I've made 3 batches so far from extracts and all of them turned out great. I'm drinking a beer from the initial kit that came from the shop, I just bottled an Amber ale, and I'm bottling a Blonde ale tomorrow. I don't want to complicate things too much, but it seems that there are lots more recipes if I work with grains as opposed to extracts. I just have no idea where to start or what to do, except for the sticky threads and searches I've done on this forum. I'm making a trip up to EJ Wren(local beer shop in liverpool NY) tomorrow afternoon, and the owner is great. But what would some basic thoughts be on items I will need? A bag for steeping? It should be there, right? Can someone steer me towards a recipe with a high chance of success for my first step into the next level? It's just basically steeping the grains for the specific amount of time, taking them out---I see that some recipes call for adding sugar, I've only had to do that while bottling so far. I have so many questions...
All grain questions, ready for the next step
- Thread starter hillman1
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FlyGuy
Well-Known Member
Hillman, there are a few steps you can take to move from extract to all grain brews. The first is to incorporate steeped grains in your extract brews. This can make a world of difference in the range of flavours, colours, and possibilities in your recipes. All you should need is a big pot (a 1 - 2 gal kitchen pot should do) and a nylon bag (a grain bag from your LHBS, or even a nylon paint strainer bag from Lowes will do). Steeping grains are specialty grains that have little to no starch in them: things like crystal/caramel malt, chocolate malt, black patent, or roasted barley. These grains can simply be steeped in hot (~150 degree) water to release the goodness.
You can also do partial mash brewing, which is a fancy steep where you use grains with starch and enzymes in them, typically a base malt (e.g., American 2-row, British pale malt, Munich malt, Vienna malt, etc.), and perhaps some specialty grains like the ones used for steeping. In this process, one adds hot water to the crushed grains to hit a particular temperature (generally between 148 and 156 degrees), at which enzymes inside the grain will convert the starches to sugars. Once this is done, you can drain the liquid and add it to your extract brew for an even broader array of flavour and possibility. To do this, you need a thermometer (and perhaps a bigger pot).
For complete control, all grain brewing (no extract) follows the same process. But to have complete control over the temperature of the mashed grains, you probably want to have a cooler outfitted with a lautering device (e.g., a stainless steel braid, manifold, or false bottom) to help separate the liquid from the grains. You might also need a much bigger pot (7 gal minimum for 5 gal batches of beer).
Anyways, those are the options in a nutshell. There are lots of great recipes out there if you look for those terms "extract with steeped grains", "partial mash" and "all grain".
Don't hesitate to ask more questions. There is a LOT of expertise floating around here.
Cheers
You can also do partial mash brewing, which is a fancy steep where you use grains with starch and enzymes in them, typically a base malt (e.g., American 2-row, British pale malt, Munich malt, Vienna malt, etc.), and perhaps some specialty grains like the ones used for steeping. In this process, one adds hot water to the crushed grains to hit a particular temperature (generally between 148 and 156 degrees), at which enzymes inside the grain will convert the starches to sugars. Once this is done, you can drain the liquid and add it to your extract brew for an even broader array of flavour and possibility. To do this, you need a thermometer (and perhaps a bigger pot).
For complete control, all grain brewing (no extract) follows the same process. But to have complete control over the temperature of the mashed grains, you probably want to have a cooler outfitted with a lautering device (e.g., a stainless steel braid, manifold, or false bottom) to help separate the liquid from the grains. You might also need a much bigger pot (7 gal minimum for 5 gal batches of beer).
Anyways, those are the options in a nutshell. There are lots of great recipes out there if you look for those terms "extract with steeped grains", "partial mash" and "all grain".
Don't hesitate to ask more questions. There is a LOT of expertise floating around here.
Cheers
Noleafclover
Well-Known Member
Here is what I did:
I bought this:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4098
For my mash tun. It's more expensive than it is to make it yourself, but I was chicken and didn't want to make it myself. If your even remotely good with DIY projects, look at what I linked and find the parts to make it yourself. The plug in the cooler comes out easy.
From there you need a kettle. Your extract one won't do if it's less than 6 gallons. My first kettle that I used for AG was 7 gallons. I extracted 6 gallons of wort from my mash and did the prescribed boil on a little bit lower setting so that it wouldn't boil away as much. Not ideal, but it made great beer.
If you have some $$ available to you, get a kettle that is about 15-20 gallons. A converted sankey keg works and is cheap. I had more money than brains and bought a http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/brewing-equipment/brew-kettles/megapots/20-gallon-megapot.html, but if I had thoroughly researched it I would have just found a sankey keg and made a keggle (kettle and keg combined, get it!?) This brew kettle is nice but I keep thinking of the extra 150$ I spent on it.. And so does the wife... another story entirely.
In any case, you can use your old extract kettle to make your sparge water. When you type you grains and recipe into a brewing program for all-grain brewing it tells you how much sparge water you will need. If you have a good burner (I now use this: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewi...ow-profile-banjo-burner-burner-and-stand.html because it brings my wort to boil - all of it - in like 8 minutes... plus it looks like a rocket ship taking off. A few homebrews plus that = brewing fun) it will boil off at the rate prescribed. My first burner was a Menards 25$ special, which was fine for the small boil kettle I mentioned earlier, but sucks if you increase your volume.
In any case, my role in my local homebrew club at the moment is sort of facilitating those that want to move to all-grain brewing, so all of this crap is really fresh on my mind. If you want answers to additional questions about the move to AG send me a PM. I'd love to help ya as a fellow supporter of HBT.
