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A Dream of Thrones
Let me tell you about the Game of Thrones dream I had...
File mop
A hunter spreadsheet for the Mists of Panderia expansion for World of Warcraft
Image Khaaaaan!!!!!
All Grain Brewing - first batch
Image Sanitization
We don't need to do as much sanitization as we do on bottling day, since a boil is involved, but some things do need it.
Image Boil
The wort is boiled for one hour, along with about an ounce of Tettnang hops and a small amount of Irish moss. The longer hops are boiled, the more bitterness they impart, and the less flavor and aroma. We are using a small amount Tettnang which have a low alpha acid and boiling them for the full duration, which will impart a small amount of bitterness and very little flavor and aroma (typical for this style). Afterwards, the wort is cooled and transferred to a glass carboy, where the yeast is pitched.
Image Fermentation
The next morning, fermentation is well underway. There is a significant krausen on top, and some minor amount has come out of the blow out tube. As it ferments, carbon dioxide is emitted and must be released to limit the pressure inside the carboy. Here the blow out tube connects from the carboy to a pot that contains sanitized water. Anything outside would have to pass through the sanitized water to get in, and thus bacteria and wild yeast are denied entry.
Image Sparging
Sparging. We are basically rinsing off more of the residual sugars with hot (170 F) water. Again, this apparatus is for fly sparging I think (where you drain out water at the same rate you add to it), but whatever!
Image Filling the mash tun
Water is dispensed from our hot liquor tank (it just holds water) at about 160 F into our mash tun, aiming for a mash at about 152 F. At this temperature we need to use food grade silicone tubing to transfer the water. By heating the grains in this water, starches will be converted to sugars by an enzymatic process.
Image Draining the MLT
The sweet wort is drained from our mash/lauter tun (MLT). This will be about half of our total wort. Next we will do a batch sparge, which means we add more hot water to our MLT, let it sit for a few minutes, and then drain the tun again. Basically, we are rinsing more of the sugars off of our grain.