Am I Ready To Try All Grain Recipe?

[Bigarcherynut]

I've been brewing for over a year and enjoying it more and more. I have made several great beers using extract and luckily have had no failures. I'm interested in making a clone of a Big Butte Porter. The clones I found are all grain not any with an extract recipe. There was one posted from here a few years ago. Here is the link for it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f126/black-butte-porter-145879/

I've spent several nights reading about all grain recipes and this one sounds like a more simple one and possibally one to try. This one being a single temperature infusion recipe. Do you think this will be a recipe for me to begin my all grain operation?

The question I have are:
1. Should I go for it?

2. Do I add all of the grain at the same time?

3. Some articles I have read say these are the first three steps. 1. Protien Rest, Mash and Sparge. Should I follow these steps for all grain?

4. It is a 90 minute boil. The time frame for the hops are listed but I need to verify I'm reading it correctly. First hop added for entire 90 minutes. Second hop addition for the final 30 and the last hop addition the final 5 minutes? I believe that is correct.

I'm planning on making a mash tun from an Igloo 5 gallon cooler. Found this on line.

After this it seems straight forward. Any other help or tips will be greatly appreciated.

How I love this hobby.

Thanks.

Bill

 

[okiedog]

Go for it! Once you try AG (all grain) you'll never want to go back. That's how it was with me anyway. Yes, you can add all the grain at once, but it's easier to eliminate clumps if you add about 1/3 at a time and stir it in. After it is all added and thoroughly stirred in, then allow about 5 minutes for the grain temp. to stabilize before making any mash temp adjustments if needed. Most of today's malt is fully modified, so you don't have to do a protein rest. Start out simple: 1.5 quarts water per pound of grist, Saccharification rest until conversion, then sparge. Don't rush, it will get easier once you get the process down.

 

[solbes]

The only comment I have on the recipe is I'm not sure why the two types of chocolate malt are needed. I always prefer the pale chocolate anyway (350L), so I'd double up on that and skip the darker roast.

1)Yes you're ready
2)I BIAB, but the above looks like good advice
3)Single Infusion would be fine, 152-154 mash temps
4)You have it correct

Good luck!

 

[okiedog]

My preference for hop additions are: Add bittering hops at 90 min, flavor hops at 15 min, and add aroma hops at 1 - 2 min. A 30 min. flavor addition is ok, depending on the hops variety. If you boil the flavor hops too long, they will start to loose flavor.

Happy AG brewing!

 

[Wolfbayte]

+1 to the other comments. I would add that water quality becomes a bit more important with A/G batches. Check out this primer, esp. the rule of thumb starting with R/O water and you will be fine.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Go for it! Once you try AG (all grain) you'll never want to go back. That's how it was with me anyway. Yes, you can add all the grain at once, but it's easier to eliminate clumps if you add about 1/3 at a time and stir it in. After it is all added and thoroughly stirred in, then allow about 5 minutes for the grain temp. to stabilize before making any mash temp adjustments if needed. Most of today's malt is fully modified, so you don't have to do a protein rest. Start out simple: 1.5 quarts water per pound of grist, Saccharification rest until conversion, then sparge. Don't rush, it will get easier once you get the process down.

Thanks much for your help.

A question I have is temperature adjustment. The article I read was about using an Igloo cooler and adding the heated water and grains into the cooler and mixing. By doing it that way I would not be able to correct any temperature change after mixing. Will this be a problem or could I add a little heated water until the correct temp is hit then seal the cooler and let it rest?

Thanks again.

 

[Bigarcherynut]

The only comment I have on the recipe is I'm not sure why the two types of chocolate malt are needed. I always prefer the pale chocolate anyway (350L), so I'd double up on that and skip the darker roast.

1)Yes you're ready
2)I BIAB, but the above looks like good advice
3)Single Infusion would be fine, 152-154 mash temps
4)You have it correct

Good luck!

I hope others may shed light on this also. I was only going to follow the recipe and hope it's as good as the original beer. It may not change the taste that much but I guess the only way to tell is to make 2 different batches. That may happen.

Thanks.

 

[Bigarcherynut]

+1 to the other comments. I would add that water quality becomes a bit more important with A/G batches. Check out this primer, esp. the rule of thumb starting with R/O water and you will be fine.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f128/brewing-water-chemistry-primer-198460/

As for my water, I live in the country and have a well. Lucky not have to deal with city added chlorine. Not too hard of water either. Hoping it will be good enough as is.

Thanks.

 

[feinbera]

Thanks much for your help.

