Sunday, August 6, 2017

More Beer More Problems

Today I decided to make a larger volume of my Amber so that I'll have  some to drink on into Thanksgiving.
I would have doubled the batch size but that would have exceeded the limits of my mash tun.  So I calculated the total volume of grain and mash water that would get me right up to the brim.  I had to thicken the mash a bit to get enough fermentables in the cooler to make 10.5 gallons.
I hit the mash temperature just a half a degree long at 152.5 and filled it.
I could barely get the lid on.  Then as I began to sparge I employed my new screen to catch husks and other solids from getting boiled with the wort.
The primary purpose of this device is to provide a place to add hops during the boil and easily remove them when the chill begins.  It is designed to hang into the kettle but I had to clamp it up high because the total volume of the boil in a batch this size would sink the top of it. and make it ineffective.
It did a great job on the Session IPA I made a couple of weeks ago so I'll make it a permanent part of my process.
On another note I'm working on a business plan when I can.  It's slow going but really instructive.
Good Beer To You.