First time brewer

It's my first time brewing and i'm starting with an all grain (I know people are telling me I'm crazy). I think I have it pretty much figured out other than one part.... I'm looking at recipe ie that has 13lb of 2row and appx 2.5 lbs of other grains. It say to add the crushed grains to mash tun with 3.75 gallons of strike water... I assume you add the grains other than the 2row to the mash as well? Where is the water for these grains if your suppose to use approx 1.3 quarts for every lb of grain? I'm confuzzed a little

 

Yes you add all the grains to the mash tun. I use brewersfriend.com to calculate my strike water and temps and suggest that you use the same or similar software to help with your all grain brewing.

 

Read this if you haven't already http://www.howtobrew.com/intro.html it's a great resourse when your just getting started and will get you inocculated to terms and procedures. I can't recommend it enough since you're just starting.
Yes you'll mix all your grains in together.
Strike water is the water you use when mashing in.The amount of water and temp depend on how much grain you're using. A simple strike water calulater like http://www.brewheads.com/strike.php is easy to use and if you want a bit more involved check out http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php
The 1.3 q/lb your refering to is your mash thickness, the amount of water per lb of grain. You can go higher/lower with that number but put some time into learning how a thicker vs thinner mash preforms so you know how to adapt it for certain brews as it can change different things and avoid stuck sparges.

Now if i didnt scare you put some time in to learning more. The more you know the better off you are and the more control you can have over a brew the less things that can go wrong.

 

I find this webste is an excellent resource for calculating how much water to use, what temperature to get it to, etc.

http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php

Just plug in your total amount of grain (2-row AND specialty grains) and what temperature you're aiming for. Leave the other variables set to the defaults in their calculator and it'll tell you what you need to know.

It won't necessarily be perfect, as each person's equipment varies. But if you record how it goes your first couple of times (ideally every time) then you'll get an idea how to adjust in the future to get closer to perfect.

 

You are not crazy. I started out on all grain and have no regrets. All the above is good info. I would add, write out a detailed process and then take very good notes of what you do, temperatures, times, gravities and all that so you can go back later and do an analysis.

 

I appreciate it.. That's a lot of help! Ive been reading over and over on the recipe and figuring details about it for several weeks now and going to start it this weekend. I'll do some reading in the literature you guys pointed towards this week as well. Thanks for the info again!

 

I also started all grain. Does it involve a little more work (and possibly frustration) than extract or partial? Yes. I have never looked back, and every success feels much better than just pouring LME syrup into a pot and I get more freedom to experiment.

Cheers to another all-grain brewer!

 

What do you guys do to control temp fermenting? I'm using a fridge with a temp controller... My question is how do you keep it from reading ambient temperature? With the lid and airlock on the fermenter I can't stick the probe in it? As of now I have two rubber bands holding a rag against the fermenter with the probe between the rag and side of the bucket?...

 

I use a gel ice pack taped to the carboy in the temp controlled fridge. Its pretty good at +/- a degree and i'm happy with it.

 

I do almost the same thing, I tape the probe to the glass carboy, cover with a rag and put a piece of Styrofoam insulation over that. Use a bungee cord to hold it all in place. I have checked the beer team a couple of time by dropping in a temp probe from the top and found less than .5 degrees difference. Both times were after fermentation was mostly or totally complete so there might be a bigger difference during the first few days of fermentation.

 

I got another question since everyone has been so helpful so far! I have a fermentation chamber(fridge) with the temp controller.... The fridge was weak in the first place so I got it for cheap but it still showed it getting down to 40s and with the temp controller hooked up stayed at between 66 and 68 where I had it set (with nothing in it at all). I put my beer in it which is a stout and it wasn't down to 66 yet assuming the fridge would get it there... Well it didn't. It started fermenting in the 80s and leveled out at 81 and I kept an eye on it for about 12 hours appx before taking any action. After I figured out it wasn't cooling it off on its own I pulled it out and put the bucket in the kettle with some I've and within a few hours it was down to 66... The whole time it was cooling it had stopped fermenting (I think). Last night before going to bed when it got to 66 I pulled it out of the ice shook it well and it immediately started bubbling again... This morning it was at 67 (I have it set now to 66-67). After all that... Is the 12 hours or so fermenting in the 80s enough to produce any harsh flavors or will I be alright you think?

 

You probably coaxed some esters out, but that might not be bad in a stout depending what you flavors you get. You were still fermentating it was just slowed by the temp drop.
I just reread and saw your using a bucket. Where did you end up placing your probe? If it's just on the outside I can see why your not getting the control you want.

 

Yea it's on the outside... Only way I could figure to get in the beer was to put another hole in the lid which I wasn't to sure about. I was thinking maybe next time around out another hole in the lid for the probe and get a grommet that will seal against the wire tight. The fridge is low on freon I think and had a hard time cooling down to a temp with anything in it but it seems to be holding at 67 now ( what it reads to be 67 anyway). I used to rubber bands holding to the bucket and a rag to insulate from the air.

 

Check out a thermowell. You can get them that will fit in a stopper or mount on a lid. Another idea is to chill your wort around high 50s before you pitch and let it bring itself up to your fermentating temp while the fridge tries to keep it down.
If your fridge isnt to great is look for a new one or freezer. Chest freezers are good. If you get an upright make sure the shelves are removeable and don't have the lines running through them, they just aren't big enough to fit a carboy. Craigslist is a good place to start, you can post wanted ads for your area. Id try that since I've gotten some really good deals

 

Good advice.. Thanks!