I completed a couple of extract brews, and really wanted to take the plunge into all-grain brewing, BIAB-style. I bought a larger pot (8 gallons), got some 5-gallon paint strainer bags, and got to it!
Here's the recipe I went with for a tasty summer brew: Lemon-Lime Hefeweizen
I learned about using starters for liquid yeasts, so I got my starter going on Friday, using Wyeast German Wheat 3333. The recipe calls for White Labs yeast, but my LHBS doesn't carry it, so this is their equivalent.
Since this was my first AG brew, I also used just a hair more grain than the recipe calls for, assuming my efficiency would be a bit low. Here was my grain bill:
So anyway, on to the photos! Here's my journey through my first AG brew day:
Part 1: Prep
I set out all of my grains, got my pot ready, and set up my thermometer.
My new 8-gallon aluminum pot! (Yes, I boiled water in it to create a protective oxidized layer first.)
Grains:
Grain scooper for doughing in (It's the mixing bowl from a KitchenAid stand mixer.)
My awesome mash paddle...
My yeast starter:
Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos during the mash phase to show the grain in the bags. However, I will make the comment that my mesh bags were WAY too small. I actually used two separate bags to split up the grains. They were much too crowded in one bag. I'll replace them with something more-suited for the job... I did, however, hit my mash temp on the nose! I also had to add some of my sparge water, which I heated up to near-boiling, to keep the mash temp up. I did that twice, getting it to hold around 150°F - 152°F. I mashed for approximately 75 minutes to ensure full conversion. Maybe that was overkill..? I used my super-special KitchenAid mixer bowl to scoop the grains and add them slowly to the mash as I stirred with my awesome mash paddle. Having the handle on that bowl helped a lot! I stirred the mash roughly every 15-20 minutes, to ensure good contact with the grain and liquid. I'm sure this will be easier next time, when the bag I use isn't so small...
(Yes... BEEF!)
After mashing, I strained the wort to a bucket and then drained the two grain bags into the bucket. I used a small pot lid to squish more liquid out of the grains, which worked well. But it was hard on the hands and wrists, not to mention the lid got kinda warm! I checked the height of the liquid I managed to keep, and noticed I achieved approximately a 0.058 gallon-per-pound-of-grain water absorption rate. I'm really surprised! I was expecting more lost liquid. So, adding the sparge water seemed to put me a bit over my expected water volume, at this point. Then, I performed a dunk-sparge with the remaining sparge water, adding this to my brew kettle. Total wort volume after sparging/straining/squishing: 6.8 gallons. Yikes!
The wort:
Pre-boil OG was measured at 1.032 @ 122°F, which they don't really list on any table for correction. But, that should put the corrected SG somewhere near 1.042 or so. That puts my efficiency right around the 65% mark. Not bad, for the first try.
After boiling for just over an hour, I finished with just over 5 gallons of liquid. I have no idea where some of it went, as I was expecting more than that. But, perhaps it was because some of it went for SG readings and other things. Post-boil SG was 1.056 @ 74°F, meaning corrected SG was nearly 1.058. It's a bit higher than the recipe called for, but that's fine. More alcohol!
Hydrometer reading:
Lots of cold-break protein!
Finally in the carboy! Pitched at around 74°F.
So, just to summarize, here were my stats:
So, there you have it! My first AG brew! It's already bubbling away in the carboy. I made sure to put a blow-off tube on it, since I hear this particular brew can be a bit vigorous.
Any thoughts, comments, questions, or suggestions for the next go-around?
My first thought is that the grain wasn't milled finely enough for better efficiency. I just used the LHBS grain mill to crush my grains. I noticed the wheat wouldn't crush well, since it's smaller than normal malted barley. It could've also been that the grain wasn't loose enough to move around in the bags, so I lost efficiency there, too.
Here's the recipe I went with for a tasty summer brew: Lemon-Lime Hefeweizen
I learned about using starters for liquid yeasts, so I got my starter going on Friday, using Wyeast German Wheat 3333. The recipe calls for White Labs yeast, but my LHBS doesn't carry it, so this is their equivalent.
