Starter all grain recipes?

Hello! I'm new to the forum and new to brewing. By the beginning of the year (around tax time) I plan on having all of the equipment for all grain brewing. I'll be buying the starter kit from Austins Homebrewing with a second fermentor. This is a new hobbie for my wife and I. I personally have never breewed anything before, but she has done some extract brewing in the past. Could someone suggest some easy starter recipes for us to try? She tends to enjoy Stouts and fruit beers and I enjoy anything with a serious amount of hops.

Whenever I being something new, I always do a lot of research. I've been researching the all grain process for about 2 months. Watching videos, reading articles, and visiting this forum. I really have no interest in extract brewing. The reason I want to start off with all grain is because I will have complete control over a brew; and hopefully one day I can just make my own recipes. I can't wait to begin this journey, I'm sure it will be a blast.

Yes, again, recipe suggestions, or any suggestions for that matter would be appreciated. Thank you!

Cheers!

You can browse the recipe section for some good stuff. Just check out what section interests you. A stout might be a good first beer as it's a session beer so it will ferment fairly quickly and you can enjoy it fairly early.

i did my first all grain recipe a few months ago, a fat tire clone. it turned out surprisingly well, will only a small brewhouse efficiency/original gravity problem. since then, i have been getting worse on efficiency, so i am switching to a five gallon round cooler. i would recommend that over a larger rectangular cooler.

many people have suggested that IPA or pale ale is a good place to start with all grain. you should make yourself a hoppy beer.

Something simple until you are comfortable with the process and your equipment. That's about all the help I can give you.

Think of what you can keep simple during the brew session. Too many hop additions, or changing the mash temperature a lot, has potential to make the day a bit more hectic. The grain bill can be complex, as that's work done before the day.

I'd also suggest doing a dry run- I found out a couple things during my first All grain, that I wish I had found out earlier.

A lot of people pick up a kit from their LHBS and start there. The directions they give you will probably be very different than the ones you read here, but the most important thing is to just do something and get started, and you'll figure out your own best practices as you go.

Pick something that only has a single step infusion mash so you don't have to worry about protein rests and all that other stuff. Most likely that means not using weird adjuncts that might need a protein rest.

If you want an IPA, you'll probably want to dry hop, which is an added step, so depending on your comfort level, you might do something a little less hoppy at first. Dry hopping is not difficult though so if it's what you want to do, go for it.

A lot of people here love doing this one. It's very simple, but it's probably not the style you are looking for: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/centennial-blonde-simple-4-all-grain-5-10-gall-42841/

Good luck!

Thank you for the replies! The Centennial Blonde sounds good, but I'm tempted to change a few things. Good or bad idea? Haha, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm just excited to get started.

I've been enjoying craft beers for a long while now. IPAs are by far my favorite. If anyone is ever in northern lower Michigan, check out these two breweries.

www.shortsbrewing.com

www.rightbrainbrewery.com

Dogphish said:

i did my first all grain recipe a few months ago, a fat tire clone. it turned out surprisingly well, will only a small brewhouse efficiency/original gravity problem. since then, i have been getting worse on efficiency, so i am switching to a five gallon round cooler. i would recommend that over a larger rectangular cooler.

many people have suggested that IPA or pale ale is a good place to start with all grain. you should make yourself a hoppy beer.

Click to expand...

I'm new to brewing, so this may or may not be a dumb question. What would make a round cooler more efficient than a rectangular?

Lambeau said:

I'm new to brewing, so this may or may not be a dumb question. What would make a round cooler more efficient than a rectangular?

Click to expand...

http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?action=printpage;topic=3406.0

I like my rectangular, what this link is saying rectangular you can get more in it, I don't have a round one but five gallons is five gallons, I would think they are the same. The rectangular does have a larger opening, and making sure no dough balls to me would seem easier with a rectangular. I am curious if anyone knows for sure (would need some sort of test).

OP, I have been AG for a while. I agree with two of the answers, pick one you like, but don't get a hard recipe that has a lot of extra steps until you got the basics on your setup. I just built a brew tree and am doing simple ones to make sure I got the basics down first.

Lambeau said:

I'm new to brewing, so this may or may not be a dumb question. What would make a round cooler more efficient than a rectangular?

Click to expand...

I believe that since there is less surface area with a round cooler you get better rinsing of the grains.