3rd allgrain brew (guinness)

[paulski]

just finished my 3rd all grain and tryed a guinness recipe,boiled up 8gallons of water to 75degrees and used 16ltr for the mash,gave it a good stur and temp droped to 66degrees,i gave it 90min then sparged with more water but at a bit higher temp about 78-80degrees, i only sparged with about 2 gallons as i had to stop because the gravity was low about 1008 and it was light brown.i was left with 5 gallons in my hlt and wanted 6 for the boil so i added a gallon of water.i had 125gr of northern hops which i put in 100gr for 60min then the remainder for another 15min,when i chilled had a little taste and it is so bitter dont no if it will be drinkable anyway took a reeding and gravity is only 1032,can any one shed some light on what i have dun wrong,did enjoy it thou

[paulski]

no one got any comment

[simple one]

Post the recipie, and exactly how you did it, what you measured, when and at what temp. There isnt enough info there to make a good judgement.

[floydmeddler]

One thing I definitely wouldn't have done is add hops at the last 15 mins. Guinness (all stout in general really ) only use bittering hops. There should be no hop aroma or flavour.

Few questions:

1. What alpha percentage was the Northern Hops?
2. How much wort did you end up with at the end of the boil?
3. As for the low gravity, did the temp drop to 66c immediately or was this the reading after 90 mins?
4. What temp was the wort when you took this reading

You enjoyed it and that's the way it should be!

[Trunky]

[paulski]

bit new to this sorry dont no what the alpha was on the hops but the wort taste really bitter made me shudder as for the temp the mash went down instantly to 66 and stayed there got one of those round igloo 10gallons water coolers would recomend but bit pricey, ended up with 24ltr just over 5 gallons and took a reeding when i chilled the wort to 21degrees,the recipe was 3500g pale malt, 1000g flaked barley, 500groast barley and 125g northern brewer hops put in at 2 intervals.on the hop packet just dug it out the bin it sez alpha acid 10.9%

[simple one]

1032.... should be up around 1040+. Yes thats a bit low. How long was your mash? Did you give it a few stirs? did it stay within 62-68C?

I think the lack of gravity is potentially being lost in the sparge. I am assuming you are fly/continous sparging. 1008 measured at sparge temp is higher when measured at room temp. As a beginer, I wouldn't measure the gravity to determine the end of the sparge. I would stop sparging when the wort comes out and doesn't taste too sweet, or has a bit of a bitter twang. Its easier to batch sparge, but its a longer, and potentially less efficient.

After you finish sparging, try tasting the grain at the bottom of the mash tun. If its quite sweet your sparge isn't as efficient as it could be.

Does that help....? When I began it took me a few goes to get the sparge right.

[paulski]

never stered the mash before ill try that next time and also a batch sparge.
i left my mash for 90min and the temp was 65-66.
why does a batch sparge take longer?

[simple one]

Batch sparging usually lasts longer..... But I have identified your problem.

Batch sparging: Pour your batch liquor in the tun. Stir. Let the batch drain off completely. Ensuring to recirculate the first few litres, so it comes through clearish..... Once the liquor has drained completely. Close the tap. Fill back up with the next batch. Stir. Let the batch drain off completely. Ensuring to recirculate the first few litres, so it comes through clearish.... once the liquor has drained COMPLETELY (dont stop it, dont measure the wort gravity, there is no need to. You only really need to do this when fly/continous sparging) you should have enough wort for the boil. If not you can do a third batch. Most people only need to do two, unless they are doing a really big beer in a small mash tun.

I think you have stopped your second batch sparge early, thinking the wort gravity is too low. When there is loads of sugar left in the grains.

Stick to batch sparging, but forget the hydrometer until you have got all your wort collected and cooled. Just use taste to tell if you need to stop sparging.

[simple one]

Your mashing sounds fine 66C for 90 minutes is ideal. Maybe have the odd stir over that 90 minutes just to mix it all up a bit.

[paulski]

THANKS GUYS you have been more than helpfull, my next brew in a month will be a batch sparge with a stur after 45min and will start to taste cos i did do the gravity test on the mash but didn't take to account the hot wort.thank you

[floydmeddler]

Batch sparging usually lasts longer..... But I have identified your problem.

Batch sparging: Pour your batch liquor in the tun. Stir. Let the batch drain off completely. Ensuring to recirculate the first few litres, so it comes through clearish..... Once the liquor has drained completely. Close the tap. Fill back up with the next batch. Stir. Let the batch drain off completely. Ensuring to recirculate the first few litres, so it comes through clearish.... once the liquor has drained COMPLETELY (dont stop it, dont measure the wort gravity, there is no need to. You only really need to do this when fly/continous sparging) you should have enough wort for the boil. If not you can do a third batch. Most people only need to do two, unless they are doing a really big beer in a small mash tun.

I think you have stopped your second batch sparge early, thinking the wort gravity is too low. When there is loads of sugar left in the grains.

Stick to batch sparging, but forget the hydrometer until you have got all your wort collected and cooled. Just use taste to tell if you need to stop sparging.

Nice advice.

[BarnsleyBrewer]

Just bottled mine...70/20/10 with 38 IBU using Challenger!! Tastes fantastic

[simple one]

Cheers floyd, I just say what I wish someone had told me. I was a sparge mong. (Didn't help I used CJJBerrys book as a guide, the sparging instructions were a few sentences, if I remember correctly)

Nice labels Barnsley, I thought you were taking the mickey. Until I noticed the bottles were different shapes!

[Parp]

Didn't help I used CJJBerrys book as a guide

I can't believe that book got reprinted in the 90's or whenever it was - I bought it, it was bloody terrible!