First brew - Belgium style Ale, extract ingrediants make it "simple" for the first one.
I've finally picked up all my supplies 3 days ago (I placed my order about 3 to 4 months ago) and got to work today.
I picked up 6 gallons of spring water (actually 5, but I ran out while leaving those to boil to get the 6th), and sanitized everything for the fermentation.
I was out of beer (except for my reserve stock) so I picked up some cheapish German Lager. The reason I'm brewing beer, apart from the love, is not buy it any more I know, but most brewers don't do lager because you have to keep it cold while you ferment it. Since I'm brewing Ales, buying Lager is ok. Unless I'm doing research, then all bets are off.
When we discussed my plans, Phil was unsure if my stove top would be able to put out enough BTUs to boil the beer I was talking about. We shall see. I started keeping track at 140 degrees. It seemed to take quite a while to get up to 90, so I was worried. After that though, it seemed to surge on quite well.
140 to 160 in 20 minutes (I pop open a Lager)
172 in 17 more (Plugged my slotted Kettle Lid with a paper towel)
184 in 15 more
192 after a bit more
At this point it's boiling, frankly I don't understand this, because while I don't understand Fahrenheit I know that it should need 10 more degrees Celsius to boil. I don't ask questions though, and start stirring in my Malt Extract, dehydrated Malt Extract (DME), and Belgium clear candy sugar just as the recipe specifies.
Don't make a slurry. Malt extract = sugar & starch that's super dried. Here's a word to the wise, if you happen to be fairly skilled at microbiology and figure you can make a slurry out of DME just like you can with Agar and hot chocolate (to avoid the clumping and get a smooth texture) you're dead wrong. See, if you had thought about it for a second, more than "Hey, this is dry, I should make a slurry out of it." You would have realized that it's dehydrated sugar, starch, and protein and you're not likely to dissolve 1/2lb of it in a house hold bowel. If only you had a larger vessel, like the 50L kettle you're standing next to, so you could put in more water, like the 6 gallons in said kettle. Then, then you could dissolve it surely. This, it turns out, is true. And surprisingly easy considering the hardness of the DME chunks and their hardened clay like nature.
Bring to a boil for 1hr. Bright to a boil... boil. Hmmm, how can it not be boiling at 200 degrees when it was previously boiling at 192? Don't give me that "Molecular weight" gibberish, I got a B in organic Chem. It was one of the only classes I really paid any attention to when I was going for my Bachelors.
Well it turns out my stove top, which can get my cast Iron pans NASA Hot (500+F) is not capable of a true boil with this kettle. I may need to go propane and out doors. That will sadden me somewhat. I mean, I fully intended to go to a full mash set up eventually, but I figured it would be 3 to 6 months.
Damn, I need a house and a back yard.
And a smoker.
And a garage.
A regular women would be nice too, but I can't really complain on that one. Do you suppose Belgium makes better women too? I hope I don't end up with one from a Monastery.
I picked up 6 gallons of spring water (actually 5, but I ran out while leaving those to boil to get the 6th), and sanitized everything for the fermentation.
I was out of beer (except for my reserve stock) so I picked up some cheapish German Lager. The reason I'm brewing beer, apart from the love, is not buy it any more I know, but most brewers don't do lager because you have to keep it cold while you ferment it. Since I'm brewing Ales, buying Lager is ok. Unless I'm doing research, then all bets are off.
When we discussed my plans, Phil was unsure if my stove top would be able to put out enough BTUs to boil the beer I was talking about. We shall see. I started keeping track at 140 degrees. It seemed to take quite a while to get up to 90, so I was worried. After that though, it seemed to surge on quite well.
140 to 160 in 20 minutes (I pop open a Lager)
172 in 17 more (Plugged my slotted Kettle Lid with a paper towel)
184 in 15 more
192 after a bit more
At this point it's boiling, frankly I don't understand this, because while I don't understand Fahrenheit I know that it should need 10 more degrees Celsius to boil. I don't ask questions though, and start stirring in my Malt Extract, dehydrated Malt Extract (DME), and Belgium clear candy sugar just as the recipe specifies.
Don't make a slurry. Malt extract = sugar & starch that's super dried. Here's a word to the wise, if you happen to be fairly skilled at microbiology and figure you can make a slurry out of DME just like you can with Agar and hot chocolate (to avoid the clumping and get a smooth texture) you're dead wrong. See, if you had thought about it for a second, more than "Hey, this is dry, I should make a slurry out of it." You would have realized that it's dehydrated sugar, starch, and protein and you're not likely to dissolve 1/2lb of it in a house hold bowel. If only you had a larger vessel, like the 50L kettle you're standing next to, so you could put in more water, like the 6 gallons in said kettle. Then, then you could dissolve it surely. This, it turns out, is true. And surprisingly easy considering the hardness of the DME chunks and their hardened clay like nature.
Bring to a boil for 1hr. Bright to a boil... boil. Hmmm, how can it not be boiling at 200 degrees when it was previously boiling at 192? Don't give me that "Molecular weight" gibberish, I got a B in organic Chem. It was one of the only classes I really paid any attention to when I was going for my Bachelors.
Well it turns out my stove top, which can get my cast Iron pans NASA Hot (500+F) is not capable of a true boil with this kettle. I may need to go propane and out doors. That will sadden me somewhat. I mean, I fully intended to go to a full mash set up eventually, but I figured it would be 3 to 6 months.
Damn, I need a house and a back yard.
And a smoker.
And a garage.
A regular women would be nice too, but I can't really complain on that one. Do you suppose Belgium makes better women too? I hope I don't end up with one from a Monastery.