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JMSetzler

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I have done my reading and research about all-grain brewing. I feel confident with the techniques and tactics of making beer this way. I built my mash tun. I bought a Barley Crusher grain mill. I don't think I have any questions about the technique or methodologies. I'm trying to decide what I should brew first as an entry level beer into this process. I plan to batch sparge, and I'm looking for some feedback on what type of beer I should start with. It may be that it doesn't really matter since the technique is not going to change much, if any, for different styles of beer in all-grain brewing. I don't want to start with a brew that requires a protein rest. Any thoughts?
 
You could do any recipe that is a single mash to simplify things. The recipe will give you the suggested mash temperature. Use one of the on-line brew calculators, like the brewer's friend, to calculate temps and water additions to get to your final pre-boil volume, then everything else is like other batches that you've done. You have a wort chiller, right? Because it's hard to cool a hot 5 gallon volume with just the old sink method.
 
Yeah if you don't have BeerSmith, go buy it. I would brew a "fuller" beer if it were me. Lets more imperfections slide. My first AG was BierMunchers Ode to Arthur stout, a good start because it can stand to come out to sweet/dry. My mash temp was to high so my FG was 1.020 and it is still going to taste good(albeit a bit sweet).

My second all grain was my BitburgAle, a pilsner beer with German Ale yeast, I fubared that one at the boil(let dms drip in) so it might be a cooking beer unless someone around here likes cream of corn and cabage beer.

So get a good thermometer and Beersmith,
 
Just pick out a proven single mash recipe from the database - any style of ale you like. A complicated grain bill is no more complicated to brew than a simple SMaSH recipe, just more colors in the mash tun is all. Pick something you think you'd like and have fun:mug:
 
I do have BeerSmith and a wort chiller that I built and have tested/used on my previous batch. It works really well. BeerSmith is giving me numbers that seem to be good, and I have learned how to tweak my mash volumes with it as well.

I'm seriously thinking about Yooper's Dead Guy clone as my first all grain...
 
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