I've been a lurker for a while around here. As with a lot of us I brewed extract initially (after one or two Mr beer batches) and enjoyed it quite a bit. As part of a basement remodel I decided to incorporate some dedicated brewing space. As such, I sold off all of my brewing gear last spring as I started piecing together a Kal clone. My bar/basement build took a lot longer than expected but I finally got to the point where I could brew some AG beer yesterday.
First all-grain brew day under my belt. I give it a B+.
First and foremost, all grain brewing sounds a lot more complicated than it really is once you get started. Perhaps I'm more of a visual/hands-on learner than some. I really felt like "mashing in" and "sparging" were going to be pretty complex "next-level brewing ninja" type procedures after reading about them 1000 times. Well they really aren't that tricky once you get your hands on the gear. Yeah, there are some variables. Temp, volume and rate are all important but it's really not that bad. At least not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Things I learned on my first all-grain (electric) brew day:
1.) AG takes a lot longer than extract brewing (perhaps this goes without saying?). I'm sure it'll get faster but the first time through was an all day affair. Easily double the length of an extract brew day.
2.) High dollar pumps might have been worth the investment. Getting my low-dollar chuggers to prime can be rather frustrating. Once you learn how to hold the hoses they will ultimately prime so long as you hold your breath and say a prayer while tapping one foot.
3.) If you're using quick disconnects like Kal has on his system do yourself a favor and pick up some of those high temp gloves you see him wearing in his pictures/videos. There is a reason he has those on. A good reason.
4.) Not all fittings are created equal. I struggled with leaks for quite some time leading up to brew day. Even yesterday, five minutes before my boil was to finish I discovered yet another questionable fitting on my counterflow chiller. Just when you think you've checked every fitting, check them one more time. And have spares. And have plenty of Teflon tape.
5.) If you're in denial about ventilation, don't be. I don't see how anyone could brew in a basement without a strong blower/vent. I collected quite a bit of water in my vent hose in a 60 minute boil (I'm doing the salad bowl vent, 8" in-line). It would have been raining in my basement without it.
6.) Cleanup was not as bad as I thought it would be. The big kettles clean up quite nicely if you have a sink and hot water available. Light scrubbing is all it took for me.
7.) Good, clean 5 gallon buckets are very useful throughout the brew day. Have 3 or 4 ready and waiting.
8.) I'm not sure it's worth worrying too much about water chemistry for your first batch or two of AG. To me it seemed like treating the water, measuring PH, etc and so on might have been a bit too much for AG batch #1. I'm not arguing that it's not important, however.
Overall I found the electric brewery to work very, very well. Aside from a few spills and leaks everything went pretty smoothly. Sadly, my brew day may have taken a wrong turn at the end. I'm 62.8% sure I never sanitized my counterflow chiller after cleaning it with PBW the day before. I did run some boiling wort through before I turned on the cooling water but I have a feeling there may have still been some PBW residue in there. It's possible my first AG beer (American Amber) will be a bust. But it was low dollar (five gallon batch) so it was worth the investment just to get a feel for the system. Fermentation started very quickly so who knows, maybe it'll turn out drinkable.
I look forward to the second brew day. I think it'll go much more smoothly and more quickly. I'll be sure to get a more regimented sanitization plan in place before I go again. I will also have a Ward Lab water analysis by then and I will take a shot at treating my water. All in all, I'm glad I made the switch to AG and look forward to success in the coming months/years.
And thanks to everyone on this forum that posts regularly! This is a great place to learn. And thanks for helping me spend way, way too much money on this hobby in the last two years...
First all-grain brew day under my belt. I give it a B+.
First and foremost, all grain brewing sounds a lot more complicated than it really is once you get started. Perhaps I'm more of a visual/hands-on learner than some. I really felt like "mashing in" and "sparging" were going to be pretty complex "next-level brewing ninja" type procedures after reading about them 1000 times. Well they really aren't that tricky once you get your hands on the gear. Yeah, there are some variables. Temp, volume and rate are all important but it's really not that bad. At least not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Things I learned on my first all-grain (electric) brew day:
1.) AG takes a lot longer than extract brewing (perhaps this goes without saying?). I'm sure it'll get faster but the first time through was an all day affair. Easily double the length of an extract brew day.
2.) High dollar pumps might have been worth the investment. Getting my low-dollar chuggers to prime can be rather frustrating. Once you learn how to hold the hoses they will ultimately prime so long as you hold your breath and say a prayer while tapping one foot.
3.) If you're using quick disconnects like Kal has on his system do yourself a favor and pick up some of those high temp gloves you see him wearing in his pictures/videos. There is a reason he has those on. A good reason.
4.) Not all fittings are created equal. I struggled with leaks for quite some time leading up to brew day. Even yesterday, five minutes before my boil was to finish I discovered yet another questionable fitting on my counterflow chiller. Just when you think you've checked every fitting, check them one more time. And have spares. And have plenty of Teflon tape.
5.) If you're in denial about ventilation, don't be. I don't see how anyone could brew in a basement without a strong blower/vent. I collected quite a bit of water in my vent hose in a 60 minute boil (I'm doing the salad bowl vent, 8" in-line). It would have been raining in my basement without it.
6.) Cleanup was not as bad as I thought it would be. The big kettles clean up quite nicely if you have a sink and hot water available. Light scrubbing is all it took for me.
7.) Good, clean 5 gallon buckets are very useful throughout the brew day. Have 3 or 4 ready and waiting.
8.) I'm not sure it's worth worrying too much about water chemistry for your first batch or two of AG. To me it seemed like treating the water, measuring PH, etc and so on might have been a bit too much for AG batch #1. I'm not arguing that it's not important, however.
Overall I found the electric brewery to work very, very well. Aside from a few spills and leaks everything went pretty smoothly. Sadly, my brew day may have taken a wrong turn at the end. I'm 62.8% sure I never sanitized my counterflow chiller after cleaning it with PBW the day before. I did run some boiling wort through before I turned on the cooling water but I have a feeling there may have still been some PBW residue in there. It's possible my first AG beer (American Amber) will be a bust. But it was low dollar (five gallon batch) so it was worth the investment just to get a feel for the system. Fermentation started very quickly so who knows, maybe it'll turn out drinkable.
I look forward to the second brew day. I think it'll go much more smoothly and more quickly. I'll be sure to get a more regimented sanitization plan in place before I go again. I will also have a Ward Lab water analysis by then and I will take a shot at treating my water. All in all, I'm glad I made the switch to AG and look forward to success in the coming months/years.
And thanks to everyone on this forum that posts regularly! This is a great place to learn. And thanks for helping me spend way, way too much money on this hobby in the last two years...
