It helps a lot if you have someone near you that can help you brew for the first time. If that is not possible then watch another brewer at his place.
I'm somewhat of a hermit and consequently don't have access to experienced brewers outside of HBT. However, I have watched almost every single tutorial on YouTube. My favorite is this tutorial by Chris Knight. I've watched this at least five times:
I don't think it is insane as long as you understand the process throughout from start to finish.
I'm currently writing a procedure in a lab notebook so I will know for sure each step before I even heat the strike water. I plan on making my own recipe after I read some more of Palmer and other sources and will defenitely post it here.
There's nothing wrong with starting with all grain, but culturing your own yeast and roasting your own grain, that's a lot of things to keep straight.
I've seen yeast cultures done as simply as with table sugar solution and a sterilized 1L bottle. I've even used yeast/sugar in a DIY 2L for putting CO2 into my aquarium for the aquatic plants. If it gives me less lag time then I think it's foolishness not to try it. As for waiting to roast my own grain: why not? I can bake a loaf of bread, why not malted barley?
when I did mine I realized how much work goes into it. I couldn't imagine starting out on All Grain, especially if you do have a problem it'll be harder to track down.
*Idleness is the holiday of fools*. Also: if the system is monitered correctly (i.e. temperature is monitered, gravities taken, taste-buds intact) then the problems will present their own solutions.
my first was all-grain. It's a ton of work to do your first time out. Expect it to take you all day, and spend about a month researching everything you need to know. stuff you don't understand? keep reading until you do.
How did your batch turn out? Was it what you expected it to be? I think the first bottle of drinkable beer would be worth all the effort. BTW, by the time the first yeast is pitched I'll have studying brewing every day for 3 weeks.
Good luck, you're going to need that and a whole lot more.
I lol'd. Thanks
a partial mash ... will at least give you the basics for going AG without the risk of having really terrible efficiency.
As long as the temp and pH are good, then there's no reason why efficiency would be bad. If something goes wrong, I'll just reduce the wort a little, by like a 1/2 gallon maybe. That would result in a higher ppg. My starting recipe will also use a bear of organic honey
the good thing about doing an extract kit or something similar is you learn whether your sanitation process is effective.
Very true, but I fancy a bit of the ol' gamblin'.
once I went all grain, I didn't see where it was all that complicated.
It is complicated, just like earning a degree in Molecular Biology (which I'm currently doing). Who's to say it's impossible?
why the grain roasting? If you're trying to make specialty kilned malts, you probably won't like the results, and the malt is cheap. I've only home roasted 2-row, when I wanted a toasted type malt. If you want crystal malt, roasted barley, black patent, etc, I think you'd find that very difficult.
IIRC, crystal malts can't be replicated by home roasting. Their flavor is due to their special malting process/kilning so you'd have to sprout your own barley for that I think. That said, I'm trying to make my own specialty grain, and I doubt the Celts had developed Crystal malt in 50 A.D.
You may not make award winning beer the first time, but the process is enjoyable and you will improve with experience.
This is exactly what I'm thinking. Also thanks for the recipe and grats on the 888 GET.
+1
you can always sell off a bit of equipment if you decide not to keep brewing
DIY beer gear is like working on a car. Both are fun, but the car doesn't buy you a drink at the end of the day.
This would be a good troll thread huh? HAY GAIZ, HOW DOES I AY GEE BREWED? IMA USE CHOCOLATE XD rofl
