Hello from Norcal

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Badwater

New Member
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hey guys,
I've been lurking here on and off for a while now. I just completed (today) my first all-grain brew and it's really cool to have the wealth of knowledge this community provides. I'm still a total newbie, but I feel a bit proud of myself for stepping up from extract to all grain (not that there is anything wrong with extract brewing, there are plenty of fantastic extract brewers out there, and I'd like to think I've made some great extract brews and I don't want to become some kind of all-grain snob). I wanted to start with something easy so I brewed a clone of a traditional Welsh ale (with only 7.25 lbs of malt for a 5 gallon batch). The temperature corrected OG was supposed to come in at 1.041 but I was at 1.045 at 4.75 gallons and decided to just go with it. My experience with extract brewing indicated that it's okay to have a slightly higher OG than what is expected, the final product will be slightly higher in alcohol or slightly sweeter.

I had some trouble with the fly-sparging (actually, I didn't know what the hell I was doing), but I think that will come with experience. I was surprised how well my converted Home Depot cooler maintained a constant temperature during the mash (it didn't loose a single degree in 90 minutes, my target mash temp was 150 F and it stayed at 151 F for the full hour and a half). The whole process from heating the strike water to pitching the yeast took about five hours, which is about an two hours longer than my extract brews, but the additional control it gave me over the brewing process was well worth it.

Now, my absolute favorite beers are stouts (specifically Russian imperial stout), and I want to eventually brew that all-grain, but I'm really enjoying this learning process. I thought all-grain would be a chore, but it's really not; it's great to feel that much 'more involved' in the brewing process. I guess my only question at this point would be: Any tips on fly-sparging? The process took about 40 minutes, but it was not a continuous sparge (I'd add 170 F water until it was about 1/2 inch higher than the grain bed, let it sit for 10 minutes, drain into brew kettle, repeat until 5.75 gallons reached). I've read about batch-sparging, and it intrigues me, but it seems most home brewers recommend fly sparging.

Actually, I do have a second question. I've read that many brewers treat their water to mimic certain brewing regions (specifically Czech Pilsen for pilsner style beers). I'm on a well, and have been told that my water is very neutral, but I have no way to confirm this. Any inexpensive ways to test the PH and the hardness/softness of my water?

Thanks!
-Badwater

Edit(kind of like a PS): I know this sounds strange, but I love the smell of wort cooking. Call it weird or call it what you will, but as a child I grew up to the smell of my dad homebrewing, so I love the smell of the wort on the stove.
 
Back
Top