Brewing Lessons

Lessons I learned from brewing last weekend:

SYNOPSIS
1. Don't brew on new equipment without testing and prepping it first.
2. Don't forget that the mash absorbs a lot of water.
3. Don't have long-lost friends over the first time you brew on new equipment especially if they are Australian.
4. Don't start drinking with long-lost Australian friends before the mash is finished.
5. Don't assume the fermenter temp settings that worked when the weather was cooler will work after the weather warms up.

IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS
1. Don't brew on new equipment without testing and prepping it first.
Derrrr...I moved from the small, 20 L calibrated brew kettle to the big, 36 L uncalibrated one, without calibrating it. Derrrrr...

2. Don't forget that the mash absorbs a lot of water.
Because after the mash, you won't know how much you're left with, derrr...and after the boil, derrrr...you'll have even less. Double derrr...Not only that, due to human error no doubt, I was under the impression that my preboil gravity was actually too light, so I boiled an extra 30 min. (90 total). Triple derr.

3. Don't have long-lost friends over the first time you brew on new equipment especially if they are Australian.
Goes without saying, you won't realize the 'gravity' (heh-heh-coff!) of the above problems, while engaging in the inevitable next mistake:

4. Don't start drinking with long-lost Australian friends before the mash is finished.
Because you will have very little control about how the rest of the brew day goes. On the bright side, you won't care so much until the next day.

5. Don't assume the fermenter temp settings that worked when the weather was cooler will work after the weather warms up.
That is, if you're lo-tech and using a timer switch on your little kegerator-sized fridge. After two days I'm still monkeying with it as it goes up and down. See number 1.

Although the brew day was a bit of chaos from a control point of view, it went pretty smoothly. I was 12 points off the starting grav on my 2nd round of American hefeweizen, so I'm calling it American Heavy Weizen instead. It's totally out of style. 1.060 instead of 1.048.

The yeast I harvested from the last batch (Wyeast Kolsch) is going gangbusters and giving off a banana smell due to the higher-than-desired temp. Again, out of style, but if the yeast keeps it up like it is, I'm hoping it will dry out. I finally got the temperature down to where I wanted it today.

All this is due to my very low final volume; I reckon 14 L, not the 20 I was shooting for, all down to the above mentioned oversights. I take this as a shameful and sobering (ahem!) reminder to get my ass in gear, pay attention, and start taking better data before, during and after the brew. Live and learn.

My one point of pride, very good control of stove top mash, with no scorching of any kind.