AG5: Cream Ale Brewed 20100103 Recipe 7lb pale 2-row 1lb biscuit 1oz amarillo 1 tsp irish moss 11g Nottingham dry yeast Mash at 154F for 1 hour, single batch sparge. Boil addititions: 1oz Amarillo 60min 1tsp Irish Moss 10 min Target OG 1.045, FG 1.009, 4.7% ABV. 19.7 IBU, 5.8 SRM. Notes: doughed in with 2.5 gal to 153.5F remembered pH after 15 minutes, tested between 5.4 and 5.8, added ~1TB of 5.2 buffer, stirred well and tested between 5.0 and 5.4. Didn't check temp, but hoping that it didn't lose too much. Dropped considerably to 148, added 1.5gal to 156. I didn't stir before staring the lauter (I seem to remember doing that in the past and letting the bed settle as the lauter proceeded). Vorlauf 1 gal. Initial lauter got stuck, probably only pulled about 2.5 gallons. Tried to stir the mash again, but it was extremely thick. Added 4 gallons of sparge water. First runnings at 16% brix. 8 lb into 14qt is 1.75 qt/lb. BrauKauser predicts about 17% brix for 94% conversion eff. Iodine test showed complete conversion. Stirred after the sparge rest and everything flowed ok. Vorlauf 1 gal. Boil kettle 10% brix. 33g of amarillo at 60 Off flavor from IC? The IC has some corrosion on it, I need to look into removing it. Whirlpooled during cooling and got below 80F and used about 3/5 of the normal cooling water!! After removing IC, wirlpooled with spoon for about 90s, tossed on santized lid and let rest for 10 minutes. I take better notes when I don't drink :) Added an extra 10 minutes... it looks like the top 6" or so is perfectly clear. Still the tiniest bit of rotation after 20 minutes. Trub definitely settled to the bottom. Runnings were clear with racking cane 1.5" from the bottom of the bk. 10.5% brix into the fermenter. (1.043) Re-hydrated yeast per instructions and pitched at 68F. 20100107: Ferment wasn't as vigorous as normal. No blowoff and the kreausen has already settled. Measured at 5.5% brix though (1.009) and there's still activity (CO2 production and lots of motion in the carboy). 20100124: After about 4 days in cold storage, racked to keg. 5% (1.006) 4.75% ABV. Tastes like ass. Ended up dumping this. Suspect "food safe" RV hose. Dealing with off flavor: ------------------------ I tested and adjusted the mash pH. I expected it to be high given my water profile and this malt bill at 5.8 SRM. It was high as expected and the 5.2 buffer seemed to bring the pH down to where it needed to be. Tried to reduce the amount of trub into the fermenter by whirpooling and waiting longer. This also apears to have been a success. Brewed with cold water instead of hot tap water. The water came from the outside faucet through 25' of "RV hose" that is supposed to be food safe. The water didn't smell like hose (nor did the hose, actually). I also identified another potential source with the corrision on the IC. Notes for future brews: ----------------------- I need a larger HLT. I couldn't heat the entire volume of sparge water, so I added what didn't fit to the mashout. Consequently, I added a a quart too much, increasing the boil volume. I didn't boil for extra time to compensate and left about a gallon of usable wart in the BK, reducing overall efficiency. Looks like I only missed by 2 points though.