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I'm another Massive Brewery convert and did my first all grain brew yesterday after previously dabbling in a few extract kits from brewuk. I wonder if any of you experienced brewers have suggestions for a couple of issues I encountered/am encountering...
#1 24 hours on and I've got no visible sign of fermentation. The room is a bit cool at 15c
#2 When I got the strike temp to 72 And added the grain, it dropped the temp of the water to 65c but the temp inside the grain bags was only 62 - even after stirring (I copied his brew day video). I wasn't sure what to do, so I just carried on. Will this cause any problems? OF seemed okay at 1044.
Cheers
Temp could do with upping to around 18 / 20 c
yes normal to see no signs of action in the first 24 hours
Your mash should be ok and may even have more fermentable sugars seeing as you mashed low .
OK guys, got my Massive Brewery kit - going to attempt my first ever homebrew tonight.
Send me beer-mojo.... and a link to that instruction video?
Thanks for the info Trout.. Will up the temp when I return home.
Link for the video is here guitarhero:
Good luck and don't let the colander drop in the wort like I did!
remember - keep the recipe simple until you've done a few
@Peterfile (or anyone)- Any suggestions for going about something like the Two-Hearted IPA with the Massivebrew kit. I've used your set-up on Beersmith (Thanks!) to scale the recipe down, but do you have any advice on when to add the speciality grains as I've only brewed using the single malt/hop standard recipe that came with the kit. Cheers!
I've always put all my grains in the mash together; the longer you leave them out, the less of the fermentables & flavours you get. granted I haver a 32L boiler rather than the Massivebrew kit, but the principle's the same
Hops on the other hand, are a different matter, as I'm sure you know
Thanks John - Yep, for the hops side of things sorted, (more or less. Plenty of experimentation to be done yet!) It's just the speciality malt side of things I need to get my head around. Going to try and pick up a few bits this afternoon . Excited to try something new!
I had my first go with the Massive Brewery kit on Sunday.
Some kind of reaction is happening anyway - got brown foam on top of the beer right now.
sounds good ygh. my latest batch (St Austell Proper Job clone) is about ready to bottle...
now to think what to brew for my next batch.
albino, post up your scaled recipe if you like and I can have a quick look at mine to check it has scaled correctly.
john - do you know your way around a water report? I've had mine from Scottish Water and have tried putting the figures through a few calculators, however i'm not 100% sure that i am doing it properly, it's a foreign language to me.
haven't a clue I'm afraid 🙁
I think there's a section in the Graham Wheeler book on this though
all I know is that the water I use makes nice beer without any additives other than a campden tablet.
I do a regular demo brewday at my LHBS and both the owner & I are both of the opinion "Start with no treatment, if it works don't mess"
Ditto what JD said though I do add a spoon of Gypsum to the mash and the boil as we do have very soft water here .
I'm going to brew proper job this weekend! Real nice pint and it's on in my local... What could be better!!
With water treatment I did the standard 1/2 a Campden tablet to de-chlorinate the brewing liquor and a spoonful of Gypsum in the mash for ages until I was comfortable with the whole brewing process. Then I looked into water treatment and found the water company's report didn't have the required data. I then used [url= http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/water/water.html ]Graham Wheeler's online calculator[/url], I simply use an [url= http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Salifert-KH-Alkalinity-Profi-Marine-Test-Kit-/330950516676 ]alkalinity test kit[/url] and plug the figure into the calculator. We've got really hard water and I get a figure around 280CaCO3. The calculator works out how much [url= http://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=388 ]carbonate reducing solution[/url] to use and the amount of salts / minerals to add to the brewing liquor.
It really improved my beers, but I'd say not as much as being able to control fermentation temperature in a fridge with a 60W tube heater.
EDIT: One of these days I'll get a proper report done by [url= http://laboratory.murphyandson.co.uk/our-products/water/ ]Murphys.[/url]
Cheers,
Jamie
@Peterfile (@anyone)- Here's the scaled-down version I've got on Beersmith. How does it look? (I've got a large bag for all the grain, so have used your improved efficiency calculation).
[img][URL= http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j159/albino1975/B2HIPA_zpsbd31597c.jp g" target="_blank">
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j159/albino1975/B2HIPA_zpsbd31597c.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL][/img]
If it's just a case of adding all the grain for the full length of the mash, then that makes life easier for ongoing experimentation. Did you use the same yeast for yours? I've only ever used Safale05 (dry)- never done a yeast starter before.
Cheers
Ah, I'm not so good with lbs and oz! (you can change beersmith to metric if you prefer).
What's the total grain bill (it's just out of sight on the bottom right of that screen shot).
To do it the way I did use the massive brewery kit (which gives the 73% efficiency):
get about 9 litres of water up to 74 degrees
stir in all your grains (I use one bag rather than two, so if you're using two your efficiency will prob be a bit lower)
leave for 60 mins (I put it in to my oven at 60 degrees so no temp loss!)
at end of mash, fill up the FV with about 4 litres of hot water from the tap (provided you're on a combi boiler and not pulling from a tank)
squeeze bag over kettle
put bag in FV and stir about a bit, leave for 5-10 mins
squeeze bag over FV
pour FV contents into kettle
boil kettle and follow hop additions
put cooler in slowly about 5 mins from end of boil
at end of boil, hook up to tap and run cooler for about 30 mins
sanitise FV and any equipment that might touch wort
pull out hop bags and place them inside sieve
pour cooled wort over hop bags and into FV
pour in yeast
leave for about 7-10 days and then dry hop according to schedule (I just throw in whole hops to the primary FV 🙂
As for a yeast starter, you don't need to bother when using those WYeast packs on a batch of this size, there's plenty of healthy yeast. Smack the pack a few hours before you brew and it will be ready to just pour in when you're done.
put cooler in slowly about 5 mins from end of boil
I'd give it 15 to be honest, to be sure it's sterilised. also, run some cold water through it before you add it to the boiler to check for leaks. no point boiling for an hour to reduce the wort volume if you're just going to top it up again 😉
for yeast I tend to use either Safale US05 (or occasionally Mangrove Jack's US West Coast) for really pale beers, Safale S04 for dark beers, and Danstar Nottingham yeast for Stouts & Porters. If I did lagers I'd use Safale's Saflager yeast.
apart from the Nottingham, the yeasts just sprinkle directly onto the chilled wort; Nottingham needs rehydrating in 100ml of tepid water - instructions on the pack. About half the price of the smack-packs.
I'd give it 15 to be honest, to be sure it's sterilised. also, run some cold water through it before you add it to the boiler to check for leaks. no point boiling for an hour to reduce the wort volume if you're just going to top it up again
haha touché! That particular batch seems to have turned out OK. will be bottling at the weekend so fingers crossed!
Aye, I tend to sanitize the cooler before it goes in. It has a tendency to kill my boil, so I rarely risk sticking it in that far in advance any more.
About half the price of the smack-packs.
I normally use Safale for all of my brews, however after doing a bit of research, the common consensus seems to be that the Denny's yeast is "needed" for that 2 hearted IPA. I've just started drinking my second batch of it, used Safale the second time, and the difference is pronounced. I can only put that down to the yeast, since nothing else was different this time.
they are expensive mind you!
Does it matter if the boil stops for a couple of mins?
(serious question, I don't know...)
[quote=Clobber said]Does it matter if the boil stops for a couple of mins?
(serious question, I don't know...)
Nope
haha touché! That particular batch seems to have turned out OK. will be bottling at the weekend so fingers crossed!
I wasn't having a go, I've done it myself. twice 😳
Aye, I tend to sanitize the cooler before it goes in. It has a tendency to kill my boil, so I rarely risk sticking it in that far in advance any more.
but if you give it a 15 minute boil, you don't need to sanitise it...
THanks for the tips everyone and thanks for the comprehensive instructions Peterfile - That looks fairly do-able. Here's the bigger picture picture from Beersmith. I've changed to metric and the total grain weight seems to be okay.
[URL= http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j159/albino1975/B2HIPA2_zpsc2ce76e3.jp g" target="_blank">
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j159/albino1975/B2HIPA2_zpsc2ce76e3.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]
I've got another of noob question too, if anyone feels like helping on a Friday evening. I bottled my first batch today but have only ended up with about 7 litres of beer. It seems like I've managed to "lose" quite a bit - I'm just trying to figure out how.
