inkman15

Recipes 

Hi All,

I recently finished my first beer which was a liquid extract wheat beer with specialty grains. It's carbonating now and I'm already itching to start another one. From everything I've read, it's obvious that all grain is where it's at but I'm not sure where I should start. Is there a recipe I should consider which is an "easy" all grain to brew? Any pointers would be great.

jer204

Recipes 

When I started all grain, I wasn't quite sure how everything was going to go. I just kinda jumped in and was winging it. So I just made a real simple pale-ale. 2-row, some crystal, some victory, and hops. (in case it didn't turn out right, I wasn't out a huge $ amount) After the first couple go arounds, you'll figure out your method, system, and timing, and you can get more adventerous.

Timboosh

Recipes 

My first AG Batch was my 3rd batch ever. I didn't find the jump to be that difficult.

IMO - unless you're really worried about monetary investement, just pick a recipe that has a "simple" AG process (i.e. no decoctions or multi-step mashes) and go for it. The number of different grains or hops in a beer doesn't necessarily mean that the PROCESS to make that beer is more complicated.

If you "over" simplify it, from the boil forward, Extract and All Grain brewing are basically identical... So, assuming you're comfortable with the extract brewing process, what you really need to learn about is mash process.

With that, just do your homework and do your best to understand the steps you need to take be methodical. Read up on how to hit your strike and sparge temps and volumes (that was the part I learned after my 1st AG batch) such that you hit the proper mash temps and get the amount of wort you're looking for.

Once you're comfortable with those numbers. Make a list of your processes for your brewday, step by every little step. Run through the list a few times in your head to make sure it makes sense to you and dive in.

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inkman15

Recipes 

Thanks for the suggestions/advice guys. One thing I didn't realize is that I may need additional equipment. Right now I have:

- 5 Gallon Brew Kettle
- 6.5 Gallon Fermenter Bucket
- Bottling Bucket
- Syphon/Racking Cane
- Steeping bags
- Utensils etc

What am I missing for All Grain?

HItransplant

Recipes 

Thats what I had prior to the switch, and all I bought was a 10 G kettle (for full boils), a propane burner (stove may not support weight, or boil 8 G preboil vol...plus, something nice about being outside), and a large strainer bag (24x24 is good so you can mash in your 5 gal kettle, or your 10 gal kettle--for bigger grain bills). You can do up to ~13# grain bill in a 5 gal kettle using a 1.1 mash thickness.

thats all you really need, and just do deathbrewer's method (search "deathbrewer stovetop all grain method").

its more work when you dont have a dedicated mash tun, but it works the same.

I did an extract batch for my first, AG for my second... loved it (mash in smells sooo good).

good luck.

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joeunc

Recipes 

You may want to look at DeathBrewer's all grain stovetop method then you would only need one more pot.

-Otherwise, you are going to need a much larger pot (in the 8 to 10 gallon range) and a way to do full boils (propane burner) and you want to look at a wort chiller in the future.

MeatyPortion

Recipes 

That's what I was going to post. I'll be trying DB's technique in a few days myself.

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flabyboy

Recipes 

Another item you may want to get is a mash tun. I ended up getting a turkey fryer with a 8 gallon aluminum pot and propane burner from Menards. Its a nice cheap way to get started

I'm going to do my first AG next weekend. One thing I would suggest is do your research and figure out your steps before diving in. Write them down and know why your are going to do them that way.

apratsunrthd

Recipes 

I saw a lot of people suggesting a SMaSH for the first all-grain batch but I actually made the recipe for Ellie's Brown Ale that Avery Brewing sent me. I'll let you know how it turns out in about a month.

breez7

Recipes 

Once you think something is sanitized, sanitize it again. best advice someone ever gave me.

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