Dangerous Brian's Dark and Mysterious

Oatmeal Stout OG1054

01/03/2010

5 gallon Batch Brewed on the Iccle Brewery

Inside the Boiler

Remembered to fit the hop strainer this brew phew

The Mash Tun

A very crude strainer made from 15mm copper the sheath of a flexible tap connector an a bulkhead fitting.

First Job Put the Strike water on in the Richies Boiler and weigh out the Ingredients, keeping an Eye on the strike temp.

The Grain Bill

Weighed out 4KG Maris Otter Pale Malt, 180g Black Malt, 300g Roasted Barley, 150g Biscuit Malt, 150g Crystal Malt and 100g Rolled Oats,

Hops Weighed out and labeled up

Weighed out and labeled salts for water profile, 30g Northern Brewer Hops, 20g Challenger Hops, 40g Fuggles Hops and 1/2 tsp Irish Moss.

Strike water temperature of 76 deg C reached

The Mash Tun has been preheated with hot water so time to Dough Inn

When well mixed to ensure no lumps check the mash temp

66deg C is ideal so am happy to put the lid on and leave it for 90 minutes

Time for some breakfast brewing is hungry work.

Breakfast

90 Minutes up time to have a look and check the temperature

66 deg C after 90 minutes no temperature drop at all so am very happy, now its time to start running the sweet wort off, I am running into a plastic fermenting bucket as I am using the boiler to heat my strike water up to 80 deg C.

First Running's

The first running's are run off into a jug and poured back carefully on top of the mash, so the grain bed can form a filter allowing the sweet wort to run clear into the boiler.

Running Back into the Mash

Note the tin foil laid on top of the mash with slits in, this is to stop the grain bed breaking up when adding liquid on top of it, it also allows for a more even sparge, once a few jugs of sweet wort have been re circulated the wort starts to run clear and can now be allowed to drain off to the bucket.

Running off to Copper

Time to sparge

Water at 80 deg C is added on top of the tin foil carefully at as close to the same rate as the run off rate. Then when enough wort is collected and the samples of run off wort are nearing 1020 gravity its time to transfer to the boiler and start the boil.

The Pre Boil

20 minutes later we are starting to get a rolling boil so time to start adding the hops and set the timer for a 60 minute boil.

Adding 30grams of Northern Brewer Hops at start of Boil

Note I am also adding epsom salts, calcium chloride, table salt and gypsum at the same time to get the water profile required.

After 30 minutes its time to add some more hops.

Adding 20grams of Challenger Hops at 30 minutes

After 45 minutes its time to add the last of the hops and the irish moss, its also time to put the clean immersion coil in so the boiling wort will sterilise it.

Adding Fuggles and Irish Moss

After 60 minutes is up time to turn on the cold water to the chiller and turn the element in the boiler off. 30 minutes later a check of the temperature and its 23 deg C so time to run off to a freshly sterilised plastic bucket.

Running off cooled wort to the FV

note the wort is falling some height in order to get some oxygen in it, vital for a rapid start to fermentation.

Time to get the yeast out, today is a small liquid starter

Vicious Yeasties

Fv is now full I ended up with 22.5ltrs after the boil, time to check the gravity and see how if we are getting a cold break.

The Cold Break

The irish moss is doing is job well all the proteins are coagulating and dropping out of suspension, Gravity reading is 1054 at 20 deg C, therefore assuming this beer will finish fermenting at around 1012 it should end up at 5.6% ABV, time to pitch the yeast and let it get on with its job.

Pitched Yeast

Time to put somewhere warm and cozy around 20 deg C, and hope all goes well.

Fermentation

A quick look 12 hours later and fermentation is going well.