I brewed today!

Boil ON! Now I gotta clean up my mashing mess and stow the stuff I don't need anymore. Might reduce this boil to 45 minutes. Can't see anything real important happening with 15 minutes more. The bloody mashing process with one kettle is fatiguing.
 
Sandy Feet said:
Or single vessel BIAB:) I turn off the strike water heat to mash, wait 60 minutes, and drink a beer.
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Wonderful idea, but too many sticky outy things in my kettle. Bag would snag, so I'd have to find a basket (or make one) to put the bag in. BUT, if I spend the $ on another kettle, it's gonna be BIAB "compatible". Then I can do it the old fashioned way, or the BIAB way. It's gotta affect the wort some sitting while prepping the kettle for boil, but maybe I'm worrying about something that doesn't need worrying about. The wort was still at 140F when I pumped it back into the kettle. I was most impressed, since it was just sitting in an old fermenting bucket.

OH, BTW, already have the bags, just no basket (yet). Seems stainless steel screen is hard to find in these parts. Go figger. Just haven't found the right place to look yet. I'll get there eventually.
 
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Gotta love the aroma of Maris Otter and Citra hops doing their thing in the boil.

Using good ol' S05 yeast. Gonna hold the brew at 18C for a week, drop to 12C for a week, then drop to 6C for another week. Should make some nice clear beer. Last batch was completely clean. I had almost zero residue in the bottles after carbing. It did take a bit longer than most of my other brews to carb (less active yeast in it when primed, I'm guessing). Hoping for a repeat. Gonna drop a whirlfloc tablet in too to help reduce the goo that goes in the fermenter.

Anyone got any better suggestions, I'm open.
 
In the fridgadeezer cooling down the last couple degrees. Water was a bit warmer than I thought, so immersion cooler didn't quite finish. Temp is dropping pretty quickly though, so should be pitching soon. A few more things to put away and I'm done for the day.
 
RoadRoach said:
Wonderful idea, but too many sticky outy things in my kettle. Bag would snag, so I'd have to find a basket (or make one) to put the bag in. BUT, if I spend the $ on another kettle, it's gonna be BIAB "compatible". Then I can do it the old fashioned way, or the BIAB way. It's gotta affect the wort some sitting while prepping the kettle for boil, but maybe I'm worrying about something that doesn't need worrying about. The wort was still at 140F when I pumped it back into the kettle. I was most impressed, since it was just sitting in an old fermenting bucket.

OH, BTW, already have the bags, just no basket (yet). Seems stainless steel screen is hard to find in these parts. Go figger. Just haven't found the right place to look yet. I'll get there eventually.
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That is the reason I did not attach a thermometer to my kettle. No sticky outy lol. I have a long thermometer that clips to the top of the kettle. I do use an undersized false bottom in the kettle to keep the bag off of the bottom with direct heat.
 
Sandy Feet said:
That is the reason I did not attach a thermometer to my kettle. No sticky outy lol. I have a long thermometer that clips to the top of the kettle. I do use an undersized false bottom in the kettle to keep the bag off of the bottom with direct heat.
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I'm going to drop some less than subtle hints about an all-in-one electric kettle as a combo present for my 65th and Father's Day. Then I can use the bags that I already bought, and maybe just use my current kettle for the HLT to supply sparge water. Do you do "No Sparge" brewing with your BIAB process?
 
No sparge at all. Heat strike water, mash in grain, use top and some towels to cover the kettle for 60 minutes, drink beer, listen to music before draining the bag.
I'm using propane with a Blichmann burner.
I've had some debates with others on this, but the BIAB is very likely going to be less efficient than your sparge. You do need to compensate with some grain and changes to your software. The only other issue is that thing is heavier than hell with water. Thanks to advice from the nice people on this forum, I have a pulley set up with my ladder. The Blichmann is low enough to the ground to make this work and I found some simple pulleys on Amazon for less than $15.
 
