cascade ale & amber ? stout

[newToBrew]

so following on fromthis thread
did a ten gallon batch today & split it into a pale ale and a  stout

Stout
1 KG chc & 1 Kg RB  - Cold Steeped
@ 5 KG MO
@ 300 G Amber
@ 300 g crystal
@ 50 g Magnum 60 mins
SG  ?( before pitch)
1060


did a little mini mash of the amber on the stove  mixed up the cold steep with the base wort & amber wort & boiled for an hour


cascade pale ale

@ 5kg MO
@ 300 g crystal

@ 200 g Cascade in total
@ 50 @ 60 mins
@ 30  @ 30 mins
@ 30 @ 15 mins
@ 50 @ 0 mins
SG  ?( before pitch)
1068

i just thought whith the hops - why not ?
weight schedules are approximate as the battery died on the scales
things went well - had  none of my usual trademark disasters  (yet)
took a bit longer than expected - but I was at other things at the sametime anyway,

general question though -
when calculating the water amounts I follow a general rule of thumb laid out in a post over on the other site  by adam - beirtourist - work back from FV amount  u want - use   @ 3 litres per KG - loose 1 liter per KG - make up for that with the sparge amount  - bobs ur uncle - fannys ur aunt & your away in a hack

but i seem to loose an average of @ 6 litres during the 60 min boil. more on the pa too - due to hop soakage
what do people do to compensate for this ? add an extra 6 or so litres to the sparge amount ?
also would this loss attribute to what i consider is a higher than expected hydro reading ?

i have 2 elements in the kettle -but knock off one once i hit the roll

[Spud395]

Everyones system will be a little different re: volumes. Seems like you're getting to know your own. If you're looseing it add more to allow is a good way to go.
Yeah less volume will up your OG.

Sounds like a good days work Damien

[newToBrew]

yeah - seems to be gettin less stressfull each time - either that or im getting more relaxed in my approach -if only I had @ a week off  work  & @ 0 FV vessell I might get through all the feckin ingrediants i have knockin about

i was thinkin @ the lid of the kettle ( plastic 33 litre bucket ) maybe just cut out a circle in teh middle that would let out steam - prevent dms ? but  slow evap rate ? im presuming its  something to do with the open  width of the bucket - - make sense ? im probably wrong and the lab coats will be laughing at me now !!!!!

[MAF]

All you need now is a local homebrew meet to show off your beer when it's done.
Oh wait....

[newToBrew]

i heard a rumour that theres a load a blaas, pussies and queens meeting up somwhere alright....

[newToBrew]

fin al gravity readins and ABV
this can't be right  - can it ?

Stout

SG  ?( before pitch)
1060

FINAl Gravity 1012

ABV - 6.3%

Cascade Ale

SG  ?( before pitch)
1068
Final Gravity        
1010
ABV - 7.61%



from http://www.brewersfriend.com/abv-calculator/

oh !!! my cider went from 1046 down to 0000

[Spud395]

Calc's look close to me maybe .1 or.2 out

I presume the cider went to 1.000 and not 0.000

[newToBrew]

Jaysus - scared now !! Yeah  dont see the point in putting  in the  1

Am i doing something wrong though  with the hydro ? Like tempa being off and what not ?

[Spud395]

No I'd say you're spot on Damien, there are a few different calculations and they will give you slightly different results.

Those ones by the calcs I use are slightly high, but only by .1or.2 of an abv.

I've had cider (TC) go to .996 before, so I see nothing out of place at all

[newToBrew]

Its not the  cider so much that troubling me -was expecting that - its the other 2  they were meant to be my crimbo beers ! Oh well looks like ive made a cascade sherry again !
Hopefully the 200 grams of hops will mask the alcho taste,

Thinking of Derek suggestion to top up with water - guess I could've preboiled some the night before and added that at bottling time - any thoughts  on that ?

[Spud395]

Better to make any additions before fermentation really.

Big breweries do that all the time with de-aerated water, I'm sure boiling knocks most of the air out of the water but even addi ng it to the beer will introduce considerable air.

I'd say just enjoy them for what they are 

[newToBrew]

I guess before fermentation I wouldn't care @ it being de aerated as such - I mean we want oxegen in the mix for the yeast right ?
My presumption on the pre boil was to remove any nasties and what not

I'm sure I will enjoy them for what they are alright - just in moderation !!!