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OHNOITSSTEVEMO

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i just did my first original batch of all grain it was suppose to be an oatmeal stout. Shooting for 1 gal batch. I ended up with 1/2 gal and my target ABV was 4.5. My final is 8.2. I used calculators and I’m pretty sure my ratios were correct. I think my problem is I have a 10gal mashtun and a wide 40qt boil pot. I think they are to big to do to little of a batch and I ended up lossing more than anticipated. Any insight for a rookie?
 
I would do another boil with just straight water. I bet your boil off rate is a lot higher than you expect it to be.

Do another boil for a specific period of time and then measure what you boiled off. Then you can compensate for that going forward.

I boil off roughly 6-7L in an hour when I boil in my 16 gallon kettle.

It's a bit of an estimation and guessing game. you could add water back in after the fact to get it back to 1 gallon.

Edit: Also, make sure you know how much you have in the kettle to start with. If you only got .75 gallons in the kettle to begin with you need more water in the mash tun for example.
 
I think it's the place to go. Keeping notes is a big thing too so you can reference anything that changes.
 
Hawkbox said:
Also, make sure you know how much you have in the kettle to start with. If you only got .75 gallons in the kettle to begin with you need more water in the mash tun for example.
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This something that needs to be adjusted for anyone starting with a new system, getting the mash right as far as water volume,etc.

I would suggest that you not worry too much about the wort volume, but rather the wort gravity. It has a big impact on the beer. If you find the gravity is too high during or after the boil, adjust with distilled or R/O water (the water will need to be sanitized, adding it to the boil is best). Distilled and R/O water will not add any more water minerals/salts to the wort. If the gravity is too low, then extend the boil.
 
That is probably easier for a beginner, but sooner or later you will need to get an accurate measurement of your boil off. Don't stress to hard about it though.
 
I made a flavoring I want to add to my recipe for a Christmas beer. It’s a syrupish consistency. Based with brown sugar. Any thoughts. I want to add to the boil not fermenter
 
Simplest approach is to add in the last 5-10 minutes of the boil. Better than adding it at the start and boiling off the flavours, but long enough to kill off any microbes.

You could do it at packaging if you bottle or keg condition, probably will give more flavour but there's a heap of questions to answer if you go that way.
 
I don’t have to worry about the diffeent sugar interfering with the fermenting process? That was my biggest concern.
 
Nup, just add it to your recipe and you'll get a bit of an ABV bump. The yeast will eat all your sugar pretty early just leaving the flavour compounds/stuff.
 
If you haven't already, I'd top off the fermenter with 1/4-1/2 gal of boiled water to account for the boil off. It is common to have to make these adjustments as you're getting used to your new system. With a 10 gallon pot I would assume about a 1.25gal/hr boiloff rate depending on the vigor of the boil.
 
OHNOITSSTEVEMO said:
I made a flavoring I want to add to my recipe for a Christmas beer. It’s a syrupish consistency. Based with brown sugar. Any thoughts. I want to add to the boil not fermenter
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How much are you adding? If it's a bit for flavor, no problem. If it's a lot to cut body, I'd boil the syrup and add to the fermentor. If it's spiced and you want to preserve the spice aroma, same thing.
 
Nosybear said:
How much are you adding? If it's a bit for flavor, no problem. If it's a lot to cut body, I'd boil the syrup and add to the fermentor. If it's spiced and you want to preserve the spice aroma, same thing.
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Amount is sill a question for me.yes it is for flavoring not nessicarly body profile. I was hoping to not make it smack you in the face when you drink it. So my initial reaction was to Cook it. I do want some cinnamon smell to come from the glass or bottle so I was thinking about putting a little bit of cinnamon in the primary 2 days before carbonating.
 
Okay, here's my recommendation: Keep the spices separate, bag them, and add them at whirlpool/flameout, remove after 15 minutes. Make a thin syrup out of the sugars, boil, cool, and add three days into fermentation. You can always make a spice tincture by soaking them in vodka for a few days and add more spice at packaging if needed.
 
I just busted up some cinnamon sticks in the last brew I made with them and boiled them for 15 minutes. Then whatever ended up in the carboy ended up in the carboy. If all you want is flavour you could avoid sugars altogether.
 
Thank you guys for your input. I know almost all of this stuff is based on opinion from experience and Varys from person to person. I just want to make sure I’m not completely in left field somewhere swatin at bees. Only my 3rd brew and I skipped the extract process and went straight to all grain
 
OHNOITSSTEVEMO said:
Thank you guys for your input. I know almost all of this stuff is based on opinion from experience and Varys from person to person. I just want to make sure I’m not completely in left field somewhere swatin at bees. Only my 3rd brew and I skipped the extract process and went straight to all grain
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Just a suggestion, no malice implied or statement made to your beer's quality or your ability, perhaps it would be a good idea to go back to extract for a while and learn? Pick up the current issue of Craft Beer and Brewing or, if you're not where it's available, log onto their website and check out their article on extract brewing.
 
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