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a day of first's

all grain

Grandmaster Brewer
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first off I had my 1st stuck sprag, wow it was like I put cement in there. now I have done 40 all grain batches without this happening so no big deal but I have no idea why. I guess I will call this batch "stuck on me" or something like that.
the next thing that happened for the 1st time is I had a weird oily film on top of my boil. it was like I put a 1/4 cup of canola oil in there, I'm puzzled.
  next I found some gobbles of something that looked like frog eggs without the yokes. they were like egg whites but the size of peas. I found these left behind in the trub and hop matter after I transferred the cooled wert to my fermenter. there was not a lot of them and I did not save any but what they were, I do not know.
the only thing I did that is not regular is the OG was 1.050, I normally shoot for 1.060 +, but this is going to be a kolcsh with WL0029 yeast. oh I also used Camden tab for the 1st time???
By the way, this week is my 1 year anniversary of brewing, maybe the brew gods are screwing me? I Don't know.   
 
Mysteries abound.  Did you taste the frogs eggs oil slick low efficiency metabisulfite wort?  spend an extra bit of time on the can afterwards?

So, how is the fermentation coming along?  Kolcsh are fun to watch in a clear glass or plastic fermenter.
 
all grain said:
the next thing that happened for the 1st time is I had a weird oily film on top of my boil.
It may be related to pulling large weight proteins and glucans out as a result of your stuck sparge.

I see this same phenomenon in my kettle, too. It seems to be most obvious in lightly colored beers. It doesn't seem to depend on the base malt. I'm not entirely certain what causes it, but I'm pretty sure it's related to hot break. Albumens make the early foam while heavier tannins, fatty acids and long chain proteins form the off white flakes. This sheen seems to be an intermediate stage between the two. I suppose if I dig, I can find out precisely what it is, but it'd still be benign.

next I found some gobbles of something that looked like frog eggs without the yolks.
If they were clear, I suspect it was irish moss. It gets clear and gelatinous and in a wort with low protein, a lot of it just ends up looking like clear caviar because it doesn't combine with anything.

A secondary, but unlikely, source is calcium oxalate. This is a pearl-like to light brown color and is usually hard or gritty. It's basically beer stone.

the only thing I did that is not regular is the OG was 1.050
I think one of the magical properties of Kolsch is the incredibly delicate balance between body and flavor. The ripe pear esters really make this beer and a lightly toasty, mostly Pils malt backbone frames it perfectly. I tend to shoot for 1.045, so 1.050 should turn out pretty nice. I do find that a solid 2 or 3 week cold conditioning phase at 50 F makes a huge difference.

By the way, this week is my 1 year anniversary of brewing, maybe the brew gods are screwing me? I Don't know. 
Congratulations!!  Obviously, the gods think you can handle it and maybe need the challenge!  8) :D
 
thanks brewfun for the input, I have still a lot to learn. As far as 40 batches go some were small and others were experiments gone bad, most were drank though not all by me. I only do 4 gal batches most of the time, some are 1 gal.
I do have 3 batches of 1 gal sours sitting around that still have 9 months to go. how they will turn out is anyone's guess.
  Just when I thought I was getting smart this hobby tells me different. 
 
all grain said:
  Just when I thought I was getting smart this hobby tells me different.

That's how joining this forum has made me feel :)  Thanks to you all for helping me along with that......
 
jtoots said:
all grain said:
  Just when I thought I was getting smart this hobby tells me different.

That's how joining this forum has made me feel :)  Thanks to you all for helping me along with that......

Second that. So true. That's what makes this hobby so much fun.
Nice to find a place where everybody shares some experience.
I learn something new with each batch.
 
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