First All grain batch on Sunday!

So after 4 extract batches I have taken the plunge to all grain. I'm going to be making a pale ale with warrior and citra hops. I have fitted my keggle mash tun with a false bottom and thermometer, and will be boiling in my other keggle. Any suggestions for my first time around?

Don't plan anything after brew day! The first batch will take much longer than you thought.

Expect to only brew and play the rest of the day by ear once you are completely done.

I plan on bottling at 11 then starting my batch at noonish,last batch I did I brewed first and had about 6 to many cocktails by the time I needed to bottle. Made for a fun task and clean up

I'd skip bottling on the same day. My first AG brew day went more than 10 hours.

Really, you should plan for flame on as early in the morning as is reasonable, so you're finished at a good time.

My next AG brew day is Monday. I plan on having strike water heating by 10am at the latest.

So how much water am I going to need for a 6 gallon batch

You should do a search for "mashwater 3.3" it's a great file. I don't have the link handy cause I use my iPhone app. It's great as far as figuring strike water volumes and what not

What app you use?

Rys06Tbss said:

So how much water am I going to need for a 6 gallon batch

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Depends on the beer, but 10 gal would be a safe bet....

Rys06Tbss said:

What app you use?

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Probably same one i use, HB Talk.

1.25-1.5 quarts per pound of grain. Just google "strike water calculator" and you'll find a few that will help you figure out your temperature. Shoot for 152*F mash temperature unless your recipe states otherwise... you'll probably be a bit low the first time.

Also, throw a kettle full of hot, but not boiling water in your mash tun to warm it up, then drain it, before adding your strike water.

kluge9 said:

Probably same one i use, HB Talk.

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Yeah I totally misread that.

Did my first AG batch yesterday. Only made a. 3gallon batch, but aside from the time it will take to heat the extra water volume, I don't see much time difference in doing a ten gallon batch.

Milled my grains at the LHBS on Friday night. Started at 10:00A, but this included an hour or so of repairing my copper immersion chiller and thoroughly cleaning my brewing buckets. Also included about 20-30 minutes for a runto Walmart to get a new thermometer - mine was reading 110 degrees with the probe dangling in midair.

Including cleanup, I sat down for the first time at 5:00p.

I think next time il be able to trim some time off knowing these few things:

Preheat your mash tun. I probably spent 20-30 minutes trying to get back up to temp using only the calculations from beersmith.

Make sure all your equipment is clean and in working order.

Until your wort is in the kettle, always have a pot of ~170 degree water going, and a way to get a measured amount out of said pot. If you need to boost temps or use a little more sparge water, sitting while the water to heats just eats up time.

I did this, but it really helps: clean as you go. This is how I operate as a cook and as a brewer. I can't stand a messy work area, and I surely don't like that dreaded feeling of cleaning EVERYTHING at the end of the brewing process.

Also, brewing in one spot has its time benefits... I brew in my condo, so theres ups and downs to the garage for things, like using the wort chiller.

Good luck!

Well Im going to bottle in about 25 min here. I plan on starting at about 11. Mashwater is nice. I wish there was better brew software for iPad and andriod since I really dont like lugging my ultrabook around to make receipes and such. Oh well. Thanks for the help guys. I will be doing this solo as well since my two brew helpers have "plans" all the sudden.

Rys06Tbss said:

I wish there was better brew software for iPad and andriod since I really dont like lugging my ultrabook around to make receipes and such.

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Ah, that kind of app. I use IBrewMaster. Bit expensive at $15 but it really works well. Recipe databasing, BJCP guidelines loaded in, "community" recipes you can download as well as a plethora of NB recipes already loaded in. What I wish for is that for $15, it would be compatible with the iPhone as well but alas, they want you to spend another $10 on that.

kluge9 said:

Probably same one i use, HB Talk.

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Yep. The app for the forum, as far as recipes go, I use ibrewmaster also. I like it

So Im boiling in a few min.... Like a retard I tossed the first 32 oz of the drainage. I dumped about .5 lbs of light dme to compensate for the sugar loss... Lesson learned. What should I do with all this spent grain?

Sucks you dumped your highest SG wort but hopefully the DME makes up for it. For the grain, does wonders in a compost or you can make dog treats with it. There are plenty of bread recipes out there as well. Whatever you decide to do, make your decision quick and don't let it sit in the mash tun. It'll turn and provide a stank you'll never recover from.

Well I dont have a compost pile and dont have a dog. Ill just scoop it out and toss it then. Yeah I was pretty pissed when I realized what I did.

and... my hose just blew off my IC.. FML

My Gravity ended up being at 1.051. A little low but it would have been even worse if I didnt have DME. So yesterday was a bit of a nightmare. Im hoping next time will be better.