I’d put everything in the calculator. Even kits. You can learn a lot In How ingredients, water, hops work together. You can dial In your efficiency too. Plus you can keep notes for next time.
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IBU's
- Thread starter Chip99
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That’s balmy, been in the high 20’s here. I’m finishing up a Dunkel and my APA is almost done fermenting.
I put a 7’ bladed overhead fan in mygarage brewhaus. Together with the swamp cooler, I can survive most hot brew days.
70’s at 5.75 is definitely hop-head territory. I can do that (if I brew it), but I’m a malt head so it wouldn’t be my go to most of the time. I’ll even pick a good west coast ipa sometimes but I’m more of an east coast fan.
Are you recirculating when you mash?
using a malt pipe?
I put a 7’ bladed overhead fan in my
70’s at 5.75 is definitely hop-head territory. I can do that (if I brew it), but I’m a malt head so it wouldn’t be my go to most of the time. I’ll even pick a good west coast ipa sometimes but I’m more of an east coast fan.
Are you recirculating when you mash?
using a malt pipe?
THIS.
I’ve got a couple years of B/F under my belt now and at first I wasn’t taking advantage of the notes window. Now I log everything I can there, as I go so I don’t forget. So, when I go back to it, either to recreate it or a modified version, I can see how I got to the result I did.
Really good reminder @Josh Hughes
I can recirculate during the mash. I don't like the pump feature because it is too hard to control the flow. So what I do is about every five minutes during the mash is drain 4 cups from the bottom spigot, and do a spiral pour over the top of the grain bed slowly. I think this also helps keep temperature constant throughout because the temp on the brew kettle is all measured from the very bottom of the kettle. Not sure exactly how accurate that is.
Spot on Josh. I was afraid of the calculator because at first is all seemed so confusing. I did the test today using my kit brew sheet, adding the actual hop, actual yeast, actual mash vol, actual sparge vol, everything! And the resulting ABV, SG's, IBU's all looking right in line with both my kit and the modifications that I made to it. I understand how it works now and will be using it from here on out. Great tool... Chip
Dave, can you explain the difference to me between Hop and Malt head? Been drinking beers for 45 years, lived in Germany 3 years, have sampled literally HUNDREDS of beers but don't know the difference between hop and malt... Chip
I think you meant gravity will rise as you boil off? Chip
Now that Ive done it once, I LOVE it! Much easier than I thought looking at it at first. Thanks for the encouragement... Chip
Hop heads like hoppy beers with relatively high IBUs, malt heads like malty beers with relatively low IBUs (admittedly, I just kind of came up with malt-head, IDK if anyone else uses the term).
Yes, you are correct, I mis-typed there.
hmm... I think this could be a part of the issue. I know there are a lot of videos on youtube that throw shade on Anvil’s recirculation kit - a pump, pinch clamp, some hose and ‘plate’ with holes in it that goes in the top of the malt pipe, but it’s worked well for me. I got almost immediately into recirculation at the start of the mash. I use their pinch clamp to control the flow onto the plate and keep wort flowing over the grains. If you don’t have steady flow of at temperature wort through the grains, the temperature will drop in the middle of the grain bag/basket/mash tun. A lot.
Even with recirculation for the entire mash, I lift, reseat and stir the grains every 15-20 minutes, my kettle drops 2-3 degrees F when the wort drains from the basket. If you’re not continuously recirculating, the middle of your grains are probably a lot lower temp than that.
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I initially was using a 10 gallon kettle on a stove top
I have done 40s outside for brew session, never 35. It is actually supposed to be 48 tonight which is normally too cold for me.
I started brewing doing extract on my stove top inside. You guys have heat. During the summer, we have humidity at insane levels, so you don't want to leave the doors open very long during the day at that time of year. Now, during the day, hell yes. During the summer, no. My house would smell like malt and hops for about 3 days after I brewed. With BIAB, I brew outside now with a bigger kettle that would not work on the stove top anyway.
I have done 40s outside for brew session, never 35. It is actually supposed to be 48 tonight which is normally too cold for me.
I will try and take pictures of my setup next brew. My re circulation pump is internal to my brew kettle. It has a valve that I can use to control the flow. I still don't like it. AND I have a plate for the top with holes that came with the all in one kettle. FURTHER, I have been recently using a bag with draw string that I fold over, put the mesh plate on top, and sparge until I just see water puddling on top. Not wanting to just let the sparge water (170 degrees) run into one point and create a channel through the grain bed. I have also been using about a cup of rice hulls in my mash to help sparge flowing through. I would estimate, based on playing with the recipe calculator, that my efficiency is about 60%. IF I could up that to 70% the ABV would automatically increase by about 15%. Plus I'm starting mash with 5 gallons, using 3 gallons for sparge. Maybe too much water but the kit calls for 3 gallons to start, 2 gallons infusion at 170, and 3 gallons sparge at 170. With my all in one mixing 12 lbs of grain in 3 gallons of water is IMPOSSIBLE. The kit directions are made for someone cooking on a stove with a 3 gallon false bottom pot. My brew kettle keeps so much water below the basket that you can't mix the dry with the water reasonably. So I made my own rules. I have even texted the kit vendor and the owner said he needed to make instructions for the all in one brew kettle. I can maintain temps of the wort even without continuous recirculation by draining out the bottom and pouring back over the top. The kettle keeps the temp pretty constant. And then when it's time to sparge, lift the basket up, let it start draining, turn up the heat to start bringing the temp up, and slowly add 3 gallons of 170 sparge. Total sparge time about 10-15 minutes. It may be that because I am doing a mini recirculation during the mash, that i don't really need the 3 gallons of sparge to get all the sugars out? And might be diluting the SG from the get go? IDK... Chip
