New to AG - Questions

[Will_the-new-brewer]

I found a recipe on BeerSmith that I want to try; however, I am not only new to AG, but have only done 2 batches of LME. The information I have from BeerSmith doesn't tell me how much water I need for mash tun (research tells me 1.3quarts/lb of grain), the temperature of that water (research gives me a range), nor how long to let it set (research tells me 1 hr). How do I figure those things out?

Additionally, I have 3 different grains---do I put them all together in one mash tun?

When do I add sugar?

I think the only part I understand is the hop boil times. Even the yeast has a 64-80F temp range--wondering what the best is for that.

Anyone care to share some thoughts? Everything I see on BeerSmith is below:

12 lbs 10.83 oz Pale Malt (2 Row) Bel (3.0 SRM) Grain
1 lbs 0.93 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain
1 lbs 0.93 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain
4 lbs 3.73 oz Candi Sugar, Clear (0.5 SRM) Sugar
1.55 oz Styrian Goldings [6.0%] - Boil 60 min Hops
1.02 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.0%] - Boil 5 min Hops
1.02 oz Styrian Goldings [6.0%] - Boil 5 min Hops
1 pkgs Belgian Strong Ale (Wyeast Labs #1388) Yeast

Equipment: Pot and Cooler (10 Gal/37.8 L) - All Grain
Style: Belgian Golden Strong Ale (18D)
Style Guide: BJCP 2008
Batch Size: 5.28 gal
Boil Size: 7.66 gal
Color: 7.9 SRM
Bitterness: 25.3 IBUs
Boil Time: 60 min
Est OG: 1.103 (24.4° P)
Est FG: 1.013 SG (3.2° P)
Mash Profile: Single Infusion, Full Body
Fermentation: Ale, Two Stage
ABV: 12.1% Taste Rating: 30.0

 

[PADave]

First step, read "How To Brew" by Palmer. In the mean time brew a couple more extract brews to get that process down. Also, do yourself a favor and pick an easier brew for your first AG. A 12.1% beer isn't a good choice.

 

[Sadu]

Yup. Belgian strong ales are a fair challenge for an experienced all-grain brewer. This is a terrible choice for your first all-grain brew.

If you really want something Belgian, you could try a 6% Belgian blond ale, but a far better choice would be an American blonde ale, pale ale, stout, bitter. Good solid beginner brews that will forgive a few mistakes here and there.

 

[waldoar15]

I agree with the others. Read up a bit, then pick a simple recipe as your first.

 

[Rev2010]

I agree with the others, try something a little simpler for your very first AG. But to answer your questions - 1. Yes. All the grains are mashed together in the same mash tun. 2. You water to grain ratio is fine. 3. The temperature of the mash water is a calculation. you determine what temperature you want to mash at, then you take the current temperature of the grains and use a calculator to determine to what temperature you need to heat your strike water to so that when the water and grains mix the temp equates to your desired mash temp. 4 - Add the sugar to the boil.


Rev.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

I'm in agreement with the posts above, but I'll also offer some insight here.

For most all grain batches, you add all the grain in the mash tun together. A notable exception is that some people wait to add dark grains in a stout or porter or even do a cold steep on them separately. This reportedly can yield a smoother milder roast flavor.

As far as the mash process, water volumes and temps, let's set up some vocabulary.

Strike temp: this is the temperature of the water that you mix with the grains to mash. Typically it's higher than the desired mash (or infusion) temp because the cooler grains will cause the overall temperature to drop.

Strike volume: this is the volume of water that you mix with the grains to mash.

Are you planning to do a batch sparge, fly sparge, no sparge? BIAB? Multi vessel? The answers to these questions are needed to provide you the correct answers. I'll explain my process as an example.

I mash in a cooler and do a single batch sparge. I use a water calculator at brew365.com to figure out my volumes and temps. You imput the grain bill size and temperature and specs on your system (expected water absorption by the grain, amount left behind in the mash tun, amount left behind in the kettle, boil off rate, infusion temp and desired volume into the fermenter). You can probably start with the default values there, keep notes on volumes from each step and adjust for future batches.

For a batch sparge, equal first runnings (the amount you drain from the initial infusion) and second runnings (what you get from the batch sparge when you drain). To this end, I input my parameters then adjust the mash thickness (expressed in qts/lb) until the sparge volume is about half the pre-boil volume. This works because the grain absorption happens with the intial strike addition, so the second runnings volume is usually about the same as the sparge volume in (in other words, there's little/no additional absorbtion of the sparge water).

I've had good luck with this tool. If you're using brewsmith, you'll want the equipment profile and batch size in BS to match what you enter into brew365 so that your recipe comes out as expected. BS has this same stuff built in, but I found it confusing. I use Brewer's Friend, which will also do these calcs, but I started with brew365 and it it works so well I have never switched.

As others said, start with an easy beer like a pale ale, relax and don't get too worked up. Make a checklist to help ensure you don't forget any steps.

 

[kevin58]

It's been suggested to read How to Brew by John Palmer. For a beginner I would caution about reading that first. It is absolutely a book you need in your library but not as a first read. Start with Charlie Papazian's Complete Joy of Homebrewing. It's an easier read and yes it is more basic in it's principals than Palmer's book but that's what you want right now... to build a good, solid foundation in basics. After you build that foundation then read Palmer's book. He gets a lot more technical which is a good next step for you build upon. But the higher technical aspect is exactly why I caution against reading it first. Too many details... Too many ways to miss those details leading you to think you've ruined your beer. And yes, start with a much simpler recipe for your first AG. A good SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) beer is an excellent place to begin.

 

[Will_the-new-brewer]

First, thank you all for the feedback. I knew AG was going to be an undertaking for me; however, I will go with something easier for my first AG (I was seeing it as the same steps regardless of the beer). Additionally, I did read Palmer's book through the AG portion, but I agree with Kevin58--it is extremely technical. I ended up watching some of his videos while reading to put it all together.

I'm in agreement with the posts above, but I'll also offer some insight here.

Are you planning to do a batch sparge, fly sparge, no sparge? BIAB? Multi vessel? The answers to these questions are needed to provide you the correct answers. I'll explain my process as an example.

I've had good luck with this tool. If you're using brewsmith, you'll want the equipment profile and batch size in BS to match what you enter into brew365 so that your recipe comes out as expected. BS has this same stuff built in, but I found it confusing. I use Brewer's Friend, which will also do these calcs, but I started with brew365 and it it works so well I have never switched.

As others said, start with an easy beer like a pale ale, relax and don't get too worked up. Make a checklist to help ensure you don't forget any steps.

I have a single cooler as mash tun without a sparge container; my plan was to batch sparge--although when watching Palmer's video, he only drained partial amounts at a time (quart or liter pitcher) rather than the full batch (this was my plan as well).

Thank you for the info about brew365, I will take a look as see what it comes up with.