...and hello from Sweden...

[superfluent]

So, the last few weeks I've been reading this forum and soaked up a lot of good info on brewing -looks like I've finally found a forum that is active with some very knowledgable people!

I'm pretty much new to homebrewing and did my first batch a week ago -after having read a couple of books and articles I decided to skip kits and partials and go for AG directly. Frankly it just seemed more fun to do AG, mostly to learn the craftmanship of AG but also to design my ultra compact 5 gallon brewery (I think I have a very different setup from the big "three tire" rigs I've seen here).

Anyway, the brew session went perfect and the batch is now in the secondary and judging from the samples I've drawn it will turn out well above my expectations :rockin: !

Now, I'm pretty much sitting around waiting for a cooling coil, maltmill and a bunch of corny kegs to arrive so I can do my next batch even better.

H

 

[Joker]

Congrats on the first brew and welcome to HBT.

 

[Flyin' Lion]

Talk about jumping in with both feet!

Glad to hear the first batch went well and the idea to start keggin is a big payoff too. While bottling is always as bad as people let on, kegging at least gives you the option to bottle just a few or not at all.

Welcome to the boards.

 

[superfluent]

Talk about jumping in with both feet!

Glad to hear the first batch went well and the idea to start keggin is a big payoff too. While bottling is always as bad as people let on, kegging at least gives you the option to bottle just a few or not at all.

Welcome to the boards.

Hehe, to tell you the truth it went almost too smooth -I got about 79% efficiency (had hoped for 70%), my 29 litre 2kW electric boiler and the "make shift" hop-back filter I fitted on it worked perfectly. The only thing was that the cooling that took way to long.

About the kegging, I just felt it would be a lot easier, quicker and take up less space -and I think it looks cool. As you say I can allways bottle a few from the keg, should it be needed.

H

 

[stale]

Henrik, Welcome! Please follow up and send us some pics of your system when you get it set up. I love to drool over brew sculptures I see. would like to see your compact 5 gallon model.

 

[RichBrewer]

Welcome to HBT!
What did you brew for your first batch? I agree that some photos of your set up would be great!

 

[superfluent]

Henrik, Welcome! Please follow up and send us some pics of your system when you get it set up. I love to drool over brew sculptures I see. would like to see your compact 5 gallon model.

I don't think you can call it a "sculpture" but sure I'll post some pics when I get everything dialed in. Here's a little description as appetizer (note that I did not dream up this rig myself, I just copied bits and pieces off some other nordic home brewers that I thought was cool):

In short my intent is to create a small footprint brewery that is easy to stow away. It consists of a 29 liter (say 6+ gl) boiler/kettle and a "mash insert". For now it's a prototype insert made from a plastic bucket modified with a mesh bottom. During mashing the insert is lowered into the boiler and the grist is added into the insert. A food grade pump recirculates the worth and the boiler is used to make up for any heat loss during the (RIMS) mashing.

Now for the interesting part: To sparge I simply stop recirculating and instead pump sparge water (that I've heated on the stove) into the insert. I then lift and secure the mash insert so the water level in the kettle is in level with the grist top layer. The idea is that the sparge water will push the high gravity wort down and out -in effect creating a kind of batch sparge I guess. I let the mash sit for a while and then repeat by adding more sparge water and elevating further. After the last sparge water has been added I elevate the insert so the mesh bottom just about touches the wort surface and let the "last runnings" go out the mesh bottom.

What I learned during my first batch was that the thermostat in the boiler has too much hysteresis to maintain decent mashing temperature without constant tweaking so I'm in the process of putting together a PID temperature controller out of some "scrap parts" I happen to have available. That will provide better temperature control than you'll ever need and also have the posibility to regulate the pump flow.

H

 

[superfluent]

Welcome to HBT!
What did you brew for your first batch? I agree that some photos of your set up would be great!

I went for a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale clone. It's a good beer that did not seem too dificult to brew (and I can compare it to the real thing...) Also, the fermentation temperature for american ales are just about perfect for me.

H

 

[david_42]

A unique approach to mashing, but 79% for a first run is amazing.

 

[zoebisch01]

Welcome!

My mother's family is Nelson. I like Salmiak