Yesterday I brewed with the exact same porter recipe again (we'll call it Blackacre Butte #2) to see the difference that just the brewing method made. And, boy howdy, will it be different.
For one thing, the original gravity of the wort was 1.050 this time, 67% higher than the last batch. This was due to the very successful use of my new mash/lauter tun, which did not leak at all and which made mashing and sparging a breeze. Secondly, I took about 1/4 of the wort and aerated it heavily before pouring the rest of the wort into the fermenter and pitching the yeast. I don't think skipping this really hurt me on the last batch, but I thought I'd at least try it.
This time around, I'm fermenting in a 6-gallon plastic carboy rather than the plastic bucket I used last time. The homebrew store was out of 6-gallon glass carboys and the guy there said the plastic ones were actually quite nice to use, so I went that route rather than wait for them to resupply with the glass ones.
Lessons learned:
- The filter that came with the funnel I used to pour the wort into the fermenter was too fine a mesh and easily clogged up with sediment. I ended up using a collander placed in the funnel for the last bit; I think I will just start with that piece of equipment next time.
- Cooling down 21 quarts of boiling wort takes a long freaking time. Before I get a wort chiller, I think I need to experiment with just getting a bunch of ice at the store to use in the ice bath I make for the wort.
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