Making my first 10 gallons batch... Dont have a grain bag...

Hi all, brewing my first big batch today.

Only problem is that I dont have any grain bags. Anything else I should use?

Im thinking about brewing the grains 2lb in about 1 gallon or more of water... And then straining it into the brew pot.... Does this sound OK? Or should I make a hike out to the brew shop?

Also if you can help, im my recipe is 2# of grain... 10# of malt. 4 oz of hops to make an IPA.

Im putting 2 gallons of boiled water into each carboy to cool. And then adding 3-4ish gallons of ingredients to each carboy.

This should work according to my calculations.

This if just for friends on the weekend..... Im saving the good stuff )):cross:

Post a more complete version of your recipe (including your brewing procedures) - from the looks of what you posted so far, it'll be a very light beer with barely enough hops to qualify as an IPA.

As long as you have a means of straining the grain out of your wort, you don't need a grain bag. A fine mesh metal strainer should do the trick quite nicely.

Sorry I dont mean to be too brief....

So what im doing right now is...... Boiling 6 gallons of water. Should be around 5 gallons once boiled. Adding it to the two carboys 2.5 gallons each.

Steeping two pounds of grain and then straining and adding 12 gallons of light extract.

One ounce of hops at the beginnning and one at the end for around a total of an hour of boiling.

Hope that helps.

Actually, I would still like more specifics (sorry...it's hard to help without all the info...). What kind of grain are you using and at what temperature are you steeping it? What kind of hops? Are you only using 2 ounces of hops now?

Your concentrated boil followed by splitting the batch into 2 carboys with the remainder of the water sounds like a valid technique.

lol, thanks.

OK Im using crystal malt, at I believe will be 170 degrees for 30 mins. Then the hops will be cascase 2 oz of cascade, but could alter as I have

4 oz of kent golding, 4 oz of northern brewer and 4 oz of amarillo.

Not quite sure which ones go together.

:fro:

Ok, I've got you at a predicted OG of 1.049 (if you're using dry extract) - not bad, but definitely on the low side. If you have an extra two lbs of extract, I'd recommend adding it to achieve an OG of 1.058.

170 is the highest temp you'd want for steeping. Personally, I'd use 155-160, but it won't make too big a difference as long as you don't exceed 170 (you risk tannin extraction at higher temps).

The hops are definitely on the low side for an IPA. I've got you at 9.4 IBUs with a one ounce addition at 60 minutes and a one ounce addition for flavor/aroma at flameout. Here's the hops schedule I'd recommend:

3 oz Amarillo at 60 minutes
1 oz Cascade at 60 minutes
1 oz Amarillo at flameout
1 oz Cascade at flameout

That schedule results in 53.2 IBUs. You might consider dry hopping with some Cascades or Amarillo in the secondary as well.

Sorry now I think about it I did mean 155 degrees.

Interesting with the hop deal.

I can put more hops in then.

Ill try it out.

I appreciate youre help.