Well I haven't updated this thread in a few. I have brewed a few batches since my last post. I will be trying to brew this weekend if time permits. I will be brewing a German ale, no particular style like Kolsch or Alt. I will be doing a golden ale to test out some new hops I have never used before. I have some Vanguard Hops which are a American hop that was a cross between Hallertauer Mittelfrueh and an unknown pollen. It is supposed to be a substitute for the Hallertauer which is hard to get on a regular bases. I have used Mittelfrueh before and I have some at the house now for the next batch to compare. I am going to post some pics and notes on how the brew went.
Well been a while since I posted up on this thread. I did the brew and now its all gone...
Tots and I drank it. I did document it with some pictures, but without a host account it will be all clickable photos. So without further adieu.
The day started milling grain for the mash. After the mill I mashed in at around 8:00 a.m. and at a temp of 150 deg. Mashed for one hour, during the last 30 min I recirculate in the mash tun with a pump to help clear the wort and aide in mash Saccharification which is the conversion from starches to sugar for fermentation. Most of the conversion is done in the first 12 to 15 min if you do not have dry pockets of grain. That is the purpose of the recirculation. After the mash rest I do a sparge rinse / run-off into the kettle for a 90 min boil. At this point in the batch is when the hops are added to balance the malt sweetness with bitterness (or in some cases over balance
). After the 90 min is up I use a copper chilling coil connected to city water to rapidly cool the wort. Wort is the name given to the sugar water/ hop liquid before the yeast is added, after the yeast is added it is beer. After the Wort is cooled down it is transferred to a fermenter and yeast is pitched (poured in).
edit for sp. and pics.