I followed the volumes from the Massive recipe and figure that I lost some through Gravity readings and a bit of spillage. I also didn't fill the kettle right to the top, (maybe an inch lower) as I was a bit wary of any boil-over. Even taking this into account, it doesn't seem to account for a missing 3 litres!! Any ideas. I presume I've made an error somewhere, I'd just like to figure it out before the next brew on Monday! (OG was 1.044 FG 1.011)
Thanks again to all for all the informative posts on here...Keep it up 🙂
Only problem now is which one of these to have tonight...
[URL= http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j159/albino1975/DSC_1349_zpsfaznb2af.jp g" target="_blank">
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j159/albino1975/DSC_1349_zpsfaznb2af.jp g"/> [/IMG][/URL]
I've got another of noob question too, if anyone feels like helping on a Friday evening. I bottled my first batch today but have only ended up with about 7 litres of beer. It seems like I've managed to "lose" quite a bit - I'm just trying to figure out how.
7 litres is about right for the massive brewery kit in my experience. I tend to end up with 8-9 litres in the FV, but then you lose some to trub and shrinkage. Getting 14 bottles is about the limit with this kit for me.
You'll notice on your screenshot that the "batch size" is 8.5l. That's the amount you put into the fermenter, so you've only "lost" 1.5l.
Your grain bill looks fine to me though. If you're using two bags (i.e. the ones that came with the massive brewery kit), you can expect a wee bit of a drop in efficiency, which means a lower ABV. However, this is a fairly big beer, so it's not that much of a problem. If I'm honest, I'd prefer it a little weaker, although I know it's not technically in keeping with the style.
Great! At least I know I'm getting things sorted now! The taste I had from the final Gravity reading showed signs of promise so I'm pretty happy at the moment.
I'm looking forward to experimenting bit-by-bit now. Once I'm more confident I'd be up for your beer exchange idea too.
get about [b]9[/b] litres of water up to 74 degrees
Can I just check - Did you mean 9 litres for the mash, or is it 6l?
Quick (daft) yeast question - I'm going to start a 10l brew and I've got a slant from Brewlabs. Instructions provided say to prepare starter with 300ml water, but doesn't say what qty of wort that's for (I'd imagine default is 5 gal).
For my 10l brew, do I scale the water down accordingly (ie add it to 130ml)? Or add to 300ml and pitch 130ml? Or just pitch it all?
Not sure if I need to do a starter for a 10l batch but I've bought the slant now!
If relevant, brew is a Summer Lightning clone, using Thames Valley (slant), and I've got a packet of Safale Light Ale as a backup if the starter falls over.
Am feeling happy with my purchase today
[img] http://lakelandcamel.scene7.com/is/image/LakelandCamel/52223_1?$280$ [/img]
From Lakeland, tidy little bottle capper.
My brew is coming along. Brown foam is starting to dissipate.
Will start taking some gravity readings soon.
Bob
Just prep it as per the instructions . you could downsize from 20litre to 10litre by only adding half of the 300ml . Personally i would add the lot but be prepared to put it on cool 1-2' ealier as it might not stop as quickly.
aye, I'll pitch the lot then. You don't tend to hear of problems from adding too much yeast, do you?
Can I just check - Did you mean 9 litres for the mash, or is it 6l?
Sorry albino, only just spotted this. I can comfortably get 9 litres in the kettle with about 2.5kg of grain for the mash. Then I just do a dunk sparge in a few litres of water to top up to my boil volume.
flashy, those things are a must! The supplied capper is a disaster waiting to happen IMO, the proper capper makes things so much easier and safer.
can I recommend getting some of these (or equivalent):
http://www.brewuk.co.uk/store/bottling/bottles/coppers-pet-bottles.html
Use one or two of these bottles in each batch, so you know when it's carbonated. When freshly bottled, a PET bottle is squishy, as you'll know from opening a PET bottle of your favourite fizzy pop; when it's fully carbonated, it's rock hard - as you'll know from an unopened bottle of said fizzy pop.
I find 1/2 teaspoon of brewers sugar (dextrose) is just about right per 500ml bottle for priming, but if you want it more lively, a full teaspoon should be enough. 2-3 weeks in the warm to get the carbonation complete, then as long as you can bear to leave it in a cool place for bottle conditioning
I know its a long shot but does anyone remember the brewer who had some immersion chillers available. I now have need of one for someone's birthday present 😉
That would be me .
PM me and I will try to get one in the post. £5 posted which is cost basically.
The supplied capper is a disaster waiting to happen IMO, the proper capper makes things so much easier and safer.
