Sunday, April 24, 2005
Another in the bag
Or the fermenter, rather. My inaugural brew on the all-grain system went really well. Definitely found some things I intend on doing different next time, but I ended up hitting my OG and then some - I undersparged and ended up concentrating my wort down to 1.069... if I had actually had an extra half gallon it would have been closer to the intended target of 1.062. I also intend on managing my sparge temps a little better next time - I think I pretty much hate this whirly-gig sparger... I think it cools the water too much before it hits the grain bed.
What is it that causes those irrational fears in the back of one's head? People have been successfully brewing for thousands of years using the method I did today and have managed to make something fermentable (and most times it could pass for beer)... And yet somehow I had this little voice back there telling me that it wouldn't work for me. WHAT IS THAT?!?!? I didn't believe it would until I had finished my 60 minute boil, cooled it, and tasted the gravity sample. Amazingly enough... it tasted like sweet wort! And once again the laws of physics, chemistry, and nature apply to me as well. How reassuring. :-p
It was a 6 hour process, but quite honestly - worth every minute. I think I'm going to love brewing even more now.
What is it that causes those irrational fears in the back of one's head? People have been successfully brewing for thousands of years using the method I did today and have managed to make something fermentable (and most times it could pass for beer)... And yet somehow I had this little voice back there telling me that it wouldn't work for me. WHAT IS THAT?!?!? I didn't believe it would until I had finished my 60 minute boil, cooled it, and tasted the gravity sample. Amazingly enough... it tasted like sweet wort! And once again the laws of physics, chemistry, and nature apply to me as well. How reassuring. :-p
It was a 6 hour process, but quite honestly - worth every minute. I think I'm going to love brewing even more now.
