Going Big...Too Big...

Saturday was a big day for the RCBC. In some respects, too big! As I've mentioned in previous posts, I volunteered to be one of six brewers for the BBG's Bourbon Vanilla Imperial Porter (BVIP). This required major upgrades to the brewery to accommodate for the large grain bill (35lbs!)...The ensuing adventure, I've decided, requires being told as a story...

Chapter 1 - Too Easy
So, off I went, with DrankTank assisting. We milled the grains, and mashed, hitting our temp perfectly. While we waited I mulled some hard cider with spices and we each enjoyed a cup to warm up and mellow out. It's a good thing we did, for we quickly learned that things don't always come out as easy as we would like.

Chapter 2 - Sticky Sweet
The buzzer signaling completion of the 60 min mash came as we finished our cider. I set the pump for recirculation and the sweet wort began to flow. Then the flow slowed, with the pump getting nothing but a trickle of wort. I quickly realized, it was stuck. After stirring, restarting, and stirring for 30 mins it was obvious that desperate measures were in order. We were getting nowhere fast, and as the wort began to cool, it would just get thicker, as would the plot of this story.

Chapter 3 - Bucket Brigade
I made the decision to dump the entire mash in buckets so we could start over. That's easier said than done with 13 gallons of the stickiest 155 degree goo you've ever seen. I filled every bucket I own, covering myself and the driveway in the process. Then we added a little bit at a time until things got stuck again. Finally we used a colander to strain the grain, an inefficient but effective strategy. Finally, after an hour of struggle, we were boiling wort. That's when the struggle for sanity began.

Chapter 4 - The Antihop Strikes Back
Delirious from the sticky struggle I decided to throw out the hops in a fleeting effort to regain control of the brew. My sure-minded assistant saved me from my madness, giving me one pellet to toss out in jest and throwing the rest in the boil. With a sample of wort yielding lower gravities than expected, the future of the brew was still unknown.

Chapter 5 - Sweet Ending
As the boil completed and the wort cooled we began to hear of other brewers' struggles. They too had experienced stuck mashes and, for some, lower gravities. We drained wort to fermenters, pitched yeast, and called it a day. We had survived to brew again.