All grain brew day.

Doing a KISS recipe.

First thing to do is prepare and print off your recipe.
Then heat up the mash water by what ever means you have.


Then set up the mash tun.



Then measure the grains and add to the Mash tun



When the mash water is up to temp

Measure the mash water.
1.25qt/lb or in real measurement 2.61l/kg
5 kg of grain so ~13L



After adding the mash water and mixing thouroughly the required mash temp is hit.



With the lid on This is then left for 40-90 minutes. (Usually depending on what else you have to do)
In the mean time weigh the hops. 5 additions of 15g (0.5oz) for this recipe.



After the mash period the temperature is checked to make sure it hasn't dropped to far.

Near the end of the mash the sparge water is heated.

This part of the wort running can contain grain and flour. This will be filtered after the grain bed and husk settle against the manifold. So the first runnings of the wort are collected and returned to the mash tun untill the wort starts to run clearer.






If you didn't recirulate then his and more would go into the kettle.

First running of the wort from the mash are always a lot less than the amount you mash with due to grain absorbtion. I put 13L in and got 6.5L out.



After setting up the hop strainer and syphon tube in the keggle the first hops are added. (FWH: First Wort Hopping)



The first runnings are then added and the burner lit.

Now that the dead space in the mash tun is full and the grain has absorbed all it can then you should just about get out what you put in. So you know what amount of water you need to sparge with. The only proviso is that you should not let the runnings drop below 1010 so you don't risk extracting astringent tannins. You can sparge in one large batch if you have the capacity or split it between 2 or even 3 batches.

Add the sparge water, mix and leave for 10 minutes or so.



Drain and repeat the recirculating of the first runnings.



Add this batch to the kettle.

Repeat again with the required volume to complete the sparge giving enough wort to achieve the required boil volume. Add this to the kettle.



Once you have all the wort in the kettle, mix it and take a sample for a gravity reading. This needs to be cooled to the temperature the hydrometer is calibrated or at least close enough to do an adjustment calculation.

Once you have all the wort in and it hits a rolling boil you should see a foam and scum appear soon after. This is the "Hot break". Start the timer and start your hop additions.


15 minutes before the end of the boil put in the wort chiller so it sanitises.



At around 10 minutes from the end of the boil Irish moss is added.
Those trips to Ireland are an ideal opportunity to buy in bulk.



Don't forget to turn the burner off before chilling. The chiller water is good for cleaning kit.

Everything from this point that touches the wort needs to be sanitised.
While the wort is chilling it is a good opportunity to the mash tun and mix some sanitiser and prepare the fermenter.



Choosing you method of draining to the fermenter can help with oxygenating. Boiling drive the oxygen from the wort and needs replacing for the yeast to multiply.
I use a tube with holes in that draw air in and help aerate the wort.



The hops do a good job of filtering the Cold break (Helped by the Irish Moss). The Syphon tube lets the kettle drain below the level of the nipple.



A sample is taken from the fermenter (with a wine thief or turkey baster) and used to get the Original gravity of the wort. The recipe

This is where I departed from "recommended" guides

In keeping with my KISS philosophy I didn't hydrate the yeast and because I didn't and am fermenting at a low temperature I have forgone the blow of tube.



There is airlock movement in under 3 hours from pitching the Danstar Nottingham yeast.
This is in under 24 hours.




KISS:rockin:

BTW, Orfy,

Now that we have the Wiki, you could find a place on the Wiki for that. This seems to be more permanent that a series of posts.

Kai

I will do.

I'm not very good at formatting in the Wiki.

Nice walk-through, Orfy.

One question -- what's the heat sink doing there in the mash tun?

It's on a large peltier device that I was going to use to keep the mash at a set temp.

1. It doesn't need because the cooler does a good job.
2. It will raise the temp but I need to stir to stop hot spots and it was a pain.
3. I couln't be arsed spending time and money on a temperature controller that was really needed.
4. It now just covers a hole.

Nice job Orfy. That belongs in the wiki regardless of who does the formatting.

the crusty heating element is classic...

I *love* the bulk Irish Moss...

the_bird said:

I *love* the bulk Irish Moss...

Click to expand...

No kidding, that is a trip. :rockin:

Call me crazy, but I just love the way everything looks so "HGWellsish"...


Those burner legs were made to be passed down from generation to generation.


Thanks orfy!

awesome, dude. i just started all-grain brewing with a friend. I'm using this to show him some stuff...great reference!

Nice job Orfy!
I agree. I think this would be great to have in the Wiki.

I'll supplement it with some more pictures of a reduced size and do an article when I get time.

I really like the clarity of your descriptions along with the pictures. Without being condescending, it's like AG for dummies. I appreciate it!

YooperBrew said:

I really like the clarity of your descriptions along with the pictures. Without being condescending, it's like AG for dummies. I appreciate it!

Click to expand...

LOL.....


You saying I brew like a dummy.

I love the look of that setup. is it steam powered?

Orfy this is awesome. I am most certainly going to use this is as a reference when I start all grain after the holidays. Nice work.

Very informative. What did you use for the element in your HLT, and how was it installed?

Its a standard UK immersion heater element.

The hole is around 3" cut with a jig saw and uses a fibre washer. The wrench is readily available. I needed to bend it slightly to accommodate the curved surface.

I used a sophisticated technique to do so.....a wack with a lump hammer.

Wow, great write-up Orfy.

Not to sound negative but that really does not make that much sense to me, Where can I go to get good information on how to do my first all grain. I am used to doing extract brewing so really do not know anything about all grain.

gbedogne said:

Not to sound negative but that really does not make that much sense to me, Where can I go to get good information on how to do my first all grain. I am used to doing extract brewing so really do not know anything about all grain.

Click to expand...

Hehehe


Check youtube

I realize this thread is old but could someone please elaborate on this:

"The only proviso is that you should not let the runnings drop below 1010 so you don't risk extracting astringent tannins"

What does dropping below 1010 mean?

PS: Pardon my ignorance and thanks in advance!

gravity of 1.010

Ahh.. thanks.. the period was missing

Brewin06111 said:

Ahh.. thanks.. the period was missing

Click to expand...

It is very common in the brewing vernacular to omit the period when speaking and sometimes in casual writing. Think of it like slang.

Instead of saying "One point zero one zero" you can say "ten ten".

Eric

Blast from the past. I'm just about to resurect this set up for the newish brew shack!

Speaking of blast from the past... how you been, Orfy? Haven't seen you around in ages!

I think so.

My next beer is going to be my first all-grain and this is a huge help. I would like to point out that some of the pictures are missing now, however.

...


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