A question I have is temperature adjustment. The article I read was about using an Igloo cooler and adding the heated water and grains into the cooler and mixing. By doing it that way I would not be able to correct any temperature change after mixing. Will this be a problem or could I add a little heated water until the correct temp is hit then seal the cooler and let it rest?

Thanks again.

Yes, you can add a little boiling water or ice to move the temp a couple degrees – a little goes a surprisingly long way! I'll typically treat more water than I plan on mashing in with, then pull a gallon out – this extra gallon will easily hit a full, rolling boil on the stove in the time it takes my burner to get the main kettle up to strike temp.

Find a strike temperature calculator you like – I'm a fan of the Green Bay Rackers', but it's not rocket surgery, any calculator out there should have the right math. I've learned, by taking careful notes on actual strike water temp and mash temp, that I need to go about two degrees above what the Rackers say to account for heating the cooler itself; take careful notes so you can dial in the fudge factor on your system.

 

[Hello]

Go for it! You'll do fine!

 

[Auger]

Go for it! You'll do fine!

This^

Best way to find out what works and what doesn't is to just give it a shot. As long as you follow good sanitation procedures, the worst thing that will happen is that the beer may not come out exactly as you expect (for most people first starting all-grain, this is probably highly likely, it was for me) but it will still be good/drinkable. It takes a few runs on a given system to really figure out how to consistently hit mash temps and sparge volumes, which will really allow you to fine-tune recipes, but until that happens you can still make decent beer.

There are tons of temp calculators as stated above, pick one and see how it works.

When I started all-grain I did a few batches of a simple english bitter, something with minimal ingredients and steps so I could focus on the overall process itself.

 

[Clonefan94]

I brewed five batches, then went all grain. The only tricky part about it, is getting to know your system. No matter what I did, I could never get a temp calculator to give the right temp for strike water, I always needed a couple of degrees higher than it would tell me. Also the amount of water took me a couple of brews to get right. as I always had 2 quarts or so of runnings after I hit my boil volume.

Because of this, I say there is no better time than the present to go all-grain. If you have plans on doing it, might as well dive in. Once you know how to brew with extract, all the work is now in figuring out the all-grain system you build. Read all you can, but don't get too focused on reading every piece of information you can find, each system runs a little different and getting to know yours is most of the battle.

 

[madk]

I recommend going with a 10 gallon mash tun. You'll outgrow that 5 gallon one pretty quick at this pace.

 

[DromJohn]

Not arguing against going all-grain, (if you want to go all-grain, go all-grain), but ....

Don't use the recipe as the reason to go all-grain. Instead it is merely an option for your first all-grain brew.

You can convert 8 pounds of the pale malt into 6 pounds of pale LME (4.8 pounds DME) and brew a Deschutes Black Butte Porter as a partial mash.

I am a partial mash brewer because of the pot size (I can handle up to 6 lbs of grain), heat source (kitchen gas stove), and unwillingness to brew smaller than 5 gallon batches. If you have the bigger pot and the heat source, then go for it. Otherwise, brew a good partial mash.

 

[Hello]

I recommend going with a 10 gallon mash tun. You'll outgrow that 5 gallon one pretty quick at this pace.

^ This to. 5 gallons gets very small very quickly. You'd be surprised.

 

[Zekk]

I recommend going with a 10 gallon mash tun. You'll outgrow that 5 gallon one pretty quick at this pace.

I agree with this as well. What size batches do you brew? If you brew small batches and don't have a lot of space then the 5 gallon will be fine.

 

[pvpeacock]

Thanks much for your help.

A question I have is temperature adjustment. The article I read was about using an Igloo cooler and adding the heated water and grains into the cooler and mixing. By doing it that way I would not be able to correct any temperature change after mixing. Will this be a problem or could I add a little heated water until the correct temp is hit then seal the cooler and let it rest?

Thanks again.

I keep a pitcher of cold water handy (put it in the fridge the night before) and heat my strike water a little hotter than the calculator tells me. After I add my grain to my strike water and stir, I measure the temperature in a couple different locations in the igloo mash tun (10 gallons). I then slowly add cold water and stir until I reach my correct mash temperature. I find it is easier to cool it down with cold water than try to heat it up after its in the mash tun. Good luck.