Indeed, but in the interest of costs, you can see where Steve was going with the included one.
I'm interested to see if he comes up with any new variants on the kit for Christmas. Such as a 'deluxe' version, with a proper capper etc, for example.
Oh absolutely, it wasn't so much a dig at the supplied capper other than highlighting the huge improvement the other capper makes to the bottling. The massive brewery kit is great in that it provides you with (almost) everything you need to brew good beer, which gives you the experience you need to make educated decisions about upgrades.
I did find that capper quite tricky to use though, but i suppose it would improve with practice.
In all honesty, I think the kit is nearing perfect for new brewers. The price point and small pack size are great and get rid of all the "cons" normally associated with starting brewing. Plus, with such a low cost you don't mind upgrading later.
I've got a bench capper from BrewUK, brilliant bit of kit and happy that i made the right choice to spend a bit more first time round. Makes bottling a 1 man job and i could cap 40 bottles in a few minutes no probs.
@Peterfile - Cheers for the heads-up. Just finished clearing up after brewing the Two-Hearted IPA. All seems to have gone well. I used the 2 bags and came out with an OG of 1.054 which, (I hope) will come out at something around 5%.
Is the 9 litre in the pot method something you'd do for all brews?
Think I'm going to go for an everyday drinking bitter next. Maybe something like a TT Landlord...unless anyone has any other suggestions.
TT Landlord is a great one to try - had some good brews on that recipe, but not had one (yet) that's really come close to the authentic Landlord taste. V hard to brew a true clone, really, as the yeast will almost always be different.
Cheers for the heads-up. Just finished clearing up after brewing the Two-Hearted IPA. All seems to have gone well. I used the 2 bags and came out with an OG of 1.054 which, (I hope) will come out at something around 5%.
Is the 9 litre in the pot method something you'd do for all brews?
It will be great at 1.054. The first time I brewed it was when I was still using two bags and I hit about 1.052. Second time I brewed it I used one big bag and hit the target of 1.070. In all honesty, I preferred the first version.
Definitely dry hop it though, it makes an astounding difference to the aroma of the finished beer. I dry hop almost all my pale/IPAs now.
hey guys,
I've started monkeying about with beersmith and got PF's equipment profile up and running on it. Its not the most intuitive software - i couldn't see how to import or hack the quipment profiles, so just ended up copying the values into one.
I was looking for a first recipe and think someone mentioned the SNPA recipe as a reasonably easy recipe. Firstly, do you think it would be a decent brew for a first BIAB attempt? Secondly, does anyone have a foolproof recipe anywhere? There are 5 or 6 efforts in the beersmith cloud, all with different variables, so a pointer would be great. I'm still a fair bit off doing my first brew, just trying to get things sorted.
Cheers
To open Peter’s file just click on “File-Open – [Select Folder where you saved it] and click Open.
This will open a new tab in Beersmith with all the correct info.
When you open a new recipe (My recipes – on the left hand-side), you can then click the “Scale Recipe” button to get the required levels for the Massive Brewery kit. Peter seems to have done a pretty good job so far, especially using his 1-bag technique, which had me hit the OG spot-on with this evening's brew!
I’d suggest using the MB recipe for the first brew. It helped me to understand various things that I would never have been able to if I started with Beersmith. It's still very much a learning process for me but 3 brews down and I feel a lot more confident already.
More to follow, when I finish last few bits of clean up!
SNPA is quite a complex recipe so might not be ideal for a first brew. Lots of hops at several different intervals.
you might be better with a fairly simple recipe to start with. Preferably one you know you like...
Thanks for the advice J_D. Reviewing the thread i note peterfile put an SNPA recipe on the first page - oops 🙂
I've seen references to a SMASH recipe (I think Trout used the term) so i'll go on the hunt for something simple. I didn't buy the MB kit so i'll have to source the ingredients anyway, so i'll scour the BS recipe cloud for something simple and tasty like an IPA. Any suggestions welcome!
I should have been a bit clearer above Albino, i could import PF's equipment profile just fine, i just couldn't find a way to set it as my default, even by placing it within the XML for the application. I have got a manual profile set up now using the figures and it scaled ok, but only if you hit the "scale" button - it doesn't rescale if you just thange the profile. Its all the wee tweaks that i'm learning that make it fun 🙂
Cheers