1. Add your strike water to your tun 10 degrees over your strike temp, let it sit--lid on for ~ 5 mins, then stir till it drops to your strike temp.
THEN: Add the grain to the water. Preheats the cooler and you hit your #s better.I usually add at 185F.
2. Mark a stick that tells you how much is in your kettle--gallon increments. After you run off your 1st runnings, see how much you collected. Then you know how much sparge water you need to add.
3. Stir, stir, stir--at dough in and every 15 mins. Heat rises, so your mash may be cool in the bottom and too hot at the top. Also helps your efficiency.
4. Have some boiling water ready at dough in. After you stir for ~ 5 mins, close the lid on the tun, let it sit for 5 more mins, stir and check the temp. If it's low you can add a little boiling water to raise the temp. Just let it sit before you try to cool or raise the temp.
5. Don't drink. Too much going on. Wait till the yeast is pitched.
6. Put your hop/kettle additions in ziplock snack bags with the addition times sharpied on them. Throw the irish moss in the bag with the 15min hop addition.
7. Don't get frustrated. Post a help thread on here if you have problems.
Good luck and have fun!
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