1 Oct
2003
1 Oct
'03
10:27 a.m.
Actually, a 60dF hydrometer is easy to use in the boil. Just add 40
points to your measurement (doesn't work so well for beers under 1.040
OG). You'll need to turn off the heat and wait for the boil to subside,
but it's a quick way to determine if you are on track on your OG specs.
Of course, you'll have to know your evaporation rate...
Actually, I like a range of about +/- 0.004. I don't sweat if it is
within this 8 pt range.
If we're adding "water" sometimes we'll use the last gallon of
runnings
from the mashtun that wouldn't fit in the boil kettle (gotta _maximize_
the system). I like adding to the boil kettle, rather than the
fermenters for sterilization purposes.
Boil time seems a little low for an all-grain -- we typically are at 90
minutes -- but if you are hitting your extraction numbers and it tastes
good, I wouldn't worry about it.
Only adding 2 hours to your brew day seems low. A typical brewday for
the 2 Wheel is around 8 hours, though I think we knocked out our last
Vienna at around 6.5 hours. I can do an extract brew in 2 hours.
Congratulations on what sounds like a fairly successful all-grain
brew-day!
Andrew
--- Al Boyce <aboyce(a)mn.rr.com> wrote:
Sounds like a great first batch Marc! If you're
worried about
hitting the
numbers exactly on the OG, you can always dilute. With the
refractometer,
it's simple to see what your final gravity is going to be and add
appropriate water to the boil to hit your mark. With a hydrometer,
you can
add water to the primary. It's easier to brew too strong, then add a
little
water than it is to brew too weak and try to bring the gravity UP.
About
all you can do at that point is add extract.
The other style point with Kolsch is fermentation temp - it's an Ale
that's
fermented cool. Try to ferment around 60 F. if possible. If you
have the
ability, you may even want to drop the secondary down to 50 F. Your
mash
and hop bill looks fine.
- Al
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marc Donnelly" <marc(a)targetadv.com>
To: <mba(a)thebarn.com>
Sent: Monday, September 29, 2003 12:38 PM
Subject: My 1st All Grain brew...
__________________________________
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This past weekend I decide to finally take the
plunge. From what
came
of it, I'm pretty happy! Yea it added about
two hours onto a
normal
extract/partial mash batch for me but I believe
it was worth it.
The
first batch was a Kolsch.
I think I spent more time fussing with the pH of the water then
anything (set at 5.5). About 10.5 lbs of grain - 9 lbs of pils, 1
lbs
of wheat, and .5 lbs of carapils. Used Wyeast
Kolsch yeast and 2oz
of
Spalt for hops.
For my mash/lauter tun I used Listermanns setup (I got it some time
ago
at Lee Kramer's old place). I wrapped the
plastic bucket in the
insulated bubble duct wrap and it kept the temp very well (149
degrees
for 55 minutes). Spargered for about 30 minutes
and got about 6
gallons
out of the 9 I started with.
Then boiled for 60 minutes and added hops at 60, 30 and 15 from end
of
boil. Ended up just shy of 5 gallons of brew. So
hopefully by the
end
of this month I'll bring it to the club only
judging looking for
comments. OG was on the high side at 1.052. Any suggestions on
how to
get it more in profile with the style? I can
tell you an ATC
refractometer is a nice tool to have!
I know I have more work to understand the whole process, but this
was a
good start and "getting the feet wet"
exercise, literally.
Now with a new family member (for all that don't know we had a baby
girl on August 22 named Paige Elizabeth Donnelly, 21.5 inches long
and
7 lbs 14 oz. - and much bigger now) finding time
to brew is
becoming
more difficult but hopefully more rewarding. I
was already
teaching
her the ropes of being an assistant brewer.
-marc