Thinking of getting into all grain

so i'm thinking about getting into all grain due to the relative cost of extract. by the end of summer hopefully i will have a good supply of willamette and fuggle hops so my question is this... for someone who is just getting into all grain and will be doing biab, what type of grain would you use? i was thinking that 2-row would probably be the best for me to start off with but i'm really not sure. can you toast it to get the "specialty" type flavors? will it keep if stored properly for a couple of months? what would you suggest as the best primer for starting BIAB, mind you i have read many of the posts on here already.

 

If you have the ability for a full boil, I'd recommend spending the money on converting a cooler instead of BIAB. I did the math and converted my old 48qt cooler for less than $10. BIAB for a full boil would have run about $25. I can sparge more properly in the cooler as well.

As for base malts, 2 row seems as good as any, depending on your recipe. I buy specialty malts (they are usually smaller sizes so don't cost as much) as I don't have the ability to malt at home.

 

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I do BIAB and can do a 5 gallon batch in a 7.5 turkey fryer, and 5 gallon kettle for sparge.

 

easy ladies, the war between biab and all grain cooler is unnecessary....each has its advantages and disadvantages...i went all grain cooler because thats all i knew about, its what i like, what i know, and i wont switch....biab can go into a smaller foot print, but requires a hoisting set up and the efficiency MAY be lower...its just personal preference

 

Baby steps. To start off, you should just buy the amount of grain you need for your recipe where someone else has done the roasting, milling etc.

Once you get a few batches under you belt, you'll learn what grains you actually prefer. They are all 2-row, just malted and roasted in different ways. Rushing out any buying 50lbs of grain you don't care for isn't a good way to save money.

Once you have the basics and your preferences down, you can try roasting some of your own to produce some of the other "specialty" grains....... but honestly, there is little to no cost savings there. You are only going to spend a dollar or 2 on specialty grains for most batches, so even if you save 50%, you are only talking about 1-2 cents per pint.

 

agreed with billl, specialty grains are low percentages of your grain bill...if you buy anything in bulk it should be 2-row

 

2 row is a great base. I will usually throw in some specialty grains for color / body etc. yes you can toast the 2 row. I did about a pound of toasted 2 row @ 375 degrees for about 15 mins. The total grain bill was 11lbs including 2 row and specialty grains. Good luck. All grain is definitely the way to go.

 

I don't think you need to worry too much about what grains to start with. It's pretty straightforward to use just about any barley. I guess there are sometimes special ways to treat dark grains (e.g., cold steeping, or adding only to the sparge), but for the most part, barley is the same--just throw it in. What can be mildly difficult is wheat, rye, and oats, which can cause stuck sparges because of their proteins. But those only become an issue when you have a decent-sized portion in the grain bill. A little wheat won't throw you off. Adjuncts (corn, rice) can sometimes require special procedures, too. So, bottom line, just look for recipes you like. As long as they're based on barley as, say, 85% or more of the grain bill, you'll be fine. It doesn't much matter whether the base grain is ordinary brewer's pale 2-row, Maris Otter, Vienna, or pale ale malt.

As for BIAB and ordinary all-grain, both can work. I might recommend trying one batch of partial mash using BIAB if you have never done that; it helps you get the sense of how a mash works. You can do that just using a nylon mesh bag and your boil kettle. But I'm agnostic as to the ultimate between BIAB and cooler.

 

I didn't mean to get anyone bunched up or start a war. No worries about how you brew from me. Especially if you're sharing!

 

Only reason i'm thinking the BIAB route is i currently only have 2 pots, a 3 gal and a 5 gal so i don't have the equipment to do a full boil. also the only reason i've considered getting a 35lb sack of 2 row is so if i screw a batch or 3 i have more than enough to cover, also cost is reduced quite a bit the more you buy. mainly i like brown ales, but i've done quite a number and seem to like IPA's alot these days too.

 

Start all grain however you like, doesn't matter to me. Plenty guys like the way they do it better then the next. You need to focus on what works for you. BIAB is great for beginning and limited space. There are other advantages to the way others do things. . . you can search around here and the internet to find those. My advice to you at this point would be don't get into all grain because it is "cheaper." It simply isn't that much cheaper. The biggest thing you get is more control out of your wort production. That being said, I'd recommend starting out with proven recipes and buying just what you need for a batch or two at a time.

 

+1

Of course, you could say you want to brew a proven recipe that sounds good to you, three times in a row in order to get good at nailing that recipe - that would be a great plan!

I've gone all in 110% over my head so many times...eventually i started listening to people who tell me to take it easy and walk before I run!

That being said, I do my best to pinch pennies too, so I understand your desire to buy bulk!

Finally though Scott - Hope for the best! My first BIAB AG was 75% efficiency - you can do it too...not rocket science!

Do some reading on here, and do your best at holding temps, stirring, etc. I would recommend a cursory look at your water profile too. Luckily I looked at mine before my first AG batch, and I'm glad I did cause my water was el sucky.

You won't be wasting grain! You'll be makin beer! :rockin:

GL!

 

If you want to buy in bulk a sack of 2 row is great to have on hand. I have several base grains on hand and when I look at recipes and decide on one I will order the specialty grains and get more than I need. I then have some on hand and can create new recipes with the leftovers. I also have a couple of "go to" hops that I keep in bulk. Cascade and Centennial are two.

Another thing I do is when I buy liquid yeast I make a starter a little larger than needed for my brew. I then make up four 20ml vials of yeast, glycerin and water to freeze. I have 8 or 9 different yeast to brew with and if I made 4 new vials each time for 4 generations I could brew 256 times off the original purchase. I don't though that would take decades to use it all. And it does take planning since it takes a week of step up starters.

 

My town water is all well water and i get an annual report but don't know what i should be looking for when it comes to brewing.

 

There is a water primer here: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

I will warn you that there about a million different perspectives of what to do with water and water chemistry as it relates to brewing can be a very confusing subject. To start, we just need to know about the levels that are listed in the primer. Don't worry about making your water work for a specific style at this point in time, just make sure there isn't anything that will make it terrible for brewing. My advice is to get comfortable with the process and being able to repeat it, adjust on the fly, etc. As you get into all grain brewing, you can begin to expand what you do in other areas.