Need suggestions for first AG Brew!

[chaserchap]

So I'm building my mash tun tomorrow...my brew kettle is done, and I'm raring to go with an AG batch as soon as I can get it cleared by the swmbo! That being said, I want to do a few SMaSH's before I go into anything crazy to get a good feel for the grains and hops that I'll be using. Any suggestions with where I should start?

I still need to do some more reading on the mash steps and such, so something that was not too mash intensive would be good...

I look forward to your suggestions!

 

[RM-MN]

I'd suggest you start with something other than a SMASH. Something that can hide a minor error because you are sure to make at least one. There is a wonderful database of recipes listed at the top of the page in a reddish-brown banner where it says recipes. Choose a recipe that has some crystal or caramel malt, maybe some chocolate malt or roasted barley if you like darker beers. These flavors will make a mediocre SMASH into an eye popping beer.

 

[chaserchap]

I'm definitely open to recipes other than SMaSH, the more forgiving the better haha...

 

[two_one_seven]

Stout/something dark, it's really cool to see a dark wort born from grains. They never look dark enough to make it.

 

[pm5k00]

My first ever batch was an AG Arrogant Bastard Clone, but with a 50/50 split of Nugget/Columbus since LHBS was out of Chinook. Came out great, soooo American Brown gets my vote.

 

[Kraftwerk]

I'd say stick to smash. My first AG was just 2 row and citra and it was freaking awesome. Start with a low-ish gravity (1.055 or so) and dry hop that sucker. If you can't mash a bunch of 2 row you're better off working on that than trying to cover up errors with other ingredients.

 

[ghank15]

I've done only 2 AG batches (+1 Partial Mash). I have learned that the most important thing is to remember everything you learned doing extract batches. If you do that, get a good crush, and come relatively close to your mash temps, you'll be fine. Also, make sure you take a preboil gravity reading, and that you know how to do the math in order to adjust (if necessary).

I am planning on doing some SMaSH batches. I really want to get a feel for the taste of the grains. That said, somebody above stated that more specialty grains will hide any imperfections. This is true, at least for your first few batches. But if you can brew a SMaSH and have it taste great, you are one your way to being a great AG brewer.

Other than that, all your doing it an hour long steep and a sparge, so don't feel overwhelmed. Have fun, stick to your procedures, and you can adjust from there if need be.

Also, your pic is amazing. Dinosaurs was one of my favorite shows growing up.

 

[Gab1788]

When I started all grain I tried to keep it simple. At first I wanted to make sure I had my mash temps down. Then when I had that I wanted to be able to differentiate between different malts and hops and see what sort of difference they made to the taste of the beer. To do this I did mostly smash with varying hop additions, at different times. This helped me a whole lot to build up a good knowledge of my rig and also of the flavour of dif malt hops. So I reckon get your process down with some smash then sort it from there.

 

[whitehause]

If you like Blue moon, of Franziskaner type brews, a Hefe is always a good, easy, quick grain to glass brew. It lets you use liquid yeast (WPL300 or 380 for me) with no real need for a starter if you don't have the gear for it.(I know...flame on for no starter).
It's also an easy intro to mash temp control. Most will do a rest at 111 deg for 15 mins then bump it up to 150. It's supposed to be cloudy, so you don't need to get concerned about clearing it and no secondary is needed.

 

[trmarkel]

My first AG was a magic hat clone. Turned out great, still my favorite beer to date even though I have several more under my belt. Trick is finding something you love and trying to emulate it. My 2nd favorite is my hefe that I used temp control to get the banana aroma. It was awesome!

 

[gypsyhead]

Make something your lady likes so that she gets instant gratification from your new equipment, and hence, allows you to keep upgrading your equipment.

 

[dchmela]

Edwort's Haus Pale Ale is a fairly easy and tasty brew to start with

 

[oldskooldawgz]

Edwort's Haus Pale Ale is a fairly easy and tasty brew to start with

plus one for this. I started out with edwort's house pale ale early thi month as my first brew and it was an all grain. Still in the primary i've read even if you screw your temp up it still tastes good.