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tctenten

tctenten

The weather is changing and pepper season is pretty much behind us here in the northeast.  I figured I would give brewing a try.  My first attempt will be small 1 gallon kit of Blackberry Red Ale.  I will post pics of the process as I go.
 
 
The blackberry syrup
 
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The grains
 
IMG_6082.JPG

 
 
The mash
 
IMG_6083.JPG

 
 
Special thanks to Grant for answering all my newbie questions and for sending me a kit to get started.
 
 
Rairdog said:
Looking good bro!  How did you separate the wort from the mash?  No mash tun or filter bag? 
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Mash tun.   I can certainly see why filter bags would be neater and easier.  With such a small batch it was not too bad.   
 
Do you have a pic of your mash tun?  Did you sparge any?  I was thinking about setting up a mini system with mash tun to make small batches of spicy/fruity beers to bottle. 
 
Rairdog said:
Do you have a pic of your mash tun?  Did you sparge any?  I was thinking about setting up a mini system with mash tun to make small batches of spicy/fruity beers to bottle. 
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I may have used the wrong terminology….it is pretty new to me.  I dumped the mash into a strainer that was over another pot.  The first pot was rinsed out and then I moved the strainer and dumped the wort through the grains again.  So maybe I did a sparge?   I guess I did not do a mash tun.
 
grantmichaels said:
Loads of cold break ... looks like you did a good job getting it chilled down!
 
What temp was the wort when you pitched the yeast? ...
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Is that good?  It was about 72f  took about 15 minutes in that ice bath.
 
Yeah ... you got it through the trouble temps for SMM/DMS(O) quickly, and pitched at a good temp ...
 
There will be a little delay pitching whatever their yeast is in, dry, and then it'll rock out ... based on having done 3-4 of their kits ...
 
I think you did good!
 
grantmichaels said:
Yeah ... you got it through the trouble temps for SMM/DMS(O) quickly, and pitched at a good temp ...
 
There will be a little delay pitching whatever their yeast is in, dry, and then it'll rock out ... based on having done 3-4 of their kits ...
 
I think you did good!
Click to expand...
 
 
Great….I wasn't sure if that was taking to long to cool down.  Anything specific I should be looking for over the next few days?
 
So ...
 
How long did it take you, start to finish? ...
 
How many do you think you could have done concurrently? ...
 
There really wasn't much in the way of example of doing little batches when I did my first, and it was a little bit overwhelming ...
 
You definitely had it down before you did it, from the PM's, so I'm curious if it was hectic or relaxed for you? ...
 
I think by about now, you should see little tiny creased of bubbles throughout the wort, and maybe some surface activity - pre-krausen if you will ...
 
Did you aerate/oxygenate the wort by shaking it vigorously after siphoning it in? ...
You didn't post a gravity that I noticed (but I'll look back now, in case you did and I scanned over it) ... what was it post mash, post boil? ...
 
We'll need that later to decide if your fermentation's used up enough sugars to safely bottle ...
I see now, 1.035 concentrated by the boil up to 1.060 ...
 
Sounds good for one of their kits, I think you're in there ...
 
grantmichaels said:
So ...
 
How long did it take you, start to finish? ...
 
How many do you think you could have done concurrently? ...
 
There really wasn't much in the way of example of doing little batches when I did my first, and it was a little bit overwhelming ...
 
You definitely had it down before you did it, from the PM's, so I'm curious if it was hectic or relaxed for you? ...
 
I think by about now, you should see little tiny creased of bubbles throughout the wort, and maybe some surface activity - pre-krausen if you will ...
 
Did you aerate/oxygenate the wort by shaking it vigorously after siphoning it in? ...You didn't post a gravity that I noticed (but I'll look back now, in case you did and I scanned over it) ... what was it post mash, post boil? ...
 
We'll need that later to decide if your fermentation's used up enough sugars to safely bottle ...I see now, 1.035 concentrated by the boil up to 1.060 ...
 
Sounds good for one of their kits, I think you're in there ...
Click to expand...
Took about 3 1/2 to 4 hours I think.
Not sure if I could do more than one at a time due to lack of burner space....though maybe I could do 2.
It was orderly, I followed the steps and the tips you gave me.
I will check in the morning if it is doing anything.
The gravity readings were post mash and post chill.
 
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