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mrwongburger

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Hello All,

I've been reading this forum for quite a while but just joined, and while I have done some extract batches I want to try all grain for the first time. I wanted to share my recipe and hop schedule to get feedback as well as ask if anyone knows of a good equipment kit with the essentials or where to get a relatively cheap 6-8 gallon brew kettle. This will be a five gallon batch going for a red ipa.

8 lbs. Two-Row
2 lbs. Munich
1 lb. 80L Crystal
1 lb chocolate (too much to create a nice red color? Too little?

Chinook 1 oz. 60 min
Simcoe .5 oz 20 min
Nugget .5 oz 7 min

Safale US-05 11.5g for yeast

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated as well as any general tips someone all grain brewing for the first time should know.

Thanks
 
A pound of chocolate malt takes it up 31 SRM according to Beersmith, which is way too dark. Personally I would use no more than 4 oz of chocolate malt. I am doing an American amber with only 2 oz of chocolate malt, plus some other coloring agents and I am at 18 SRM, which is right in the middle of the style range for an amber. The hops look pretty good, but I might use the simcoe towards the end to get more aroma from it.
 
A pound of chocolate malt takes it up 31 SRM according to Beersmith, which is way too dark. Personally I would use no more than 4 oz of chocolate malt. I am doing an American amber with only 2 oz of chocolate malt, plus some other coloring agents and I am at 18 SRM, which is right in the middle of the style range for an amber. The hops look pretty good, but I might use the simcoe towards the end to get more aroma from it.

Thanks! I wouldn't want it that dark so I will definitely scale back the chocolate malt. Do you I should put the simcoe in at the 7 minute mark and keep the other two additions the same? Or move it around to have a more even distribution?
 
Yeah, I wouldn't use more than 2 oz of the chocolate... heck, if you left it out completely, you'd still get a nice red color, but a little of the stuff goes a long way.

As for the hops, I'd do simcoe at flameout, but I love me some simcoe. :D

Get Beersmith... best $20.00 investment you can make in brewing.
 
Since your recipe questions have already been answered, I'll offer some advice on equipment for moving to all-grain. Get yourself a 10g kettle like this one...

http://www.restaurantsupplypro.com/product/winco-sst-40/stock-pots

and a bag from this guy (or make your own) and do all-grain brew-in-a-bag (BIAB).

Unless you've got your heart set on the traditional MLT approach to all-grain or are planning on 10g batches, BIAB is a very cost efficient way to move from extract to all-grain with the same results, plus you can mill your grain extra fine to get 80+% efficiency and never worry about a stuck sparge and there's less equipment to buy, store, and clean. The only other thing you may need is a propane burner setup to handle the in-kettle mashing and full volume boils. I've only been brewing a short time, but I've never brewed with extract and have only done all-grain BIAB and love how easy it is.
 
Since your recipe questions have already been answered, I'll offer some advice on equipment for moving to all-grain. Get yourself a 10g kettle like this one...

http://www.restaurantsupplypro.com/product/winco-sst-40/stock-pots

and a bag from this guy (or make your own) and do all-grain brew-in-a-bag (BIAB).

Unless you've got your heart set on the traditional MLT approach to all-grain or are planning on 10g batches, BIAB is a very cost efficient way to move from extract to all-grain with the same results, plus you can mill your grain extra fine to get 80+% efficiency and never worry about a stuck sparge and there's less equipment to buy, store, and clean. The only other thing you may need is a propane burner setup to handle the in-kettle mashing and full volume boils. I've only been brewing a short time, but I've never brewed with extract and have only done all-grain BIAB and love how easy it is.

Thanks for mentioning this. I have looked at BIAB and think it would be a great idea. I dont have a propane burner and was planning on using a stove top for a five gallon batch. I know it wont be quick to get the temp up but it is possible right? I mean it shouldnt harm the brew at will it? Also I was thinking about going to home depot and getting some paint strainer bags for the grain...I have seen the hops placed in bags as well, anyone have an opinion on that?
 
dandw12786 said:
Yeah, I wouldn't use more than 2 oz of the chocolate... heck, if you left it out completely, you'd still get a nice red color, but a little of the stuff goes a long way.

As for the hops, I'd do simcoe at flameout, but I love me some simcoe. :D


Get Beersmith... best $20.00 investment you can make in brewing.

Beersmith is awesome. I spend a lot of time just creating recipes for fun to see what I come up with.

Also, simcoe at flameout is a good call.
 
I agree on the chocolate. Use 2-4 oz. If you are looking for an ipa, ibus are important, but it is more about hop flavor/aroma than ibus in my opinion. 2 oz will not do that, especially with no dryhop. The 60 min is probably good, but I usually use at least another oz each at 15, 5, flameout, and no less than 2 oz for dryhop.

On another note, if you buy hops in bulk or semi bulk, it is much cheaper and will reduce costs of ipas a lot. I buy a lot from famhousebrewingsupply.com. he does 4oz increments pretty cheap. A lot of common ones like cascade/columbus/Willamette/etc are around $0.75 an oz, and shipping is cheap.

Also, for a 1st AG brew, mash temp is critical. Beersmith will help a lot with hitting the temps.
 
Thanks to everyone who offered tips, i appreciate it. Ive looked at a few kits, but they all seem excessive for BIAB. Im under the impression this is all I would need for BIAB. Please let me know what I'm missing. This is all for a five gallon batch.

8-10 Gallon Brew Kettle
Voile bag that kettle fits into (I was looking at paint strainer bags at Home Depot for this)
Some kind of false bottom to keep the bag from touching the bottom of the kettle.
Thermometer
Hydrometer
Siphon to transport wort from kettle to carboy
6 gallon carboy?
second carboy for secondary fermentation (Is this necessary)

I know that is a lot of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
mrwongburger said:
Thanks to everyone who offered tips, i appreciate it. Ive looked at a few kits, but they all seem excessive for BIAB. Im under the impression this is all I would need for BIAB. Please let me know what I'm missing. This is all for a five gallon batch.

