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First brew

Post #1 made 10 years ago
by Esquid
Just drank a bottle of my first AG, which was a SMaSH MO with amarillo hop (think that's the correct spelling). Since it was the first AG I had done and because I'm doing stovetop BIAB, I'm only brewing in small quantities (about 2 gallons), and with the first effort I reckon mash temps were all over the place, I got the hopping wrong (though not drastically), and forgot the whilfloc thingy, but I thought, 2 demijohns, what the hell, ferment it out anyway. I did one gallon with US yeast, and another with UK yeast.

It's been conditioning in the bottle for 10 days or so, so it's still very "green" and rough around the edges, but the bottle I had last night although not clear (whirlfloc omission I guess), and virtually headless (though pleasantly fizzy on the tongue), was, if memory serves, at least as good as kit beer I've made in the past at full term (so 12-16 weeks in the bottle), so I'm glad I didn't ditch it. Hopefully it will mellow out a little over time if it makes it that far.

I've since made two more SMaSH brews, that ostensibly are identical to the first though since I'm a little more dialled in now they will be different because I was nearer the original recipe and have got the mash temps a bit closer to ideal.Still a bit low on OG though, but I think that may be a strike temp thing - I'm trying something different next time. They haven't made it to a bottle yet though, I'm giving them a good 2-3 weeks in primary I think.

Although not quite kit levels of ease, BIAB is far from a difficult process. I've always wanted to have a go at all grain, but the 3 vessel method looked a real pain to me and since clean up bugs me more than a little, my recent discovery of BIAB is a bit of a revelation. I'm surprised something like this didn't spring to mind myself but greater minds have been at work prior and I'll quite happily stand on the shoulder of giants ;)

So far I'm about a quarter of the way through a 25kgs sack.

Post #2 made 10 years ago
by Brew4me
Nice update Esquid - I myself am a year into stovetop BIAB and have had similar earlier experiences. I use an 8 gallon kettle so depending on the brew and the variation of BIAB I can get up to 5 gallons if desired. I usually stick with Full Volume no variation...
When I found this site and the facts based help on the site, I quickly realized I could do AG with out the 3 vessels. Keep brewing and you will find each one gets better.

One of my greatest challenges has been patience :lol: - I have found myself sampling to early (green beer) :idiot: - so now I force myself to 2 weeks minimum bottle conditioning.

Pete
    • SVA Brewer With Over 20 Brews From United States of America

Post #3 made 10 years ago
by PistolPatch
Good on you Esquid :clap:. Like your style too!

'Half batches' like yours are harder to brew in some ways than full batches (we'll call full batches 19 L /5 Gal into Packaging).

Tey and under-strike so as, if anything, you need apply heat to your mash to achieve mash temp. Have several thermometers and rely on the 'average' one. SMASH recipes, as a generalisation, won't be as good as something with one or two specialty grains.

On this site, me included, we can be a bit lazy on leaving things in the primary fermenter but it is not best practice. I never go longer than 14 days on an ale. Leaving it for longer, might indulge our laziness, but it won't do a thing for your ale beer (very few exceptions to this).

B4M's post on patience is a good one, but, don't overdo it with a recipe such as the one I know you have brewed. In 10 days, it might taste not quite right, but, after 21 days, I don't think that recipe would get much better (on some other beers, my advice would be incorrect).

Keep asking questions, and, don't hesitate to ask them before you brew.

:drink:,
PP
Last edited by PistolPatch on 24 Mar 2016, 22:24, edited 2 times in total.
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Post #4 made 10 years ago
by Esquid
PistolPatch wrote:B4M's post on patience is a good one, but, don't overdo it with a recipe such as the one I know you have brewed. In 10 days, it might taste not quite right, but, after 21 days, I don't think that recipe would get much better (on some other beers, my advice would be incorrect).
On that basis I reckon that next weekend it should be somewhere near.

I think I can just about hold off until then, though a couple more may slip down tonight. I've got a 5 gallon batch of Shiraz that I'm siphoning into 5 litre batches tonight, so the odd 2-3 litres of that will keep me busy this Easter weekend. Apologies, this isn't a wine forum, but it's all alcohol to me.
Last edited by Esquid on 24 Mar 2016, 22:39, edited 2 times in total.

Post #5 made 10 years ago
by mally
Esquid wrote:Apologies, this isn't a wine forum
Phew!

For a minute I thought Shiraz was another of those upcoming "new world" hops! :lol: :lol:
Last edited by mally on 24 Mar 2016, 23:06, edited 2 times in total.
G B
I spent lots of money on booze, birds and fast cars. The rest I squandered
I've stopped drinking, but only when I'm asleep
I ONCE gave up women and alcohol - it was the worst 20 minutes of my life
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Post #6 made 10 years ago
by Brew4me
PP is correct as usual :salute: - I did not mean to imply leaving this type too long - I have noticed a real difference opening a bottle at the 7 day vs 10 day point. So I typically tell myself to wait 2 weeks and crack around the 10 day mark :lol: . You can imagine my challenge on staying away from a RIS brew for at least 6+months... :nup:
Pete
    • SVA Brewer With Over 20 Brews From United States of America

Post #7 made 10 years ago
by Esquid
I concur. On Wednesday, I sampled the first bottle. I had another two on Thursday, and another two last night, so, that's on days 8,9 & 10 in the bottle. There was a very noticeable difference on each day, and it is very, very drinkable now, and surprisingly one was almost clear. Do remind me though, not to drink the dregs of a bottle (always did this with kit beers, vitamin B is good for you) if some debris rather than just yeast makes it into the bottle. That was a very bitter experience.

Anyway, it's certainly far better now on day 11 than anything I can buy in a tin, and I prefer it to some of the bottled beers I sampled whilst I was building up my bottle stock. There's 11 bottles left now, so some should make it to next weekend as I rarely drink during the week, but I'm going to have to get bottling again soon. I've another two gallons that should be about done by Tuesday.

Post #8 made 10 years ago
by Inconceivable
I started my Biab career late last year doing smaller batches; try to scale up a little is my advice as the grief and rage of loss to trub, bottling fails, etc can leave you with very little beer if things go against you. The smallest batch I do nowadays is 12.5L

GLHF
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