One other tip, buy a paint stirrer you can attach to a cordless drill. It makes mashing in easy with no dough balls, it is great for batch sparging and it helps whirlpool after boiling the wort. Something like this: http://www.hardwareworld.com/Helix-Paint-Mixer--5-Gallon-Size-pIRUA0K.aspx

 

[MindenMan]

Your home brew will not taste exactly like the brew you are cloning, it can't. You do not have the exact same grain, or water, or source of hops, etc.. You can make a beer very similar in flavor and mouth feel, and I am sure you will be happy with what you brew. Good luck!.

 

[okiedog]

Let us know how it turns out. Don't over complicate things, take your time, keep tabs on your temps, think about every step before you do it. If something isn't exactly right, don't worry, relax and have a homebrew! You'll be just fine.

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Thanks for the input.

I feel for the time I'll go with a 5 gallon mash tun. As for now 5 gallon batches are right for me. I still do an occasional 2 gallon.

Now I need to read up a little more, get the mash tun built and get ready to brew. Still many things I need to get down before I get started but it's coming together.

Thanks again.

 

[rattyboh]

Even for 5 gallon batches you might want to consider a 10 gallon mash tun. I made the mistake of getting a five gallon cooler and I'm limited to around 12 pounds of grain which isn't that much. That recipe you linked to is over 13 pounds so you would have to make a thicker mash to make it fit and if you plan to ever make any beer bigger than that you would have to get a bigger mash tun or partial mash. If you don't have enough space (my main issue), a five gallon cooler can work but it can be pretty limiting.

 

[muels]

^ This. 5 gallon mash tun does not equal 5 gallons of wort. It will limit your max OG if your cooler is small. 70 quart Coleman extreme is like 40 bucks.


Sent from my iPad using Home Brew

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Even for 5 gallon batches you might want to consider a 10 gallon mash tun. I made the mistake of getting a five gallon cooler and I'm limited to around 12 pounds of grain which isn't that much. That recipe you linked to is over 13 pounds so you would have to make a thicker mash to make it fit and if you plan to ever make any beer bigger than that you would have to get a bigger mash tun or partial mash. If you don't have enough space (my main issue), a five gallon cooler can work but it can be pretty limiting.

Glad you posted this. I wasn't looking at it from that stand point.

That said, instead of using a round 5 gallon I may have an older cooler that is closer to 10 gallon/40 quart that I cound use as long as I can clean it up good. So I think I will go with the 10 gallon.

Now to the part that is confusing me. The Sparge. What method should I use and can I pour the hot water into the cooler on top of the mash or do I need to make a manifold for the top of the cooler to let the water dribble out from? Read many different versions and now confused on what to do.

Someone out there bring this back to earth and explain it???

Thanks again.

 

[A2HB]

I have a 5 gal coolerand if you want to make 5 gals of high O.G. beer (like say 1.080 and up) it is impossible to put the amount of grain you'll need into that one and still have room for strike water. As someone said, the max you can put with water is about 12 lbs. Personally I can get 13.5 lbs in there but I'm not able to add as much water to my mash as I would like so it's not the best situation at all. 10 gallons FTW

 

[Bigarcherynut]

Well after digging around I found a cooler that it's close to 10 gallons. Maybe a tab over. I'm going to go with that. Now need to make a manifold for the bottom.

 

[RM-MN]

Glad you posted this. I wasn't looking at it from that stand point.

That said, instead of using a round 5 gallon I may have an older cooler that is closer to 10 gallon/40 quart that I cound use as long as I can clean it up good. So I think I will go with the 10 gallon.

Now to the part that is confusing me. The Sparge. What method should I use and can I pour the hot water into the cooler on top of the mash or do I need to make a manifold for the top of the cooler to let the water dribble out from? Read many different versions and now confused on what to do.

Someone out there bring this back to earth and explain it???

Thanks again.

Sparging is either batch or fly. For batch sparging you drain the tun (first runnings), then add the water for sparge. The simplest is to notice how much you got for first runnings, then sparge with just enough to get you to your pro-boil amount. This can be done all at once or in two steps.

Add the water and stir like mad. You need to get the sugars dissolved in the sparge water. Then let it drain as fast as it will. You may have to keep the valve partly closed to keep from compacting the grain against the manifold or braid.

If you are fly sparging, you want to keep the level of the water above the level of the grain and drain slowly to avoid making channels in the grain since that would reduce the amount of sugars dissolved. Fly sparging should continue until you reach pre-boil volume or the gravity goes below 1.010 as at that gravity the pH of the wort would be getting near the point where tannins can be extracted.

Expect a batch sparge to take 10 minutes and fly sparge to take nearly an hour. For that extra time for fly sparging you usually can recover more sugars.