- Noleaf
I bought this:
http://www.midwestsupplies.com/products/ProdByID.aspx?ProdID=4098
For my mash tun. It's more expensive than it is to make it yourself, but I was chicken and didn't want to make it myself. If your even remotely good with DIY projects, look at what I linked and find the parts to make it yourself. The plug in the cooler comes out easy.
From there you need a kettle. Your extract one won't do if it's less than 6 gallons. My first kettle that I used for AG was 7 gallons. I extracted 6 gallons of wort from my mash and did the prescribed boil on a little bit lower setting so that it wouldn't boil away as much. Not ideal, but it made great beer.
If you have some $$ available to you, get a kettle that is about 15-20 gallons. A converted sankey keg works and is cheap. I had more money than brains and bought a http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewing/brewing-equipment/brew-kettles/megapots/20-gallon-megapot.html, but if I had thoroughly researched it I would have just found a sankey keg and made a keggle (kettle and keg combined, get it!?) This brew kettle is nice but I keep thinking of the extra 150$ I spent on it.. And so does the wife... another story entirely.
In any case, you can use your old extract kettle to make your sparge water. When you type you grains and recipe into a brewing program for all-grain brewing it tells you how much sparge water you will need. If you have a good burner (I now use this: http://www.northernbrewer.com/brewi...ow-profile-banjo-burner-burner-and-stand.html because it brings my wort to boil - all of it - in like 8 minutes... plus it looks like a rocket ship taking off. A few homebrews plus that = brewing fun) it will boil off at the rate prescribed. My first burner was a Menards 25$ special, which was fine for the small boil kettle I mentioned earlier, but sucks if you increase your volume.
In any case, my role in my local homebrew club at the moment is sort of facilitating those that want to move to all-grain brewing, so all of this crap is really fresh on my mind. If you want answers to additional questions about the move to AG send me a PM. I'd love to help ya as a fellow supporter of HBT.
- Noleaf
Those replies are exactly why I became a member of this forum. I'm going to attempt a partial mash, as suggested by flyguy. Those mash tun links are pretty cool. On a side note to flyguy--I looked at your pics, I see you are also a fisherman--I live on the Oswego river, a tributary of Lake Ontario. Salmon and Steelhead season is ramping up right now, and a short drive gets me to the Salmon river in Pulaski NY.
hexmonkey
Well-Known Member
Just be careful with your terminology because actually, steeping is not mashing, and vice versa. Strictly speaking, steeping is what you do to draw out flavor, color, and other soluble things. If you want to actually convert starch to sugar, that's mashing. It mostly matters when you're deciding what grains you're using - some can be just steeped, but others need to be converted or it won't turn out right.
As you learn the process better, you'll pick up the terminology. Contrary to how it may seem at first, it's not as complicated as it seems. (what exactly is going on in there IS pretty complicated, but the part you're actually doing isn't)
justflow1983
Well-Known Member
Are these from kits or extracts? I would highly suggest reading How to Brew http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html in order to learn more about the distinctions between the various levels of brewing. As others touched on above, there are many levels in between making kit beers and going all-grain, with the next step probably being extract based recipes. The differences might be too much for a forum post, so definitely read through Palmer's online book.
triggerman72
Member
I have not yet gone to AG, but when I do, I will be:
1. Purchasing my grains in 55lb sacks. I figure it will suck at first but I will get better. Why not take advantage of cost savings via bulk purchase? You can get 55lb sacks from http://www.northcountrymalt.com for roughly $40. (They may be located near you?) That is less than $1/lb which is better than most HBS.
2. Using a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) recipe. This keeps things less complicated and keeps costs down. The Single Malt will be the grain from point #1.
3. Following these instructions: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-pics-90132/ except I will be using 2 5 gallon pots. That doesn't change much, except when it comes to the normal boiling step. That's when I will be boiling 2 2.5 gallon amounts instead of 1 5 gallon. My electric stove will be able to boil 2.5 gallons no problem.
The last "problem" is bottling. Since I'm not sure how things will turn out, it would actually be much better to have a keg which I can more easily fill (and tip over if its crap).
1. Purchasing my grains in 55lb sacks. I figure it will suck at first but I will get better. Why not take advantage of cost savings via bulk purchase? You can get 55lb sacks from http://www.northcountrymalt.com for roughly $40. (They may be located near you?) That is less than $1/lb which is better than most HBS.
2. Using a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) recipe. This keeps things less complicated and keeps costs down. The Single Malt will be the grain from point #1.
3. Following these instructions: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-pics-90132/ except I will be using 2 5 gallon pots. That doesn't change much, except when it comes to the normal boiling step. That's when I will be boiling 2 2.5 gallon amounts instead of 1 5 gallon. My electric stove will be able to boil 2.5 gallons no problem.
The last "problem" is bottling. Since I'm not sure how things will turn out, it would actually be much better to have a keg which I can more easily fill (and tip over if its crap).
FlyGuy
Well-Known Member
Sounds good man -- a few partial mash brews will get you well on your way to all grain batches.
So the steelhead and salmon are beginning to run? I am jealous. I have to drive 8 hours and across the Rockies to get to good salmon fishing here. Hoping to get out in a week or so for cohos and chums, though. I did some fishing for Pinks about a month ago on Vancouver Island that was just silly (my first time doing it and it was SOOOO much fun!).
Best of lucK!
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