All Grain

Would it be unreasonable to attempt a all grain batch for my 2ed batch. The first batch was an extract. After reading How to Brew, time spent on this forum and harassing the guys a Austin Homebrew Supply I thing I can. What do you think? Should I reconsider. What would be a good beer to start with?

I did it.. you can do it too!!! I did Edwort's Haus Pale Ale; you can do whatever you want though.

Most of the all grain recipes are the same process; but, I would probably advise something under an OG of 1.060 because over that efficiency has a tendency to suffer a touch.

Sure, if you understand the process, you can do it.

I'd pick a favorite style- my first AG was an IPA. The only recipes I'd stay away from the first time and step mashes or decoctions, or other more difficult processes. Otherwise, no matter the recipe, the process is the same, so make whatever you'd love to drink!

I did All Grain for my first (on my own) Brew. I brewed 15 years ago with my dad, my dad doing most of the work. I am a total novice to all of this but what I would suggest:

Make a step by step direction sheet. With times and specifics for each step. Write it out so you are familiar with the process, and less likely to skip something.

Again, from a total novice... the process is pretty basic. Take grain. Make a "Tea" with it. Boil, add hopps, cool, add yeast. Let it sit. Hell if I can do it... anybody can.

I jumped in knowing 1/78th of what I needed to know (I have never been accused of being too patient or too bright). I made tons of mistakes, but learned from them. Second brew's going into the bottles this weekend. So far, its great tasting too.

Have fun go for it. If you screw up, ask questions, do it better the second time. At least know I probably made more mistakes than you will!

Jason

After restarting brewing after many years I very quickly jumped to all grain. It was the perrenial favorite Edworts Bee Cave Brewery House Pale Ale. It's an uncomplicated, yet very satisfying brew. If you make errors it's easy to troubleshoot due to the simple ingredient bill.

You can do it!

I did about 3 Extract batches and then brewed Ed's Haus Pale Ale for my first AG. I say go for it if you understand the steps and the process. One thing that i would recommend is to get some brewing software. I have BeerSmith and i find it helps for "on-the-fly" adjustments (i.e. raising the heat in your mash tun using x amount of water at y degrees, sparging with more water to reach your pre-boil volume, etc.)

Make sure you take TONS of notes to see what you can do better next time.

Check out the DeathBrewer all-grain sticky. You can get an all grain batch going using that method and very little extra equipment with very little effort. I personally converted my extract recipes to all grain at first so I could compare results but since you don't have much under your belt, I'd second Edwort's Haus Pale Ale. It's an easy recipe to get right and minor problems won't destroy your batch.

A few other suggestions:
-Water profile can make or break all-grain. Ask brewers in your area if you can use your tap water unmodified or if you need to add anything to get it to turn out right.
-I had nothing but bad experiences in my first few tries at all-grain. If it doesn't turn out for you, get a few more extract successes under your belt and then try again. You'll burn out fast if you get multiple bad batches in a row.
-Plan on having a scratch notebook and a final notebook. Write down EVERYTHING in the scratch book and collect that info into a usable notes collection in the final.
-Make sure you can trust your thermometer. You need to be accurate to within 3F or so.
-I use the Green Bay Rackers calculations page for strike temps. It's been very accurate for me.

If you know that All Grain is where you want to end up, then the sooner you start with that system the better. While there may be some value in learning each system, I think you might as well make the jump to All Grain. I have equipment that I purchased that I've abandoned as I went up the learning curve.

Learning is doing, doing is learning. Good Luck.

I agree with WenValley, no better way to learn than to do it. With all the info here and a good attitude you can definitely be successful doing all grain early on. First few batches will be a big learning curve to get the process down but should be a blast.

Zen_Brew said:

After restarting brewing after many years I very quickly jumped to all grain. It was the perrenial favorite Edworts Bee Cave Brewery House Pale Ale. It's an uncomplicated, yet very satisfying brew. If you make errors it's easy to troubleshoot due to the simple ingredient bill.

You can do it!

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Same here. I had a period of 5 or so years where I had quit extract brewing and picked it up again. Went all grain in short order and I doubt I'll ever look back.

I also agree with going with a simple beer for the first couple of times. I went off the reservation a few times with my own recipies with less than satisfactory results. Better than Bud? Yes... What I was aiming for... no.

Second batch is waaaaaaaay too early. Smart kids go AG on their third.

Seriously though, if you want to do it, do it. It's not as hard as it looks.

I second what everybody else has said.
Just check that you have the right equipment first, and make sure it all works.
There's nothing worse than mashing in an MLT that leaks, trying to boil 7g wort in a 5g kettle on a stove that can't bring more than 3g to a boil, using an inaccurate thermometer to measure your mash temperature, or not being able to cool your wort after boiling.
And plan for your first brew taking up to about 8 hours from start to finish. It probably won't take that long, but it's better to have some spare time at the end, rather than to run out of time.

Good luck, and keep us informed.

-a.

If you know the (easy) process go for it. I, along with a number of others, started out doing all grain. I didn't really want to do extract or partial - if I'm going to make beer I wanted to do it from scratch. I just read up on it and jumped in. Went great except I accidentally dumped the whole pound of roasted barley in instead of 3/4. Turned out fine, just a little more roasty. My 2nd AG batch (my first recipe, Foreign Extra Stout) got a 43 by a BJCP judge. Granted BeerSmith has helped me immensely. If you are comfortable with the process, go for it. It's really simple. I don't see why people make such a big deal about it. It's hard to totally screw it up. Missing your mash temp by a few degrees, missing your OG, etc, etc - you'll still make decent beer, assuming the recipe is decent.

Thanks to all for the encouragement. I only have a couple things to add to my equipment and I will be ready to go. In fact, I think I may take a drive to Austin Homebrew Supply tomorrow and do some shopping. I have used the DIY section of this forum to build 2 keggles, the 10 gallon cooler mash tun, a 1/2"x 50' wart chiller and a stir plate over the last 3 weeks. This is a GREAT place for info. and cool folks who supply it. Thanks Again and Cheers!!!

I started with AG, have never touched extract, I dont know if I would know what to do with it.

Make sure you have all of your equipment.
Make sure you have a plan (written out works well)
Do all of the prep work the day prior...
Relax, it isnt rocket science, it is way over hyped.

It is grain, water, temp, time... that is it.

Looks like you have your answer. Good luck to you.

The Pol said:

Relax, it isnt rocket science, it is way over hyped.

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I agree that the apparent difficulties are over hyped, but the results can't be hyped enough. :rockin:

-a.