Cut Me! I'm Blind!

Yesterday I was tweaking my IPA recipe in preparation to brew today. The next morning our laptop decided to stop working. So I had a decision to make. I could put off my brew day and try to salvage the laptop that has Beersmith installed on it or I could just go for it and make some beer. Beer always wins.

I pretty much guessed at everything involved in today's brew day. The only thing that was right was the amount of ingredients and my hop schedule. I guessed at my mash thickness, mash water temps and sparging water. I nailed my mash temperature. I settled right in at 155 degrees. I was able to do this by drawing on my experience from my first three all grain beers (vanilla stout and pale ale didn't get a write up here because I am lazy). I'm not sure if I messed up my mash thickness or sparge water (or both), but I didn't end up with enough beer in the fermenter.

In the end, the wort looked and smelled amazing. The transition to all grain has gone wonderfully. I expected to take a step back in quality for the first few beers, but I've only had one potential dud (pale ale). I haven't tasted it yet and if it turns out poorly I can always blame it on my friend who brewed with me that day.