8-10 Gallon Brew Kettle
Voile bag that kettle fits into (I was looking at paint strainer bags at Home Depot for this)
Some kind of false bottom to keep the bag from touching the bottom of the kettle.
Thermometer
Hydrometer
Siphon to transport wort from kettle to carboy
6 gallon carboy?
second carboy for secondary fermentation (Is this necessary)

I know that is a lot of questions but any help would be greatly appreciated.

While not always necessary, I always do secondary fermentation for the added clarity. You can use buckets for that if you dont want to buy another carboy.
 
6 gallon carboy?
second carboy for secondary fermentation (Is this necessary)


6 gallon carboy yes for primary fermentation is best , second carboy or bottling bucket would be fine, and you dont need a false bottom on your boil kettle just keep it off the bottom with the many ways people have made up contraptions to hold the bag up or tie to a handle.
 
You don't need more than a 5 gallon carboy for secondary. There isn't any more activity that would need that much head space.
 
So I found a bottling bucket with a spigot online for pretty cheap. If I were to use this as a secondary fermenter should I then ferment for two weeks in the primary carboy and then siphon into the bottling bucket and dry hop for a few days then bottle? Or should I split the time differently?

Also the bottling bucket I found was 6.5 gallons...would there be any problem with there being that much oxygen in the bucket with the brew? The bottling bucket did seem easier so I could just use the spigot to put beer in bottles.
 
So I found a bottling bucket with a spigot online for pretty cheap. If I were to use this as a secondary fermenter should I then ferment for two weeks in the primary carboy and then siphon into the bottling bucket and dry hop for a few days then bottle? Or should I split the time differently?

Also the bottling bucket I found was 6.5 gallons...would there be any problem with there being that much oxygen in the bucket with the brew? The bottling bucket did seem easier so I could just use the spigot to put beer in bottles.

I have used buckets with spigots in the past thinking it was going to be the greatest time saver. Unfortunately, every spigot I have bought eventually leaked just a little bit. Not a big deal when bottling, but when leaving a beer in it for a week, it can make for a big mess and no beer.

Bucket without spigot is my recommendation, then transfer to botting bucket with spigot when bottling.
 
I have used buckets with spigots in the past thinking it was going to be the greatest time saver. Unfortunately, every spigot I have bought eventually leaked just a little bit. Not a big deal when bottling, but when leaving a beer in it for a week, it can make for a big mess and no beer.

Bucket without spigot is my recommendation, then transfer to botting bucket with spigot when bottling.

Thanks thats a good point. Do you think it would be ok then to ferment in a 6.5 gallon carboy for a few weeks then put it in bucket with spigot for a few days to dry hop? Or is a few days to long? Also I'm not sure of the process here. Can I add priming sugar to the bottling bucket then place into bottles, or would I leave it in for a few days to dry hop then use the spigot bucket to put beer in bottles and add priming sugar to bottles to condition?
 
As far as the boil on your stove, you can do a full 5 gallon batch on the stove if it is strong enough to support it and puts out a lot of heat. I do full batches on my gas stove with no issues at all. I use an 8 gallon aluminum tamale pot and haven't had any issues getting 6.5 gallons up to a boil, other than taking a long time to get up to boil.
 
Thanks thats a good point. Do you think it would be ok then to ferment in a 6.5 gallon carboy for a few weeks then put it in bucket with spigot for a few days to dry hop? Or is a few days to long? Also I'm not sure of the process here. Can I add priming sugar to the bottling bucket then place into bottles, or would I leave it in for a few days to dry hop then use the spigot bucket to put beer in bottles and add priming sugar to bottles to condition?

The easiest way to bottle is to boil up some priming sugar (about 3/4 cup for 5 gallons) in a quart of water for a couple minutes. Then put the solution into your bottling bucket and transfer your beer into the bottling bucket gently to avoid oxidation. Gently stir it up with your brew spoon. Then fill the bottles. Some people like the carbonation tabs, but I find them to be more expensive than necessary for the process. Don't leave the beer in the bottling bucket with the sugar more than a couple hours.

You can just go straight from primary to bottling bucket if you don't have a secondary fermentor (I personally like to secondary ferment, but some people don't care either way). Do you have a bottling wand? They make bottling very easy and are worth the few bucks they cost.
 
Since your recipe questions have already been answered, I'll offer some advice on equipment for moving to all-grain. Get yourself a 10g kettle like this one...

http://www.restaurantsupplypro.com/product/winco-sst-40/stock-pots

and a bag from this guy (or make your own) and do all-grain brew-in-a-bag (BIAB).

Unless you've got your heart set on the traditional MLT approach to all-grain or are planning on 10g batches, BIAB is a very cost efficient way to move from extract to all-grain with the same results, plus you can mill your grain extra fine to get 80+% efficiency and never worry about a stuck sparge and there's less equipment to buy, store, and clean. The only other thing you may need is a propane burner setup to handle the in-kettle mashing and full volume boils. I've only been brewing a short time, but I've never brewed with extract and have only done all-grain BIAB and love how easy it is.

I was going to try BIAB and I have a 10 gal pot, but it seemed like i'd need a 15 gallon pot, so I went the cooler mash tun route.
 
Just as an update a friend and I finally got this brew done yesterday. I took out the chocolate malt and as of now I have a little bit darker of a color than I wanted but I hope that will clear out as it ferments. I was surprised that, unless I recorded the OG correctly, I hit my mark of 1056 about on the head. Cant wait to try this in a few weeks. Thanks everyone for your help.
 
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