Brewing in the evening

All in all, a good day.  The mash was a long, drawn out process, but I’m happy that I came out with 73% efficiency.  I really need to get a ball valve and drain filter of some sort for the mash tun (cooler).  Well, it was still fun.  The 90 minute boil was interesting.  The first hop addition wasn’t until 60 minutes, and it did not threaten to boil over.  I replaced about 1/2 gallon of evaporated wort at around 60 minutes in with left over drainings in the mash tun.   In retrospect this was a mistake…I hope not too bad of one.  The yeast starter went fine, and the fermentation was coming along nicely the next morning, and still is strong today (2 days later).  The color is beautiful.

Rolling Boil

Hop Additions

Revised Recipe

When I was unpacking the ingredients, I found a mistake had been made and I was shipped 2 pounds of Dark Munich malt and none of the Crystal 40L.  Fortunately, I had a half pound or so of some lighter Crystal malt and I added in a little extra of the Munich to keep the color similar.  I’m hoping for a little extra roasty flavor as a bonus.  Here is the updated recipe: