joolbag Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 I've had time to clean, pack up and sit down and crunch the numbers. Post sparge: 31L SG = 1.036 Mash efficiency of 80.32% Post-boil: 25.99L OG = 1.043 22.4L into the cube Brewhouse efficiency of 69.32% I tweaked the recipe today after I recorded my low mash efficiency. So I still hit my numbers in regards to gravity as I wanted an OG of 1.042-1.044. My original recipe was supposed to fill my 25L cube, but I reduced the volume so that I could hit the OG. I wanted (and should get) a lighter body and ABV hoppy and fruity ale to contrast with all these larger APAs and IPAs that I have been brewing of late. Thanks Ben 10 for the recipe. The wort sample had plenty of bitterness. I may treat Galaxy like this all the time, FO and dry hop only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted September 22, 2017 Share Posted September 22, 2017 & you don't? I do about 5 litres poured over the bag. Thanks Ben 10 for the recipe. The wort sample had plenty of bitterness. I may treat Galaxy like this all the time' date=' FO and dry hop only.[/quote'] Hopefully it works out for you, my first time brewing that. I have done a few late hop only pales and they have been good. I think Lusty had a thread relating to the Bridge Rd Pale where ben Krauss said go all late with hops so I have tried that before. Works well. And with the Lust Man's info on harsh bittering I figured low IBUs from Galaxy would still be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Brew day today! I have done a couple of others since moving but didn't get around to posting them. Today's brew is an American pale ale with Cascade and Centennial because that's all I have in the freezer here at the moment. Just bringing the wort up to boil now after steeping the FWH addition for 15 minutes at around 67/68C. I forgot to put the false bottom in the urn so this one didn't have a mash out step or a 72C rest after the main mash. Pre boil volume is a litre less than expected, but I should be able to top it up with the wort that is still dripping out of the bag into the bucket, will give it another squeeze to get as much out as possible. 25L intended batch size based on 75% brewhouse efficiency. Added 7g gypsum to the 36L strike water. Grains 4.500 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (Thomas Fawcett) (5.6 EBC) Grain 4 83.3 % 0.500 kg Munich II (Weyermann) (16.7 EBC) Grain 5 9.3 % 0.300 kg Crystal Malt - Medium (Thomas Fawcett) (150.0 EBC) Grain 6 5.6 % 0.100 kg Acidulated (Weyermann) (4.5 EBC) Grain 7 1.9 % 60-70 minute mash at 67/68C Hops 17.00 g Cascade [6.80 %] - First Wort 75.0 min Hop 8 13.7 IBUs 30.00 g Cascade [6.80 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 9 7.6 IBUs 20.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Boil 10.0 min Hop 10 7.5 IBUs 20.00 g Cascade [6.80 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min Hop 11 3.5 IBUs 20.00 g Centennial [10.00 %] - Steep/Whirlpool 15.0 min Hop 12 5.1 IBUs 75 minute boil Yeast Wyeast 1272 American Ale II, fermented at 18C for 3 days, raised to 21C until a few days post FG. I'll do a dry hop with 20-30g of each hop as well. The Stats Est Original Gravity: 1.0508 SG Est Final Gravity: 1.0132 SG Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 4.9 % Bitterness: 37.4 IBUs Est Color: 16.5 EBC Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Missed the OG on this one by 3 points. Mash efficiency was a bit under my normal mid-high 80s at 82.3%, I didn't do a mash out because I forgot the false bottom and had no way to suspend the bag, and I also missed the volume by 500mL. But the boil off only increased the gravity by 7 points as opposed to the Beersmith prediction of 10 points based on my boil off rate/post boil volume. I went from 1.0404 to 1.0474 over 75 minutes. I've looked back through the recipes I brewed in the laundry at home, and they do vary in the amount the SG increases by, some are around that 7 points, some 8 points and others up to nearly 10 points, all with the same boil length of 75 minutes bar the lagers that get 90 minutes. The red ale I brewed here increased by 8.5 points during the boil, and the pilsner nearly 10 points although it was a 90 minute boil. The reason I've been hitting my OG seems to be that the pre boil gravities are almost always 2-3 points higher than predicted for the target pre boil volume, so when it only increases by 7-8 points during the boil, it lines up properly with the predicted OG. If I change the loss to trub and chiller to 4.5L it more accurately predicts what happens, so maybe I'll just leave it there, or at 4L or something. I brew out on the deck now, and every time I brew it seems to be bloody windy by the time I get to the boil, but any other day it's quite calm at that time of day. I suspect this is partly to blame although it doesn't really explain why batches brewed in the laundry away from the wind varied in their SG increases from pretty similar pre-boil gravities. We won't be staying in this house past the 6 months if we are able to move elsewhere, mainly due to the traffic noise, but hopefully our next place has a more sheltered area I can brew in to make things a bit more predictable. Underneath this house is useless due to no power points and the ground is uneven anyway, and I do enjoy brewing outside but getting varied results is annoying when I'm used to being consistent batch to batch, at least in terms of hitting the target OG and batch volume, which is the main aim anyway. At the end of the day I'm still making tasty beer so it's not a huge issue, but it would be nice to be consistent. Cheers Kelsey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Made a Blonde today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted September 25, 2017 Author Share Posted September 25, 2017 Made a Blonde today. Curvy' date=' about 5'9" - 5'10"? [img']unsure[/img] I hope your wife doesn't find out! Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 I hope your wife doesn't find out! It's okay, as long as I share. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanaKiwi Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Goofed on my grain order and ended up with 4.5kg pilsner AND 4.5kg wheat malt rather than 4.5kg total. So I guess my next 2 batches will be hefeweizen. Will do one with raspberries, and one traditional. Both with halleratau and WLP300. What made the brew day interesting for me though was doing no-chill for the first time. I needed to build up a starter and split yeast for my 2 batches but won't have time for another brew day for a while and it seemed like a good solution. Hopefully it all works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wotto Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Missed the OG on this one by 3 points. Mash efficiency was a bit under my normal mid-high 80s at 82.3%' date=' I didn't do a mash out because I forgot the false bottom and had no way to suspend the bag, and I also missed the volume by 500mL. But the boil off only increased the gravity by 7 points as opposed to the Beersmith prediction of 10 points based on my boil off rate/post boil volume. I went from 1.0404 to 1.0474 over 75 minutes. I've looked back through the recipes I brewed in the laundry at home, and they do vary in the amount the SG increases by, some are around that 7 points, some 8 points and others up to nearly 10 points, all with the same boil length of 75 minutes bar the lagers that get 90 minutes. The red ale I brewed here increased by 8.5 points during the boil, and the pilsner nearly 10 points although it was a 90 minute boil. The reason I've been hitting my OG seems to be that the pre boil gravities are almost always 2-3 points higher than predicted for the target pre boil volume, so when it only increases by 7-8 points during the boil, it lines up properly with the predicted OG. If I change the loss to trub and chiller to 4.5L it more accurately predicts what happens, so maybe I'll just leave it there, or at 4L or something. I brew out on the deck now, and every time I brew it seems to be bloody windy by the time I get to the boil, but any other day it's quite calm at that time of day. I suspect this is partly to blame although it doesn't really explain why batches brewed in the laundry away from the wind varied in their SG increases from pretty similar pre-boil gravities. We won't be staying in this house past the 6 months if we are able to move elsewhere, mainly due to the traffic noise, but hopefully our next place has a more sheltered area I can brew in to make things a bit more predictable. Underneath this house is useless due to no power points and the ground is uneven anyway, and I do enjoy brewing outside but getting varied results is annoying when I'm used to being consistent batch to batch, at least in terms of hitting the target OG and batch volume, which is the main aim anyway. At the end of the day I'm still making tasty beer so it's not a huge issue, but it would be nice to be consistent. Cheers Kelsey[/quote'] Thats weird. I just checked my boil off rates and they are all exactly 7 points from pre boil to post boil. I use the same urn as you and similar volumes too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted September 26, 2017 Author Share Posted September 26, 2017 I hope your wife doesn't find out! It's okay' date=' as long as I share.[/quote'] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 Thats weird. I just checked my boil off rates and they are all exactly 7 points from pre boil to post boil. I use the same urn as you and similar volumes too.Most of mine are around 7-8 points increase too, over 75 minutes. I normally get a mash efficiency of at least 85%, sometimes it goes up into the low 90s so I have adjusted trub loss to 4L which gives a predicted mash eff. of 87% which is closer to what I get, a good average figure anyway. This gives an SG increase of about 8 points over the boil due to the increased predicted pre-boil SG, so hopefully things will start lining up a bit better now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Youngie Posted September 26, 2017 Share Posted September 26, 2017 I brewed my vanilla porter today. Vanilla beans will go in the fermenter at the end of fermentation and then I will leave for a week. First ever dark beer brewed and I am a little worried it will taste like crap. Youngie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Captain!! Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 NZ pale ale 25l batch 1.050 OG 1.011FG estimated Ibu 39.4 colour 15 4.2 kg BB pale malt 1.2kg Munich II .1 kg acid .2kg medium crystal 30g Pacifica First wort addition 20g Motueka @ 5mins 20g Cascade @ 5mins 20g Pacifica @ 5mins 30g Motueka whirlpool 30g Cascade whirlpool 30g Pacifica whirlpool US-05 ferment at 18 Dry hop of 30g Motueka, 30g Cascade and 20g Pacifica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 NZ pale ale Good stuff Captain, what is Pacifica like? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Captain!! Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 Hey Ben, This is actually the first time using all these hops. Basically that's why the schedule is so neutral. Taking on all the advice you guys have giving that's why I've gone all the late hops. Still thinking it wasn't enough hops for a hoppy pale. But will see in a few weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 Still thinking it wasn't enough hops for a hoppy pale. Should be fine, 150g late + dry hopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 Brewed a beer this morning and, surprise, surprise, I actually have time for another brew day on Monday I have decided to clear out some hops from the freezer and will brew the following leftovers pale ale. 3kg Golden Promise 1kg Munich I 800g Wheat Malt 200g Caraaroma 10g Magnum @ 60 minutes 5g Simcoe @ 5 minutes 10g Azacca @ 0 minutes 10g Brooklyn @ 0 minutes 10g Cascade @ 0 minutes 10g Mosaic @ 0 minutes 5g Simcoe @ 0 minutes 10g Azacca - Dry hop 10g Brooklyn - Dry hop 10g Cascade - Dry hop 10g Mosaic - Dry hop Mash @ 66 degrees Wyeast 1450 - Denny's Favourite 50 OG - 1052 IBU - 45 (no chill) 23 litres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan8 Posted September 30, 2017 Share Posted September 30, 2017 Hey guys, not been posting here for a few weeks. Still reading and still brewing. Last post was about Muddy beer so convinced it was to do with grain mill crush being to fine i been playing around a little. Anyway brew day today 2 batches english bitter. Same recipe just slightly less dark malt in second batch. Grain bill 4.8kg first batch and 50 grams less in the second. Made adjustment to mill for second batch with huge difference in pre boil sg.1st batch was 1.045 which was about right, second 1.035. So i have gone back to my original mill settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Brew day! Trying a few new things today with this brew. Using some pH balancer in my mash & sparge water in an effort to curb some of the astringency issues I've been having, along with a new hop I've been wanting to try for ages now, that being Rakau. Extract/partial Pale Ale: Coopers Light LME 1.5kg Coopers Dry Malt extract 500gms Weyermanns Ale Malt grain 1kg Munich Malt grain 200gms Wheat Malt grain 150gms CaraBohemian Malt grain 150gms Fortnight 10gms @ 60mins Rakau 15gms @ 15mins Rakau 15gms @ 10mins Rakau & Enigma 20gms each hop tea Rakau 50gms dry hopped CCA yeast (1 litre starter) Brewed to 21 litres Ferment @ 18°C OG = approx. 1.054 FG = approx. 1.014 (75% yeast attenuation) EBC = 15.4 IBU = 32.7 Kegged ABV = approx. 5.2% A very interesting brew for me on a number of levels. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Using some pH balancer in my mash & sparge water in an effort to curb some of the astringency issues I've been having' date='[/quote'] Not that 5.2 stuff? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Using some pH balancer in my mash & sparge water in an effort to curb some of the astringency issues I've been having' date='[/quote'] Not that 5.2 stuff? Yeah. Bought a small amount of the stuff to try it as I'm not after a specific water profile. I'm trying to find the cause of an astringency issue in my beer. Canadian_Eh!L used it for many years, so have trusted him about its usage. I used the 5.2 pH balancer in my mash water, & sparge water. The pH meter I purchased showed my tap water at approx. 7.0. After adding amounts of the pH balancer to my strike water, then mashing in, I measured it again & it read approx. 5.7-5.8. I didn't wish to add anymore of this product to the mash water as I felt I had surpassed the recommended dosage rate at that stage to get it to that point. My boil wort is almost finished cooling & I took another reading, & it reads @ 6.2-6.3. For those in the know, what would you say on that in regards to what level I should be aiming for, & whether this is normal/abnormal etc. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Gypsum is quite good at dropping the pH. I have read quite a few disparaging comments regarding the 5* pH stuff. Hope you get what you are after mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Hiya Ben. Gypsum is quite good at dropping the pH. I have read quite a few disparaging comments regarding the 5* pH stuff. Hope you get what you are after mate. Thanks mate. Do you measure your pH during brew day? If so' date=' at what points etc.? Just on the brew, the hop tea I made was one of the nicest aromatically I've smelled for sometime. Quite piney/limey/tropical. Some stonefruit-like aromas as is the descriptors of the Rakau. I hummed & harred about whether to play it safe with the hop tea & use Centennial with the Rakau, but glad I decided to try the Enigma with it. Just hoping it holds up into the final beer flavours & aromas post-fermentation. Stoked that my LHBS is now stocking Rakau, & has CaraBohemian (my fav crystal malt) back available. [img']joyful[/img] Some exciting/promising warm weather beers look likely at the Beerlust brewery this Summer. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ben 10 Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Do you measure your pH during brew day? If so' date=' at what points etc.? [/quote'] No I don't. I use the bru'n water spreadsheet which has a good amount of information as well. My use of this has resulted in some very nice beers so I have no reason to think it is not on the mark. I go by taste alone and have dumped heaps of minerals in as per the Burton profile and have made really nice, hoppy, minerally beers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Do you measure your pH during brew day? If so' date=' at what points etc.? [/quote'] No I don't. I'd be interested in what levels they are at if you ever get interested enough yourself to take a read of them. Have just started drinking the M42 brew. Very pleased with the yeast & how it dealt with the malt & hop combo. Flocked really well too with the inclusion of a 5 odd day cold crash, to create a nice clear beer. So thanks for the heads up on trying it. I harvested some for future use. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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