My first All Grain Brew w/ lots of pictures

[rcm_rx7]

Well I've only been brewing since February, but I am addicted now. I started with a basic kit for extract brews but quickly outgrew it. My first one sucked, and it was apparent my equipment was lacking.

So I ordered some copper pipe to build an immersion chiller and moved outdoors with a turkey fryer. Still I was not satisfied. So for my third brew I decided I would do it right.

I used a cooler I had sitting around and made a manifold out of CPVC. I built a grain mill out of a pasta maker and made a hopper to mount on it. I also added a weldless stainless ball valve onto my brew kettle. This hobby I told the SWMBO would not be too expensive continues to cost more...and I love it!

So I bought some cheapo scales for grain and one for hops. Here is my scale with a few pounds of two row pale.

This will be my future Kegerator. Right underneath my workbench in the garage. $20 on craigslist, should work for now, til I find a freezer of course.

3.5lbs of grain in my cardboard hopper on my Pasta Grain Mill.

The Crush...

Prepping the mash tun for the grist. (The thread wouldn't be complete without a picture of a temp gauge in my hand, it seems to be mandatory on HBT)

And another. Too bad you can't see the surprise on face after hitting my mash temp.

After 2qts of vorlauf the first running go into the kettle.

That's a CPVC valve on my mash tun with a pvc hose shootin' into my kettle. Sealed up internally with CPVC cement and externally with JB Weld.

The grain bed, boring...

And the sparge. Looks pretty clear in the pic doesn't it?

 

[rcm_rx7]

Apparently 18 pictures is too much in one post... so I continue

My patented two tier setup. My next project is a 2x4 brewstand. This sucked.

Weighing hops, orange peel, and coriander.

So I saw the hotbreak coming and turned to get the camera. By the time I get back there was plenty of overflow. Here's the aftermath, not bad really.

My 50ft 3/8in copper homemade immersion chiller. Hose clamped washing machine hoses on the end. Used a paint can to form it and it works great.

The cold break

Homemade venturi effect oxygenator (crimped copper tubing with holes in it) draining into the fermenter. Very effective.

I got a crapload of trub in this brew.

Third times a charm. The third "temp gauge" picture. I put the fermenter into a large tote filled with water in my storage shed in the basement of my house. It keeps the water at about 63 degrees during the summer. Perfect for fermenting (I think anyway). My camera went dead after taking so many stupid pictures so this was the last one. I tried to take a zoomed out view of my fermenting setup but no go.

So there it is. I said it would be a lot of pictures. I can't wait to try the brew. I'll put up pictures of my first pour!

edit: needed to resize a few pics for viewing pleasure

 

[bob1852]

congrats! good job

 

[Chips]

Looks great! The washing machine hose clamp onto the wort chiller is a new idea to me (and very smart). Just about to build one myself so i might try to copy you on that.

Just out of curiosity...do you have directions or info on the Homemade venturi effect oxygenator you built?

 

[Bobby_M]

One nit picky suggestion for you. Add more hose to the output of the MLT. You'll get faster draining and reduce hot side aeration (I know, it's up for debate but why risk it).

 

[MMW]

Just out of curiosity...do you have directions or info on the Homemade venturi effect oxygenator you built?

How about this?

 

[Runyanka]

Great job!
Another thing I would say is to siphon the cooled wort into the fermenter vs going through the bottom valve. That way your cold break that you pictured so nicely will say in the kettle. Won't hurt anything, just less trub when it comes time to bottle.

 

[rcm_rx7]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm brewing an Imperial IPA right now. So I will try a longer hose on my MLT and try to siphon as well.

 

[DubbelDach]

Add more hose to the output of the MLT.

Won't debate the HSA argument, but agree with this part completely for one reason in particular. A longer hose here will create a siphon. You'll be more likely to suck more runnings out of your tun. I can see your manifold in the first thermometer/hand pic (lol) and like mine, the wort's being sucked up from lower than the valve. Siphon action - it's the future!

 

[brewjunky]

One nit picky suggestion for you. Add more hose to the output of the MLT. You'll get faster draining and reduce hot side aeration (I know, it's up for debate but why risk it).

There are guys on here that swear thats a myth with this little batch size.

Personally I don:t know

 

[rcm_rx7]

Is the debate over the extra siphon effect or hot side aeration?

 

[z987k]

Is the debate over the extra siphon effect or hot side aeration?

The HSA. Personally I've never tasted it in a beer ever, so I can't really say.

 

[brewt00l]

Nice shots...I've got that same scale from Target and have found that it's pretty touchy with quantities under a pound if you don't pour the grain in the very center of the bowl.

 

[MikeG]

Very nice set of pictures. I've done two AG batches and I'll document my 3rd batch for posterity once I'm comfortable with the process -hot break not foaming over for example .

 

[Bobby_M]

Is the debate over the extra siphon effect or hot side aeration?

The debate is whether hot side aeration is a concern in small scale brewing. I don't worry about it but I also try to avoid splashing the crap out of my wort if I can.

 

[Homercidal]

Some British dude, a considered expert in the field, claims that even though HSA is a possibility to a certain degree in any brewing endeavour, it's vastly overrated by the majority, and should be considered nonexistent by any careful brewer. That means, simply be fairly gentle with the wort.

Other, more problematic concerns are oxidation and staling of beer after the fermentation. Making sure to properly bottle or keg and reduce chance of O2 getting in contact for any reasonable length of time.

Essentially, unless you are seriously splashing your hot wort around, the amount of HSA you would encounter would be unnoticeable.

EDIT: Heard on BN Podcast interview. Very technical and interesting discussion on the topic.

 

[Ryan_PA]

That may be one of the best formed homemade ICs I have ever seen. Good work by you.