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Sanitation is paramount. That said, these are normal instructions for most early brewers. Mostly its because when people get started its assumed they don't make an investment in 8 gallon pots (probably because most stovetops will never boil a full 5 gallons).
Most municipal water supplies have very low microbial contamination. When coupled with an ...
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65% is not bad. Most recipes only expect 70%, so you're not going to be that far off to begin with if you are getting 65%. I wouldn't do partial mash unless you want to. Use Beer Smith or BrewTarget and just adjust your recipe for your efficiency. Read up on how to calculate efficiency first. Understanding your volumes and gravities at each step will help ...
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Don't worry too much about increasing your efficiency. The important thing is is have an accurate measure of it. Your first mash showed an efficiency of 65%, so go with that until you've done more brews and narrowed it down. I don't know much about all grain kits, but they must make some assumption about efficiency and include the corresponding amount of ...
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Denaturing any enzymes takes some time...at least 20 min. If you don't go over 162, you should be OK in terms of having enough beta left. The majority of the conversion will be done in the first half hour or so, but as long as you're still in the 145+ range, long chain dextrins will continue to be broken down into shorter ones.
It's based on the entire ...
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I've probably bought that same pack, and the fact they don't list the ingredients in proportion is annoying. I guess they figure its "trade secrets" or whatever.
Making the assumption that this isn't your first partial mash beer, I would suggest that you partial-mash normally, using the same water and minerals (if any) that you KNOW make good beer. The ...
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While they say to add cold water, this is water that han been boiled and chilled.
The dilution method does two things, allows a larger batch size than your boil pot capacity and helps cool the wort for pitching.
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I am not sure I understand your question, so I am assuming you mean to ask, "How much Maris Otter do I need mash in order to get the extract equivalent of 1.5 kg of liquid malt extract?" I also assume you know that Maris Otter is a grain that must be mashed.
LME has an extract potential of 292 gravity points per kg per liter (PKL), meaning that one kg of ...
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I would avoid option 3. You've already got plenty of Munich in the recipe, and it would likely alter the flavor too much. If you do go this way be sure to use your lightest Munich as the higher roasted Munich will lose its enzymes and no longer be suitable as a base malt.
My choice would be to use more extract, preferably LME. It's easy and effective. You ...
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No that is not chill haze. It is a mixture of yeast, hops, and proteins that form from the hot and cold break. I agree it looks like you have some Starsan in your batch. I learned early swap the blow off tube for a airlock before you cold crash.
Once active fermentation starts you will see all kinds of floating yeast and stiring going on. It's really my ...
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As this is definitely "an experiment" (great!) I suppose one could go about it with some "scientific procedure". I agree that yeast begins to falter in very concentrated sugar solutions. There is a point (eg about 8Kg glucose in 24 litres of water) at which the strength of the sugar solution inhibits yeast metabolism. An extreme example is honey (or treacle) ...
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The mash ratio is not really essential. Your ratio of 5 L to 4 lb grain is pretty typical. Mash at whatever ratio seems right to you, then add extract if necessary, with water to hit your preboil volume, then brew as normal.
BIAB is indeed a great option and is what I do on my stovetop. I can do up to 6 gallons in 4 large pots but typically I only brew ...
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There really is no advantage to waiting to add the sugar. Get it in there now.
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Looks like starsan on top that siphoned into the fermentor from a Blow off bottle. This will happen if the wort drops temp faster than co2 is produced.
Chill haze happens in the finished beer at serving temps, and is easy to identify by comparing a warm glass of it to a cold pour.
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I'm not sure you're asking the question in the right way, e.g. what your intended sort is and what OG you're targeting, your batch size etc.
For what it worth, accordingly to a Beersmith calculator, 1.5 kg LME should give you ~0.024 gravity points for 20 liters. To get the equal amount from grain, you need 2.5 kg of grain with efficiency 65%, give or take. ...
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As Denny noted, there's already a lot of unfermentables. I would start at 154°F since the fermentability of this wort is not going to be high so you want to get as much out of the beta conversion as possible. 160°F is the limit for beta amylase activity and it's quickly denatured.
If you want a thicker body on the beer, try using a less attenuative ...
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The main reason to add the burton salts to the mash would be to adjust the pH, and secondly to impart a more assertive hop bitterness. Generally the salts will lower the pH if it's just comprised of Gypsum, but it really depends upon the composition.
After adding the malts, test the mash with a pH meter - if it's well over 5.2pH, then add increments of 5g ...
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