MitchBastard Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Gave the guten a go and I think it went well.....no blunders or hairy moments except for one (see below lol) wort is currently in a cube chilling for tomorrow. I came up a little short in terms of volume that will go into the fermentor. Was expecting 23L but came up bang on 20. I guess that’s a sparge volume issue?? Dang bottom screen/user error. Least it wasn’t in my wort! 2 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gullys Brewing Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Well congrats and welcome to AG. I doesn't take long to dial in the equipment. How did you go for gravity readings etc? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share Posted August 6, 2019 Thanks @Gully85 to be honest I was thinking half the time that I should have done AG earlier. Might be a premature thought though haha. i didn’t do a pre boil reading and was going to wait to until I pitch for an SG. I ended up being a little pressed for time and just dumped it into a cube so I could make kindy pick up haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hairy Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Good stuff. BTW, Hairy moments are the best moments!!! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 (edited) I find pre boil readings useful, both for volume and SG. It allows for adjusting the boil time or hop additions if required, if you are targeting a certain IBU figure or volume and SG into the fermenter, as well as seeing how well or poorly the mash went before it ends up in the fermenter. Edited August 6, 2019 by Otto Von Blotto 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gullys Brewing Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Yep as above however, I have been brewing AG for about 1.5 years now... I have only started taking OG readings in the last month. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenyinthewestofsydney Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 As kelsey says measurements are important. Especially when you are learning how to use your equipment. After 20 or 25 batches you will just know where you should be but before that its a learning experience. Highly recommend taking measurements at every step. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaddyBrew2 Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 Great stuff mate. I too am only getting 20 litres into my cube once the boil is over. Every brew you do you’ll learn more and get more familiar with the equipments. I always take pre and post boil readings as they give you a good indication of where you’re at and are a good indicator of you being on the right path. I’m so keen to brew and brew but I have a bit of a stockpile at the mo so next one will be a bit off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share Posted August 6, 2019 Thanks @Otto Von Blotto @Greeny1525229549 @PaddyBrew2 & @Gully85 will endeavor to take readings where ever possible from now on. Question... are those readings done with a refractometer ?? on another note, BS predicted an OG of 1.046 and before pitching this morning my grav was exactly that. Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerlust Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 14 hours ago, Hairy said: Good stuff. BTW, Hairy moments are the best moments!!! You only say that because you don't have a choice. Cheers, Lusty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 6, 2019 Share Posted August 6, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, MitchBastard said: Thanks @Otto Von Blotto @Greeny1525229549 @PaddyBrew2 & @Gully85 will endeavor to take readings where ever possible from now on. Question... are those readings done with a refractometer ?? on another note, BS predicted an OG of 1.046 and before pitching this morning my grav was exactly that. Cheers It can be, or you can use a hydrometer. I use a hydrometer. The volume is recorded, then a sample of the hot wort is taken into what is essentially a Pyrex glass testing tube thingy, which is then put in the fridge. When the boil starts I take the reading as it has cooled down enough by then. Then tip the wort back into the boil minus the crap settled at the bottom of the sample. At the end I fill the cube then take some of the dregs into a Pyrex jug, and take the OG reading when it cools and the sludge has settled enough to allow me to fill a test tube with clear wort. Was the fermenter volume the same also? Brewing efficiency is based on both volume and SG. Edited August 6, 2019 by Otto Von Blotto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malter White Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 15 hours ago, MitchBastard said: Gave the guten a go and I think it went well.....no blunders or hairy moments except for one (see below lol) I'm visualising your wife: "And that's exactly why I don't want it in the house!" Good luck with the rest of the brew, Mitch. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted August 7, 2019 Author Share Posted August 7, 2019 1 hour ago, MUZZY said: I'm visualising your wife: "And that's exactly why I don't want it in the house!" Good luck with the rest of the brew, Mitch. She’d whip the dyson out quick smart 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted August 7, 2019 Author Share Posted August 7, 2019 1 hour ago, Otto Von Blotto said: It can be, or you can use a hydrometer. I use a hydrometer. The volume is recorded, then a sample of the hot wort is taken into what is essentially a Pyrex glass testing tube thingy, which is then put in the fridge. When the boil starts I take the reading as it has cooled down enough by then. Then tip the wort back into the boil minus the crap settled at the bottom of the sample. At the end I fill the cube then take some of the dregs into a Pyrex jug, and take the OG reading when it cools and the sludge has settled enough to allow me to fill a test tube with clear wort. Was the fermenter volume the same also? Brewing efficiency is based on both volume and SG. Ok sweet thanks mate. Will just stick with the hydrometer then ive got 20L in my fermentor but my BS recipe was done at 23L.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 Didn't quite hit it then, if it was 23 litres the OG would have been lower. But, that's pretty normal starting out so don't worry too much, it'll take a few batches to learn your system and work out volumes of water needed and grain weights, boil time etc. to achieve the recipe targets, or at least get close to them. Sounds like you need to start with a higher pre boil volume. This could be achieved by mashing in more water or sparging with more water, or a little of both. With cubes, the 20 litre ones will probably only get you 21/22 litres into the fermenter at the most, assuming the sludge in the bottom is largely left behind which it should be if only to keep the fermenter trub level below the tap. 25 litre ones will allow for 23 litre batches or up to 25/26 litres. What size cubes do you have? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted August 7, 2019 Author Share Posted August 7, 2019 @Otto Von Blotto i just re looked at my fermenter and I’ve got slightly over 21. I think next batch I’ll sparge with more water and see how we go.... ive got a 20L cube (it’s more of a rectangle) one of the jerry can style ones. When I went to Bunnings, it was either those or or the 15L ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 1 hour ago, MitchBastard said: ive got 20L in my fermentor but my BS recipe was done at 23L.... I got similar with my grainfather. Only done two brews in it, both about 3L short. OG was way too high in both cases. Added in 6L of water so final ABV was not too high. I tweaked BS to get similar numbers to the grainfather software. The original numbers in BS called for more water. Seems like the grainfather software is a bit of a mess though. Maybe the BS calcs were closer in the first place. I am yet to go back into BS and retry the calcs using BS's default grainfather parameters. That will be interesting to revisit. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MitchBastard Posted August 7, 2019 Author Share Posted August 7, 2019 1 minute ago, Shamus O'Sean said: I got similar with my grainfather. Only done two brews in it, both about 3L short. OG was way too high in both cases. Added in 6L of water so final ABV was not too high. I tweaked BS to get similar numbers to the grainfather software. The original numbers in BS called for more water. Seems like the grainfather software is a bit of a mess though. Maybe the BS calcs were closer in the first place. I am yet to go back into BS and retry the calcs using BS's default grainfather parameters. That will be interesting to revisit. How far over was your OG to what you were expecting? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus O'Sean Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 8 minutes ago, MitchBastard said: How far over was your OG to what you were expecting? Way over. The Pale Ale was supposed to be 1.053 but was about 1.074 The Oatmeal Stout was supposed to be 1.051 but was 1.070 Both calcs were according to the grainfather software. I haven't gone back to try the recipes in BS yet Steep learning curve! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto Von Blotto Posted August 7, 2019 Share Posted August 7, 2019 3 hours ago, MitchBastard said: @Otto Von Blotto i just re looked at my fermenter and I’ve got slightly over 21. I think next batch I’ll sparge with more water and see how we go.... ive got a 20L cube (it’s more of a rectangle) one of the jerry can style ones. When I went to Bunnings, it was either those or or the 15L ones. I know the ones, I use a couple of them for storing distilled water. I reckon you'd be lucky to get much more out of them, if you want bigger batches you'll need bigger cubes. The highest I got from a 20L cube was 22 into the fermenter. Any extra would have only been chucked out anyway, trub is trub regardless of it being in the cube or fermenter. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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