger hops for 60 minutes, and added the Hallertauer and Irish Moss at 10 minutes to go.  This was the first batch I used my newly built Wort Chiller and what a difference it made.  My last batch took nearly an hour to chill using an ice bath and continuous stirring,  with the chiller it took maybe 25 minutes, thats 25 minutes I dont have to stand right next to it and can do other things, like clean up my huge mess in the kitchen (gotta keep the wife happy.)

We'll see how it comes out, Ill update with time.

First Brew Bottled

Bottled my first batch on Monday. The final gravity came to 1.019. I'm pleased with the taste and I'm sure that two weeks of conditioning in the bottle and carbonating will make it just right. Enjoy the pics...

First Brew - American Amber Ale (Extract)

First Brew - American Amber Ale (Extract)

Recipe:
4 lbs Breiss Extra Light DME
3 lbs Breiss Sparkling Amber LME
1 oz Challenger Hops (60 min.)
1 oz Cascade Hops (15 min.)
Safbrew S33 Dry Ale Yeast

2 gallons of water were boiled and added to the sanitized carboy.  3 gallons of water were brought to boil and Malt Extracts were added in (while removed from heat.)  When it came back to boil,  Challenger hops were added, and with 15 minutes left, the Cascade Hops were added.

At this point I did not have a wort chiller, so I lowered the boil pot into the sink, into an ice bath.  I stirred regularly to cool the wort as quickly as possible.  During the boil I activated the yeast in warm water with a couple tablespoons of the LME.

I had trouble siphoning the wort into the carboy, because I do not have an auto siphon.

I placed the carboy fermenter in the basement to keep it cool in a bucket full of water to help stabilize temperature change.  24 hours later there was a good krausen formed and the yeast were very active.  At 48 hours, visible bubbling had ceased.  The beer maintained a milky coloration. which concerned me.  I post the picture at www.homebrewtalk.com.  The response I got was basically "chill out, its fine, stop looking at it for 3 weeks."

Fermenter + 24 hours

Fermenter + 72 hours

Lessons Learned:
Learn to use a siphon
Find a way to cool the wort faster
Don't worry so much, let the yeast do its job and be patient!

Introduction to my Blog

Introduction to my Blog

I recently got caught the "Brew Bug."  I came across John Palmer's webpage www.howtobrew.com, and subsequently picked up a copy of his book, which is a the standard for learning to brew your own beer.  I read it cover to cover and was amazed by the science behind something I appreciate so much, beer!

Every resource I have come across highly recommends keeping extensive notes on how you brew your beer, so you can recreate a beer.  So, the purpose of this blog is to share what I learn, and to archive my notes for mine and anyone else who is interested.

Currently I have my first batch in the fermenter.  It is an extract brew of an American Amber Ale.  When I bottle that batch I will do my first All-Grain batch.

My Equipment:
20 qt stock pot
6.5 gallon True Brew fermenting/bottling bucket
6.5 gallon True Brew glass carboy
True Brew Airlock
True Brew Siphon
True Brew Hydrometer
Taylor Digital Pocket Thermometer

10 gallon Cylindrical Cooler Mash Tun (made from instructions at www.mainlinebrewers.com.)
Homemade 10 ft. Wort Cooler