Finding things to learn from
This morning I managed to persuade the Nelson Warehouse to track down and inter-store order a crayfish cooker so I can move to BIAB. Apparently Lyall Bay store has them, and can be persuaded to part with them, and the special price of $60 still applies.
To celebrate, I went home to casually put together another malt extract brew to fill a few hours. Who knows, I might not be doing a ME brew for a while.
My first problem was when I let the wort boil over, I didn't expect such a violent reaction adding the hops to the boil at the same time the malt extract reached boiling. Despite stirring constantly, and lifting the pot as soon as I realised I was in trouble, the long-anticipated but always avoided disaster was upon me.
Struggling with an 8-litre pot was one reason to get hold of the crayfish cooker...
Anyways, not too much over-flowed, and the burning smoke in the air wasn't too bad. I used jandals to move around the sticky kitchen lino, and kicked them off when I needed to walk on the carpet.
About 20minutes later, after swapping between stirring and sterilising the barrel, I realised I was getting a horrible scraping/sticking on the bottom of the pot when I stirred. Shit. The thin-ness of the 8l pot, combined with 6 pounds of extract in 4.5l of water, meant my fear of burning on the bottom had finally happened. This was *really* turning into a bad brew. Not wanting to pollute the whole thing with more burnt taste than it already had, I aborted the boil. I was brewing an Alt-style beer, with no aroma hops required, and had hopped to the top of the suggested range, so not too much harm done by shortening the boil.
In straining into the barrel, I broke my sieve. More mess on the floor, some gunk in the fermenter, but not too bad.
I then realised the pan wasn't burnt, but some grains had been left in the boil. I could have done the full boil after all. Oh well. Not too bad.
Next, I proceeded with my intention to - for the first time - "Kraeusen" the beer. The idea of using un-fermented wort for in-bottle carbonation, instead of adding sugar to the bottles... Cool! Took the SG reading, did the calculation... 1.5. Took 1.5 litres of wort as the gyle.
And then realised I had put it in a container that only looked identical to the one that I sterilised.
And then realised that it should have been 1.5 quarts, not litres.
Here's hoping this one turns into a classic, I'd love to go through this each time. On reflection, the only really bad bit was the 2hours it took me to clean the cooker and kitchen floor :)
Guess these are the traps for young players?
To celebrate, I went home to casually put together another malt extract brew to fill a few hours. Who knows, I might not be doing a ME brew for a while.
My first problem was when I let the wort boil over, I didn't expect such a violent reaction adding the hops to the boil at the same time the malt extract reached boiling. Despite stirring constantly, and lifting the pot as soon as I realised I was in trouble, the long-anticipated but always avoided disaster was upon me.
Struggling with an 8-litre pot was one reason to get hold of the crayfish cooker...
Anyways, not too much over-flowed, and the burning smoke in the air wasn't too bad. I used jandals to move around the sticky kitchen lino, and kicked them off when I needed to walk on the carpet.
About 20minutes later, after swapping between stirring and sterilising the barrel, I realised I was getting a horrible scraping/sticking on the bottom of the pot when I stirred. Shit. The thin-ness of the 8l pot, combined with 6 pounds of extract in 4.5l of water, meant my fear of burning on the bottom had finally happened. This was *really* turning into a bad brew. Not wanting to pollute the whole thing with more burnt taste than it already had, I aborted the boil. I was brewing an Alt-style beer, with no aroma hops required, and had hopped to the top of the suggested range, so not too much harm done by shortening the boil.
In straining into the barrel, I broke my sieve. More mess on the floor, some gunk in the fermenter, but not too bad.
I then realised the pan wasn't burnt, but some grains had been left in the boil. I could have done the full boil after all. Oh well. Not too bad.
Next, I proceeded with my intention to - for the first time - "Kraeusen" the beer. The idea of using un-fermented wort for in-bottle carbonation, instead of adding sugar to the bottles... Cool! Took the SG reading, did the calculation... 1.5. Took 1.5 litres of wort as the gyle.
And then realised I had put it in a container that only looked identical to the one that I sterilised.
And then realised that it should have been 1.5 quarts, not litres.
Here's hoping this one turns into a classic, I'd love to go through this each time. On reflection, the only really bad bit was the 2hours it took me to clean the cooker and kitchen floor :)
Guess these are the traps for young players?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by JoKing on
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Sounds like the boil was a bit too vigorous. Better luck next time aye!
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Permalink Reply by Reviled on
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So did you get the cray cooker and do a BIAB? Keen to hear how it went...
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Permalink Reply by integersmirk on
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Yep, I got the cray cooker! Also, got hold of some swiss voile for a bag. Then, went kayaking in the Marlborough Sounds for 3 days. Have 2 brews in the cupboard ready to bottle, 2 batches of wine to rack into demijohns, and 5 days before heading off on a trip for 2 weeks. Will need to work out where to get the malt grains from, and (if unmilled) how to mill them, and then do a BIAB brew. Looking like one week into March before it happens I would guess?
Also, I am hopeful I can join Greydog for one of his AG brew days so I can see it happen before attempting it. I will report on my adventures :)
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Id have a chat to Greydog about where hes getting his malt, there might be somewhere close by you can source it... Otherwise youll be looking at mail order from either Dunedin Malthouse, or brewers coop in Auckland, pretty sure they can both mill the grain for you...
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I ordered some stuff from Dunedin Malthouse before (carbouys etc) and remember seeing that they mill for you unless you request otherwise. I have been dealing with a local brewery for some speciality malt grain supplies, all un-milled. The trusty rolling pin...
Apparently, I know a guy who knows a guy who has an un-used grain-mill, so I will be following that up too :)
Tomorrow morning is Greydog's AG-brew, looking forward to it.
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Permalink Reply by James P on
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If you are getting it from the local brewery I am sure they will mill it if you ask, at least our local is happy to do it.
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After I took in some of my brew on the last visit, they seem pretty happy to help out :)
Question - is there any disadvantage to milling well ahead of when you brew? I like to buy in bulk and use it over time. Would the malt grain go off if I got a big batch milled and then used it over an extended period?
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If you are going to mill you grain in advance, I would store in an air tight container, in a cool dark place.
I thought about buying in bulk and vaccum packing in batch sizes as an option. i.e. make recipes up in advance.
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+1, most people with a mill are very generous in regards to usage ;o) Greydog may even have one you could use from time to time..
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Incidentally, we had a beer-tasting evening last night - 9 home-made varieties and 2 commercial.
This brew - which I nearly threw away - came out as third favourite of the whole lot :)
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