Since this was my first AG brew, I also used just a hair more grain than the recipe calls for, assuming my efficiency would be a bit low. Here was my grain bill:
- 6.5lbs 2-Row Pale
- 4.25lbs White Wheat
- 1.1lbs Vienna
So anyway, on to the photos! Here's my journey through my first AG brew day:
Part 1: Prep
I set out all of my grains, got my pot ready, and set up my thermometer.
My new 8-gallon aluminum pot! (Yes, I boiled water in it to create a protective oxidized layer first.)
Grains:
Grain scooper for doughing in (It's the mixing bowl from a KitchenAid stand mixer.)
My awesome mash paddle...
My yeast starter:
Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos during the mash phase to show the grain in the bags. However, I will make the comment that my mesh bags were WAY too small. I actually used two separate bags to split up the grains. They were much too crowded in one bag. I'll replace them with something more-suited for the job... I did, however, hit my mash temp on the nose! I also had to add some of my sparge water, which I heated up to near-boiling, to keep the mash temp up. I did that twice, getting it to hold around 150°F - 152°F. I mashed for approximately 75 minutes to ensure full conversion. Maybe that was overkill..? I used my super-special KitchenAid mixer bowl to scoop the grains and add them slowly to the mash as I stirred with my awesome mash paddle. Having the handle on that bowl helped a lot! I stirred the mash roughly every 15-20 minutes, to ensure good contact with the grain and liquid. I'm sure this will be easier next time, when the bag I use isn't so small...
(Yes... BEEF!)
After mashing, I strained the wort to a bucket and then drained the two grain bags into the bucket. I used a small pot lid to squish more liquid out of the grains, which worked well. But it was hard on the hands and wrists, not to mention the lid got kinda warm! I checked the height of the liquid I managed to keep, and noticed I achieved approximately a 0.058 gallon-per-pound-of-grain water absorption rate. I'm really surprised! I was expecting more lost liquid. So, adding the sparge water seemed to put me a bit over my expected water volume, at this point. Then, I performed a dunk-sparge with the remaining sparge water, adding this to my brew kettle. Total wort volume after sparging/straining/squishing: 6.8 gallons. Yikes!
The wort:
Pre-boil OG was measured at 1.032 @ 122°F, which they don't really list on any table for correction. But, that should put the corrected SG somewhere near 1.042 or so. That puts my efficiency right around the 65% mark. Not bad, for the first try.
After boiling for just over an hour, I finished with just over 5 gallons of liquid. I have no idea where some of it went, as I was expecting more than that. But, perhaps it was because some of it went for SG readings and other things. Post-boil SG was 1.056 @ 74°F, meaning corrected SG was nearly 1.058. It's a bit higher than the recipe called for, but that's fine. More alcohol!
Hydrometer reading:
Lots of cold-break protein!
Finally in the carboy! Pitched at around 74°F.
So, just to summarize, here were my stats:
- Total grain: 12lbs
- Mash temp: 158°F
- Mash time: 75 minutes
- Strike volume: 4.5 gallons
- Strike temp: 170°F
- Grist ratio: ~1.5 qt/lb
- Sparge volume: 3 gallons
- Sparge temp: 170°F
- Sparge time: 12-13 minutes
- Pre-boil SG: 1.032 @ 122°F (Corrected: 1.042 @ 60°F)
- Post-boil SG: 1.056 @ 74°F (Corrected: 1.058 @ 60°F)
- FG: 1.007 (Expected FG: 1.016)
So, there you have it! My first AG brew! It's already bubbling away in the carboy. I made sure to put a blow-off tube on it, since I hear this particular brew can be a bit vigorous.
Any thoughts, comments, questions, or suggestions for the next go-around?
My first thought is that the grain wasn't milled finely enough for better efficiency. I just used the LHBS grain mill to crush my grains. I noticed the wheat wouldn't crush well, since it's smaller than normal malted barley. It could've also been that the grain wasn't loose enough to move around in the bags, so I lost efficiency there, too.