Sandy Feet said:
No sparge at all. Heat strike water, mash in grain, use top and some towels to cover the kettle for 60 minutes, drink beer, listen to music before draining the bag.
I'm using propane with a Blichmann burner.
I've had some debates with others on this, but the BIAB is very likely going to be less efficient than your sparge. You do need to compensate with some grain and changes to your software. The only other issue is that thing is heavier than hell with water. Thanks to advice from the nice people on this forum, I have a pulley set up with my ladder. The Blichmann is low enough to the ground to make this work and I found some simple pulleys on Amazon for less than $15.
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But what are you Brewing?
 
RoadRoach said:
OH, BTW, already have the bags, just no basket (yet). Seems stainless steel screen is hard to find in these parts. Go figger. Just haven't found the right place to look yet. I'll get there eventually.
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McMaster does mail order. 'Spensive though
 
Donoroto said:
Drink faster? Invite more friends for "choir practice"?
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Would be a bloody long road-trip for 'choir practice' for either of us to Connecticut and back. I might get away with a trip to Hotlanta, but the missus gonna want a good explanation for going to Connecticut.
 
Street Corn Lager is in the books. Sample tasted very promising. Up to Cellar Science Baja now. I have no experience with this yeast at all.

Fun brew day, blew past my numbers though. That always seems to happen when I make small-ish beers. I need to learn to adjust efficiency for beers like this.

1.050 (estimated 1.045)

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Ginger Ninger is in the care of yeast now, I did my part making wort, thanks @Trialben for the inspiration, but I made it my own. In a twist, I subbed some galangal for some of the ginger - 25 grams of the mixture at 60 and 30, then 50 grams and lemon zest at knockout. All of the ginger/galangal mixture was peeled, sliced and pulverized using mortar and pestle and given just a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice. With this batch, I opted to put hops (10 grams Azacca 12.2% AA at 60 minutes for ~37 IBU’s) and spices directly in the kettle, skipping the bag. I added a half teaspoon of Irish Moss at 15 minutes. There was a lot of fleshy vegetable matter left in the kettle, which ultimately blocked the pick up tube.
 
Herm brews said:
View attachment 25501 Ginger Ninger is in the care of yeast now, I did my part making wort, thanks @Trialben for the inspiration, but I made it my own. In a twist, I subbed some galangal for some of the ginger - 25 grams of the mixture at 60 and 30, then 50 grams and lemon zest at knockout. All of the ginger/galangal mixture was peeled, sliced and pulverized using mortar and pestle and given just a sprinkle of fresh lemon juice. With this batch, I opted to put hops (10 grams Azacca 12.2% AA at 60 minutes for ~37 IBU’s) and spices directly in the kettle, skipping the bag. I added a half teaspoon of Irish Moss at 15 minutes. There was a lot of fleshy vegetable matter left in the kettle, which ultimately blocked the pick up tube.
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What did the wort taste like?

Should taste like sweet ginger juice with a tangy twist.

Oh I do Like your hoppage I would a dry hopped or WP some too But hey it's looking good.
 
Trialben said:
What did the wort taste like?

Should taste like sweet ginger juice with a tangy twist.

Oh I do Like your hoppage I would a dry hopped or WP some too But hey it's looking good.
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Honestly, this tastes very much like my typical wort, with a little spicy kick. I do sense some afterburn and then some belly warmth, so the ginger/galangal mixture is there, but more in the background. My wife says she smells ginger in the wort - good. My sniffer is a little off right now, as I’m suffering my first allergy season in this new place which is known for being harsh for those who suffer.
Hops could definitely play a bigger role in this brew, but I really wanted to see how I like ginger spice in a beer. This brew will get yet another 100 gram dose of ginger/galangal 3-4 days before bottling. Probably be good poured with a slice of lemon.
 
Nice @Herm brews
Keep us posted.
I find my ginger taste diminishing when the beer "ages". Or maybe I am just getting used to it :)
 
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