Advice for a first all-grain batch?

Seeing as how I can get grain for 85 cents a pound, versus $3 and change on extract, I'm wondering just how difficult it would be to go from extract to grain. Assume that I know nothing about the process (this will save all of us a great deal of embarassment). That being said, can anyone give me an idiot's guide to real brewing? Thanks much.

Go here http://www.howtobrew.com/section3/chapter14-1.html

This will give you all you need to start.

Don't try anything fancy. I'd start with a recipe that was mostly pale 2 row and do a single infusion at 152F. If you like ambers and milds, they are a good place to start.

Don't worry about water hardness, pH, etc. your first run.

Borrow a lauter tub if possible, so you aren't using untried equipment.

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/


The simple, easy to understand methods presented here are great for a first timer and to show you what it will be all about.

DyerNeedOfBeer said:

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/


The simple, easy to understand methods presented here are great for a first timer and to show you what it will be all about.

Click to expand...

I'll second this link...convinced me to go all-grain and presents a pretty cheap and basic set-up that can be expanded as you feel the need...

I'll second palmer's book. Simple setup with a cooler and a copper manifod.. you can't go wrong.

It really is a very simple process.. just time consuming. Make sure you don't sparge to quickly.. and don't get your strike temp to high. It's better to raise the intitial mash temp with boiling water than to have to lower it with ice. Also, try not to aerate the mash.. while the boil will remove all oxygen from the worth it will not affect oxidation of wort compounds that occured prior to the boil (just something to think about). Be conservative with your efficiency estimates, figure maybe 65% for your first ag batch (it will probably be higher but be safe).. if you don't want the higher gravity than results from a higher efficiency then just keep sparging to get a higher volume (you can also water it down during or after the boil). Use a hydrometer and check the runnings toward the end of the sparge.. stop sparging if the runnings fall at or below 1.008. Be sure to check the SG and volume before the boil so you can calculate your efficiency so you know what to expect in the future. Lastly, keep you sparge temps below 175F or you run the risk of tannin extraction (tea tasting beer). Really, it is a surprisingly simple process.. have fun and let us know how it turns out.

Midwest Homebrewing has a real good video ( VHS or DVD) free with any purchase, and it will help a lot. It's one thing to read or be told, but when you actually see it done that is education.
Go to www.midwestsupplies.com and order something ( don't tell me you don't need anything) and ask for the free DVD. Or perhaps they will just sell the video I don't know.
You will be glad you did.

DyerNeedOfBeer said:

http://cruisenews.net/brewing/infusion/


The simple, easy to understand methods presented here are great for a first timer and to show you what it will be all about.

Click to expand...

i third this link. very simple, easy to understand, and makes good beer.
just enjoy it. no pressure. once you do an all-grain batch, you'll wonder why you never did it before. and expect the unexpected. something will not go right, but your brew will still be great. we ALL have one of those stories to tell

You won't regret going all grain. It gives you 100% control of your brewing.

Everyone else here is giving good suggestions, I'd just add this. Buy enough ingredients to do several batches, and brew them in pretty rapid sucession. Like once a week, for three weeks. That will allow you to "get the feel for it."

And don't worry. My first all grain batch should have been a disaster! I think I did everything wrong... and it was still the best beer I had ever made. (23rd batch) Since then, things have just got better and better.

All grain is a blast, just be careful and clean.
I have done all kinds of errors according to the books and the experts and the beer still came out ok. I think the main thing is stay clean, make sure you sanatize everything.

And just remember as soon as you are done getting your wort run off it is just like doing extracts.

Becuase of school and work comflicts I have just been doing extracts this year, i look forward to doing some all grain in the near future again.

Good luck

Ok fella's I finally did it too I know I have posted advise and questions but I did my first all grain on Sun.
It is also my own recipe. ( nuts eh??)
Well let me tell you, I didn't take out the spent grain right away ( too tired after 6.5 hrs of brewing) so it sat a couple of days and was getting ripe.
I decided the best thing to do with it was put it on my garden. well I have a small Jack Russel Terrier who thought that was the best smelling thing in the world . and she rolled in it. So there I was after getting the business from the other half washing the dog. All grain can be a lot of work, but I loved it anyway.
What do you do with your spent grain????

snaproll said:

What do you do with your spent grain????

Click to expand...

Rank smelling stuff if it sits around wet isn't it? Your dog must have been n-a-s-t-y! Flies luv it as well and then it really can take on a new smell.

I dump it into a plastic garbage bag, tie it up tight and toss it in the trash typically. Or, spread it out behind my house (empty desert behind my property line) but that seems to attract Javelina out here (wild pig like vermin). Nasty buggers as well

I throw my grains behind my neighbor's fence. I think the deer eat them.

My first AG leftovers got pitched in the garden out back. I've been just dumping them in a trash bag the last couple of batches though.

Nice pic, desert. Looks like a big rat-pig. Ever try cooking one? mmmm BBQ

LupusUmbrus said:

Nice pic, desert. Looks like a big rat-pig. Ever try cooking one? mmmm BBQ

Click to expand...

Some state they are more in line with a rodent than a pig but they're actually a Peccary . I've had some sausage made from these buggers. A bit gamey. Never had these things in Wisconsin area that I grew up in

http://www.javelinahunter.com/javelina_university.htm

The babies BBQ nice, get them when they are around 10 lbs. I went to UofA for grad school. Brother-in-law & I shot a few because they were attacking his cats. Not that I care about cats, I just like roast suckling pig!

I dump my grains and hops up the hill. Something (deer, nutria, gophers, moles, who knows) eats the grains, but the hops just compost.

I've been using my spent grain to bait up fishing holes. The catfish love it.

Get this though. Did you know that hops can grow from boiled seeds? I've been brewing with whole hops and the East Kent Goldings and the Fruggles I've been using have seeds. After draining my wort, I've just been scattering the hops over my back yard as a kind of mulch to decompose. Well, I've got a hop plant springing up in my back yard. It's about 24" tall now but with winter comming on I doubt it'll survive.

Scott, hops will die back to the root every year and can take a fairly hard frost. In the spring, it will attempt to climb anything within 20 feet. Hops doesn't breed true, so no telling what you'll have. Maybe the next Perle or Columbus.

david_42 said:

Scott, hops will die back to the root every year and can take a fairly hard frost. In the spring, it will attempt to climb anything within 20 feet. Hops doesn't breed true, so no telling what you'll have. Maybe the next Perle or Columbus.

Click to expand...

When you sat that hops don't breed true, are you talking about hybridization with some other hop or some other plant?

When hops are crossed to give a plant with specific character the only way to get the same plant is to take cuttings and grow that way. If a seed is taken then it can have any characters of the original plants rather than be an exact copy of the cutting.

Its like animals, babies are not exact copies of the parent, only cloning can do that.

Does anyone know of an internet site that has the best price on grains?

It depends were you are.

I should think shipping would eat up any savings you 'd have by internet shopping. but I could be wrong, I'd think shipping 50# of grain ain't cheap.

I pay £25 for 25kg. The same shop claims free shipping but there net prices are loaded to account for it.

It's still not bad at £28.

Our local brewshop has Halcyon or Maris Otter pale malt 25kg for £20, in Nantwich, Cheshire, England.

Glowworm do you have there details please?
Thanks

I think I've found it.

http://www.barleycorns.co.uk/

The mainly do bottled beers but have some kit and grain in.

Just Have Fun.