All Grain recommendations please

[jbhistory]

Good evening beer friends.

This is my first post, though I read them everyday! I would like some recommendations from the community.

I am ready to make the switch from boxed recipes which use extract to all grain brewing. The problem is..... I am terrified to make the jump. I don't have a huge disposable income so I want to do my best to make this first all grain batch to go as smooth as possible. This is where you come in....

What would your recommendation be for a first time All-grain brew? I love IPA's. My favorites being 90 min, 471 small batch, Crooked Tree, and Palette Wrecker. I like a slightly off balance beer with a bitter bite and a lingering afterward. I know the above mentioned beers are a bit overzealous for an initial batch....

Cheers!

 

[alane1]

Do something simple like a pale ale until you get your all grain technique dialed in, something simple maybe like;
9lbs two row
3/4lb crystal 60L
1oz. cascade 60 min.
1/2 oz. cascade 15 min.

 

[h22lude]

Just pick something you like. You can go to your lhbs and ask them to make you an all-grain kit based on a specific beer or style. You can go onto any one of the homebrew sites. They have clone kits as well as house made kits. You can look in the recipe database here. I have made a ton of recipes posted here and they all turned out great.

It takes the same steps to make a pale ale, stout, wheat beer, ipa, etc. So there really isn't a good beer style to start with. They are all good. Mash, sparge, boil, ferment.

You mentioned liking IPAs and 90 minute. I've made Yooper's 60 minute IPA twice. It is by far my favorite beer I've made so far. Simple all-grain recipe. The only difference is instead of adding hops at the usual times (60, 15, 10, 5 etc) you are adding hops throughout the whole boil.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

Why not switch from boxed kits to home grown recipes with extract and steeping grains, rather than taking the big jump to all grain.

It will help you ease into the math while learning how to build your own recipes.

 

[jbhistory]

Why not switch from boxed kits to home grown recipes with extract and steeping grains, rather than taking the big jump to all grain.

It will help you ease into the math while learning how to build your own recipes.

That may be the way to go.......

 

[h22lude]

Why not switch from boxed kits to home grown recipes with extract and steeping grains, rather than taking the big jump to all grain.

It will help you ease into the math while learning how to build your own recipes.

I think the OP is just looking to go from extract to all-grain. I don't think the OP is looking into recipe creation. That's how I interpreted the original post.

 

[dadshomebrewing]

That's how I interpreted the question, also.

I was just offering another option as a slightly easier first step away from kits.

 

[h22lude]

That may be the way to go.......

Not to take anything away from extract with steeping grains but I didn't find it helped me with all-grain. The process used may look similar but it is completely different. Steeping grains you need to steep like tea in water at 165 or so for 30 minutes. This is used to enhance extract recipes by adding color and fresh grain flavor. Starch is not converted into sugars. Mashing is done to convert starch into sugars and the temp of the water is a lot more important here.

The two processes both use hot water and grains but the outcome is different. It would be like saying you should ride a pedal bike before riding a motorcycle.

Again, I'm not taking anything away from steeping grains. I just didn't find it to help me with all-grain. If you don't have the income to buy the equipment for all grain right now then getting into steeping grains might be the best option for you right now.

 

[jbhistory]

Not to take anything away from extract with steeping grains but I didn't find it helped me with all-grain. The process used may look similar but it is completely different. Steeping grains you need to steep like tea in water at 165 or so for 30 minutes. This is used to enhance extract recipes by adding color and fresh grain flavor. Starch is not converted into sugars. Mashing is done to convert starch into sugars and the temp of the water is a lot more important here.

The two processes both use hot water and grains but the outcome is different. It would be like saying you should ride a pedal bike before riding a motorcycle.

Again, I'm not taking anything away from steeping grains. I just didn't find it to help me with all-grain. If you don't have the income to buy the equipment for all grain right now then getting into steeping grains might be the best option for you right now.

Do you have any reading recommendations to take the leap from extract to all grain? Theoretically I get the gist, I have been reading a few books on the subject, but my mind goes blank as soon as the math comes up.....

 

[jethro55]

I started my first AG brews just last month using the BIAB method. It was super simple, very straightforward. I just lowered my batch size to 3 gallons so that I could continue to use my turkey pot for the boil kettle. Mash efficiency was fantastic.

And this weekend I brewed AG using the 10 gallon Blichmann Boilermaker. And I added to my boil capacity with a 3 gallon pot from the grocery store ($14). With both boil pots I can handle 8 gallons preboil volume enough for 5 gallon batches - still on the kitchen stove. I am happy with the Blichmann - it holds temp really well for the mash and delivers clear wort with a snappy quick vorlauf of only a gallon or so. The fermenting buckets are handy wort tanks for holding lauter and sparge runnings. The turkey pot does double duty as sparge vessel and boil kettle.

Of these three methods, I can't say enough good things about the BIAB method. In fact, is the easiest method (easier than extract/steep) given my equipment limitations.

As far as the math, I used Beersmith2. It was pretty straightforward for defining volumes, temperatures, and expected results.

 

[billl]

AG is easy. Seriously. You'll do a batch or two and then say "what was I so worried about. It's just pouring hot water on grain."

As for the recipe, just pick something simple. There are lots of AG IPA kits out there or you can use any recipe you find here. The only think I would avoid is a really high or really low IBU style. There is nothing special about average ABV beer, but you can miss a little low or a little high or a little sweet or little dry and you'll still end up with something decent.

If you really are worried about ruining a bunch of ingredients, you can always do a half batch.