Trying to get my head around the allgrain thing....

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Axeman

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I'm new to this forum and have done four extract batches, so I guess I'm new to homebrewing also.

A few friends and I are going to a give allgrain brewing a try in a few weeks. They have the large kettles and propane burner.

Is there a way to do a "concentrated" allgrain 5 gal batch? In other words, use more grain and add water to the wort as you would an extract batch?

The reason behind this is I live in an apartment (small stove, smallish pot) and I've got a real itch to start doing allgrain batches.

Any tips or advice would be mucho appreciated.
 
Thanks for the input Rich!

Gotta shoot to the store but I'll take a look at those threads a bit later.

Alex
 
Axeman, for what it's worth, I did four batches of extract beers as well, and then jumped immediately into all-grain, and full-batch mashes. This was fifteen years ago. The leap to all-grain tripled the level of anxiety, wonder, doubt, exitement, and, ultimately, satisfaction for me.

The initial investment was a bit painful, especially for a starving college student, and I spent a lot of time improvising equipment, but after that first magical batch, I forgot about all that.

I, too, lived in an apartment then and I didn't want the burner to burn through the linoleum, so I just put two big foundation bricks on an end-table and put the burner on that. (Open the windows.) I still do this today.

If you think through the operation a few times before you start, you'll be fine, and you'll be blown away by the new control you'll have over your product...

Happiness to your mash,

jp
 
Yea, I can't wait to start. One of the local supply places out near me has a club meeting once a month and most everyone there is doing allgrain.

I was blown away by the results they were getting.

My wife would never go for the indoor propane action though. Looks like I'll be doing allgrain batches at my friends place. Maybe we could do double batches somehow.

Axeman
 
Yes. Accidents do happen! One was when I left the lighter on the bricks right beneath the burner! The explosion was... loud. I swear to god, I thought my wife had fired a gun.

Another, was when I was dragging a down sleeping bag (to insulate the mash kettle) past the hot burner... Nylon melts. Feathers fly.

Another was when I was done with the boil and moving the burner. I just grabbed the thing and burned the living s#*t out of my hand. Then I let go. The burner teetered on the edge of the bricks for a split second and then fell on my toes. I was wearing sandals.

There have been others. Should we devote a thread to this?

Darwin awards in brewing?

I do have a concrete floor...

p
 
perry said:
Axeman, for what it's worth, I did four batches of extract beers as well, and then jumped immediately into all-grain, and full-batch mashes. This was fifteen years ago. The leap to all-grain tripled the level of anxiety, wonder, doubt, exitement, and, ultimately, satisfaction for me.

The initial investment was a bit painful, especially for a starving college student, and I spent a lot of time improvising equipment, but after that first magical batch, I forgot about all that.

I, too, lived in an apartment then and I didn't want the burner to burn through the linoleum, so I just put two big foundation bricks on an end-table and put the burner on that. (Open the windows.) I still do this today.

If you think through the operation a few times before you start, you'll be fine, and you'll be blown away by the new control you'll have over your product...

Happiness to your mash,

jp
I think you would be better off doing partial mashes. A much smaller investment in time and money. It will suit your situation much better. Also, a propane burner inside is just not safe even with the windows open.
 
Cheers back to ya, Rich, and it would certainly be a bummer if someone blew up, or burned down, their house.

For others reading this: I've been thinking about the whole brewing-in-doors thing and I have to make these acknowledgements.... first, I'm drawing up plans for a separate-from-house facility, because it really is a pain in the ass to try to make dinner in the kitchen when the wort chiller is hooked up to the sink and the brew kettle is between me, my wife, and the dinner table... second, I typically only brew five gallons at a time so my system is fairly portable... third, I have an immense, industrial kitchen range that runs off propane, and a wood-burning stove, so I guess open flame in the house is pretty ordinary here...

I've also tried brewing outside, but found that, even with a wind-screen, I lose a lot of heat and go through the propane like crazy just trying to keep a rolling boil. Inside, where the air is calm, I can get something like ten batches out of a five-gallon propane tank...

And, I must add... my wife is very tolerant of my weird hobbies and actually likes the smell when I add the hops...

Anyway, I mention this stuff only in an attempt to be helpful. I know that I'm still trying to get a handle on the big picture of small-time home-brewing, so these "conversations" are great!

Salud, p
 
RichBrewer said:
I think you would be better off doing partial mashes. A much smaller investment in time and money. It will suit your situation much better. Also, a propane burner inside is just not safe even with the windows open.

Rich,

Do you have any partial mash recipes you could recommend?

Axeman
 
Axeman said:
Rich,

Do you have any partial mash recipes you could recommend?

Axeman
Let me know what kind of beer you like and I will see what I can come up with. Or if you have an extract recipe that you like I can convert it to PM.
 
jcarson83 said:
I wouldn't recommend using a propane burner inside (no offense). Accidents happen.

This is a very good suggestion..... acidents don't happen here... deaths happen here. Propane is nothing to use without ventilation.
 
RichBrewer said:
Let me know what kind of beer you like and I will see what I can come up with. Or if you have an extract recipe that you like I can convert it to PM.

I don't have anyway of doing lagering so that's out. Maybe you have a nice amber ale recipe of some kind. I'm not too fussy. I am a hop head though.

Axeman
 
Axeman said:
I don't have anyway of doing lagering so that's out. Maybe you have a nice amber ale recipe of some kind. I'm not too fussy. I am a hop head though.

Axeman
Here's a quick one that I found and modified. What do you think? I added just a bit of chocolate to give it some color. It shouldn't affect flavor too much. Looks like there are plenty of hops in it but you can adjust up or down to fit your taste.

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (Gal): 5.00 Wort Size (Gal): 5.00
Total Grain (Lbs): 8.13
Anticipated OG: 1.055 Plato: 13.62
Anticipated SRM: 13.4
Anticipated IBU: 52.6
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75 %
Wort Boil Time: 60 Minutes


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
36.9 3.00 lbs. American 2-row America 1.038 2
12.3 1.00 lbs. Munich Malt(light) America 1.033 10
6.2 0.50 lbs. Cara-Pils Dextrine Malt 1.033 2
6.2 0.50 lbs. Crystal 75L Great Britain 1.034 75
1.5 0.13 lbs. Chocolate Malt America 1.029 350
36.9 3.00 lbs. Generic DME - Light Generic 1.046 8

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.00 oz. Centennial Whole 10.50 45.8 60 min.
1.00 oz. Cascade Whole 5.80 6.7 15 min.
0.25 oz. Cascade Whole 5.80 0.0 0 min.


Yeast
-----

White Labs WLP002 English Ale


Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain Lbs: 5.13
Water Qts: 6.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water Gal: 1.50 - Before Additional Infusions

Qts Water Per Lbs Grain: 1.17 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 154 Time: 60
Mash-out Rest Temp : 168 Time: 10
Sparge Temp : 168 Time: 30


Total Mash Volume Gal: 1.91 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Fahrenheit.
 
Sounds like a nice one Rich!

My friends are also on the look out for some recipes so I'm not sure what we'll end up doing but it's lookin like the 22nd is going to be the brew date.

My friend John has the propane burner and mash tun so we're kinda working around his schedule. Should be fun!
 
Axeman said:
Sounds like a nice one Rich!

My friends are also on the look out for some recipes so I'm not sure what we'll end up doing but it's lookin like the 22nd is going to be the brew date.

My friend John has the propane burner and mash tun so we're kinda working around his schedule. Should be fun!
Let us know how it goes and enjoy!
 
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