Brewer’s Cache

Initial Gravity 1.047

In a large saucepan, I added the flaked oats and crushed white wheat malt and about a gal of water, enough to cover the grain bag. To cover the grain bag, which I had to add more water than called for in the recipe. I attempted to hold the temperature at 155 degrees for 40 minutes; this proved to be quite the challenge. The temperature fluctuated quite a bit over the mash duration. The temperature also varied depending on where I placed the temperature probe. I ended up mashing for about 50 minutes to correct for the temperature fluctuations.

While I was mashing, I added 3 gal of water to my main brew pot and brought it up to a boil. On a boil was achieved, I added the malt extract and bittering hops and then returned the solution to a boil, stirring constantly.

After 40-50 minutes of boiling, it was time to add the wheat “tea,” coriander, and biter orange peel. To add the “tea,” I suspended the grain bag over the main pot and then poured the tea through the bag. I then sparged the grain bag with an additional 6 cups of water. Once the draining of grain bag slowed, I moved the grain bag back over its original pot and allowed it to continue to slowly drip. When enough of the sweet liquor had accumulated, I added it to the primary brew pot.

I brought the wort back up to a rolling boil for an additional 20 minutes. After which, I cooled the wort in an ice bath and pitched the yeast at 81 degrees F.

Less than 24 hours later, the fermentation was rolling (like I had never seen before ). The temperature, even in the basement, was far too high, 81-82 degrees. After noticing this, I opened up the AC vent to help cool down the room; it seems to be helping. Due to the high fermentation temperature, I will leave the wort in the primary fermenter for longer than the usual period of a week, maybe 10-14 days. The odor from the airlock is very nice; I can’t detect any diecytel odors ( buttered popcorn? )

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