Summer Lightning (Hopback) Brewing Journal

Started 8th April 2012

Recipe	Measure
Pale Malt (EBC 4 or less)	4.99Kg
Challenger Hops (start of Boil)	46g
Goldings Hops (Last 10 Min of Boil)	15g
Goldings Hops (End of Boil)	9g
Yeast	S-04
Mash Liquor	14 Litres
Mash Temperature	66C
Mash Time	1 Hour 30 Minutes
Sparge Temperature	77C
Mash Efficiency (estimated)	75%
Boil Time	1 Hour 30 Minutes
Batch Volume	23 Litres
Fermentation Temperature	20C
Expected OG	1052
Actual OG	1048
Expected FG	1013
Actual FG	1010

The following equipment was sterilised using VWP

The Mash water (liquor) was heated to around 76C and transferred into the Mash Tun.
The Water temperature settled at 72c almost instantly, which is a perfect strike temperature for this brew.
The grain was then added and well stirred to ensure that no dry pockets existed.
After about 5 minutes the temperature was perfect at 66C.
After 15 minutes the temperature has settled at 65.9C, which is perfect so no adjustments are required.
Refilled the boiler with sparge water and switched on to ensure sparge water was ready.
Time for a cup of tea as nothing to do now for 1 hour 15 minutes
Checked temperature after 45 minutes and it seemed a little low. I re-positioned the thermometer and it went up to 67c, which is still acceptable, so I left it alone.
Temperature remained stable for the rest of the Mash.

The recipe states that sparging should be done at 77c but by the time that the sparge water hits the grain it will have lost some temperature. I am aiming to keep the sparge water between 80-82c to take account of this.
I will be using the fly mashing method using my "Phils Rotating Sparger" Sparge water was heated to 85C and added to another vessel, I need to boiler to catch the run off.
I am using a 3 tier set-up with sparge water at the top, then mash tun, then boiler at the bottom.
Sparge water immediately dropped to just under 83c so I started the sparge running. The sparge water temperature was dropping rapidly so I wrapped the sparge vessel in part of the Mash Tun's Jacket which seemed to do the trick.
Run off into the boiler was balanced with sparge water being added for about 2/3 of the brew length
I then slowed down the sparge and let the mash tun empty. I tipped the tun to ensure any good wort came out of the void in the bottom of my mash tun. The boiler was now full.
Tipping the mash tun to get the wort out of the void can also bring a lot of debris with it. This needs to be done very carrefully.

Took about 30 minutes to come to the boil once moved to the garage.
I fitted the lid as this seems to speed this process up. Once boiling started the lid was removed and the first batch of hops added.
Timer set for 1 hour 30 minutes
Nearing the last 15 minutes, so I have put the Wort chiller into the boiling wort. This ensures that it is fully sterlilised.
A dessert spoonful of Irish Moss is also added for last 15 minutes.
The second batch of hops was added for last 10 minutes.
After the full 1 hour 30 minutes the boiler was switched off and started cooler.
Realised that the final batch of hops were not added so quickly threw these in.
Wort was still very hot so should be fine.

Connected up the garden hose pipe to the wort chiller and started the cooling process.
After about 30 minutes the wort was below 30c but the bottom 2 gallons of wort felt cold. It appears that the copper cooler sits too low in my boiler.
To rectify this I have used a piece of wood to raise the copper coils so that they sit at the surface of the wort.
A further 10 minutes and it was around 20c.

The cooled Wort was Slowly drained into another bucket.
The first few pints were gently tipped back into the boiler as these were quite turbid.
Once it started to pour clear, it was left to drain slowly.
Wort seemed to be reasonable clean and free from trub.
During the draining, the wort also got a good aeration.
The wort was then poured into the final fermentation vessel from about 3 feet high. This ensured good aeration.
Final volume was about 20l so I topped up to 23l.

Original Gravity (OG) measurements were taken, which were somewhere around the 1048 mark. This is still a bit lower than expected but still an acceptable result. I am not sure if my hydrometer is accurate as it seems to read low on both OG and FG, perhaps I need a new one.
The wort was around the 19C mark, so safe for yeast pitching. I did not make a yeast starter as I have had trouble with these in the past, so just sprinkled the yeast on top of the wort.
I left the yeast on top of the wort for around 10 minutes to re-hydrate and then stirred in.
Fermentation had not really started 3-4 hours later but the pitching temperature was a bit lower than normal, but closer to where it should be. This was due to the low temperature of the mains water at this time of year, making the cooler much more effective. I normally only get the temperature down to around 25c before I give up on the cooler.
Fermentation was running well after 24 hours. Temperature is exactly 20c which is perfect.
After 48 hours the temperature is still 20c and there is a thick creamy head.
At 7 days, an airlock was fitted as fermentation has now slowed. There is still a yeast head floating on top of the beer and bubbles are seen every minute or so in the airlock.
Beer will now be left for 1 week to completely finish under airlock.

Added some gelatine to assist clearing. Put boiling water in a jug straight from the kettle, then added gelatine and stirred well. This seems to work Ok as the water is immediately cooled by the glass jug so the temperature is about right.
Gelatine mixture was gently poured into the beer and then gently stirred. I did not want to stir up and yeast sediment as this will slow the clearing process.
1 further week under airlock should do the trick.
Beer is now crystal clear and ready to be kegged / bottled

Bottles 7 pints into brown glass bottles using about half a teaspoon of sugar.
This brew is amazingly clear! Balance was Kegged in a clean Corny Keg.
Pressurised to 30psi and purged about 4 times. The pressure was left on the Corny at a constant 30 psi for about 4 days. After this point the beer had stopped absorbing C02.
Beer stored out in the garage to keep cool for around 4 weeks before it is ready to drink.

As the beer was Kegged I sneaked a glass or two to test the results. The beer is already crystal clear and has a good hoppy flavour. It will now be left to condition before trying again.
Now conditioned - Great beer, a bit paler than previously but still has good hop flavours and a light malty taste. It seems to slip down very easily, what a shame :)