First AG brew - 84.5% efficiency

I just finished my first AG brew, most of which Gremlyn1 helped to make sure followed the correct procedure. Overall it was much more enjoyable than extract brews and it actually finished in 5 hours, from initial start (without any prep work at all) to after cleaning the equipment and calling it a day. The total efficiency was 84.5% using Brewmasterswarehouse.com grains and my new 10gal pot / 10gal rubbermaid cooler setup.

I did the following recipe and got the following readings:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/nut-brown-ag-30187/

Measured pre-boil gravity: 1.056
Measured original gravity: 1.065
Total final volume: 5.5g

Here are just a couple pics of the day. The last pic is of the mash tun grains on the ground, after I put a plastic trash bag over the top of the mash tun and dumped it upside down thinking the trash bag would hold it all. Good thing it was done over the dirt...

Congrats. Now that you've dropped down into the rabbit hole, there is no turning back. Welcome to Wonderland.

Dude, the grain pile will attract flies. Get that as far away from human areas as possible. Toss it over the fence (neighbor will have NO idea what it is).

passedpawn said:

Dude, the grain pile will attract flies. Get that as far away from human areas as possible. Toss it over the fence (neighbor will have NO idea what it is).

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Hah, I let it cool down for an hour then shoveled the majority of it into a stronger gardening plastic bag, tied it up, and put it in the outside trash. I aint leavin' that out

Awesome, did my first AG today too. 79% efficiency, but mine was BIAB ...I hosed up my mash temps, but shyte happens..you think I would have learned after two partial mashes.

Pics look great, very nice pot, that was the Craigslist steal, right?

shortyjacobs said:

Awesome, did my first AG today too. 79% efficiency, but mine was BIAB ...I hosed up my mash temps, but shyte happens..you think I would have learned after two partial mashes.

Pics look great, very nice pot, that was the Craigslist steal, right?

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BIAB?

Yeah, it's the pot from craigslist. Very nice deal, and it worked out perfectly.

BIAB = Brew In A Bag. Basically, it's like this:
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-pics-90132/

But I do it outside, with a 7.5 gal turkey fryer pot for my "mash tun", (wrapped in a sleeping bag once it's at temp to hold temp), and a 15 gal keggle for my "sparge tun / brew kettle".

It's messy, a bit of a pain, a bunch more work with the need to "teabag" in the sparge water, and hold 8 lbs of grain in the air to drip dry, (8 lbs - I was brewing a mild, only 1.037 OG). BUT, it lets me brew all grain without spending cash on 2 weldless bulkhead and various odds and ends, (which I'll need to complete my ACTUAL AG setup).