pmkealiher
Well-Known Member
Had my first all grain experience tonight, and I thought I'd share with anyone who cares.
I brewed a Leinie's red lager clone. Used the coleman extreme cooler for mashing. It worked, but I found it somewhat awkward; can't wait till I can afford a good brew pot to use for mashing.
I realized that, besides the mash tun, I'm going to need an equipment upgrade. I only have a 6 gal. pot, so it was a challenge to brew the 6.25 gal. of wort the recipe called for. Needless to say, I just filled it to the rim and hoped for the best, and I'm happy to say I didn't have a boil over. I also spaced out on making sure I have a big enough pot for heating sparge water. I had to borrow 3 little pots from my mother in-law. I'm also going to have to invest in a chiller. The ice bath method works fine for cooling the 3 1/2 gal. or so of wort used in an extract recipe, but when you have over 5 gal. in your pot, it takes a lot longer. Took me about an hr. to bring it to 70 degrees.
I put the wort in the fermenting bucket at 70 degrees, and with the temp. conversion chart the gravity came out to 1.041, which was a little lower than the instructions said it should be at. I'm thinking I used too much sparge water because I had a lot (over a gal.) left in the cooler by the time my pot was full. Could that be why my gravity was low?
Overall, it was a great experience, and I can't wait to do my next batch. Only problem was I didn't have any homebrew to enjoy while brewing, but Peace Tree Rye Porter made a great substitute. Any feedback on the info I presented would be great, but for now, its time to prep. the smoker. I have a 14 lb. brisket to cook overnight. Hope everyone is having some great brewing time this holiday weekend.
I brewed a Leinie's red lager clone. Used the coleman extreme cooler for mashing. It worked, but I found it somewhat awkward; can't wait till I can afford a good brew pot to use for mashing.
I realized that, besides the mash tun, I'm going to need an equipment upgrade. I only have a 6 gal. pot, so it was a challenge to brew the 6.25 gal. of wort the recipe called for. Needless to say, I just filled it to the rim and hoped for the best, and I'm happy to say I didn't have a boil over. I also spaced out on making sure I have a big enough pot for heating sparge water. I had to borrow 3 little pots from my mother in-law. I'm also going to have to invest in a chiller. The ice bath method works fine for cooling the 3 1/2 gal. or so of wort used in an extract recipe, but when you have over 5 gal. in your pot, it takes a lot longer. Took me about an hr. to bring it to 70 degrees.
I put the wort in the fermenting bucket at 70 degrees, and with the temp. conversion chart the gravity came out to 1.041, which was a little lower than the instructions said it should be at. I'm thinking I used too much sparge water because I had a lot (over a gal.) left in the cooler by the time my pot was full. Could that be why my gravity was low?
Overall, it was a great experience, and I can't wait to do my next batch. Only problem was I didn't have any homebrew to enjoy while brewing, but Peace Tree Rye Porter made a great substitute. Any feedback on the info I presented would be great, but for now, its time to prep. the smoker. I have a 14 lb. brisket to cook overnight. Hope everyone is having some great brewing time this holiday weekend.
