First All Grain Brew

[CPTKURK]

To all the veteran home-brewers out there, I am contemplating doing my first all grain brew in about 2 weeks. I have been doing extract brews for the last year and all have come out awesome. I am a little intimidated by the all grain thing. What pearls of wisdom can you guys offer for my first time?

 

[Happywanderer]

Print out your recipe and all steps.

Brewersfriend.com has a really great tool for that. Takes you step by painful step through the prep/setup process.

Read everything twice. Then read everything two more times.

1) Calibrate your thermometer.
2) http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php Use that link to calculate your water needs.
3) Preheat your strike water on your kitchen stove while you are setting things up. This will save you propane. A lot of propane.
4) Begin heating your sparge water as soon as you begin your mash. Heat it on the kitchen stove to save propane. You'll want your sparge water to be about 180*F if you are batch sparging.
5) Measure the amount of water you have going from mash tun to boil kettle by first draining into a 1-gallon pitcher
6) If you are building water from RO/Distilled - you can add all the stuff the night before to save time.
7) Buy an extra hydrometer. You will break one. When you need it most.
8) SANITIZE everything.
9) A 20" wire whisk works better than a mash paddle for mixing grains. And is likely cheaper.
10) 2-3yrds of Voile fabric lining your mash tun work better than a manifold/false bottom and make clean up a BREEZE
11) You CAN leave the lid off the pot and stir while chilling with an immersion chiller.
12) AERATE you wort. I drain mine through a double-mesh strainer into my fermenter for aeration.
13) Don't forget to take your yeast starter out of the fridge when you begin heating the mash water.
14) Keep pen/paper handy
15) Cool your wort samples in an ice bath before taking a hydrometer reading (more accurate that way).
16) Have everything in its place and a place for everything. BEFORE you start your actual mash - make sure you have all the tools/hops/yeast/etc... within easy reach.
17) DOUBLE CHECK your valves. Test them before you start your mash to make sure they are closed and don't leak.
18) DOUBLE check the hose clamps on your immersion chiller - test for leaks/cracks/etc...


What setup are you using? BIAB? 2-vessel? 3-vessel? How are you cooling?

I could go on - but really it will be better to know how you plan to brew so I can give tailored advice.

 

[azdavid]

Definitely not an expert but I was where you are now just 2 brews ago. Best advice I can give you is take the leap.. It seemed really intimidating to me on the first brew 2nd one went better and I know my 3rd will be better yet.
Take it slow plan it out ahead of time take plenty of measurements, record your data to see where you can improve next time and you will end up with a brew that is pretty good maybe not perfect but good none the less.
Happy Brewing

 

[MaryB]

Relax! Brewersfriend will let you enter the recipe then print a checklist for you to follow for the steps. Might come in handy the first few times you do all grain.

 

[eadavis80]

Don't be in a hurry. As you brew more you'll get more "EFFICIENT" (yes, that's a pun), but for your first time, remember they call it a BREW DAY.

 

[azscoob]

Print out your recipe and all steps.

Brewersfriend.com has a really great tool for that. Takes you step by painful step through the prep/setup process.

Read everything twice. Then read everything two more times.

1) Calibrate your thermometer.
2) http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php Use that link to calculate your water needs.
3) Preheat your strike water on your kitchen stove while you are setting things up. This will save you propane. A lot of propane.
4) Begin heating your sparge water as soon as you begin your mash. Heat it on the kitchen stove to save propane. You'll want your sparge water to be about 180*F if you are batch sparging.
5) Measure the amount of water you have going from mash tun to boil kettle by first draining into a 1-gallon pitcher
6) If you are building water from RO/Distilled - you can add all the stuff the night before to save time.
7) Buy an extra hydrometer. You will break one. When you need it most.
8) SANITIZE everything.
9) A 20" wire whisk works better than a mash paddle for mixing grains. And is likely cheaper.
10) 2-3yrds of Voile fabric lining your mash tun work better than a manifold/false bottom and make clean up a BREEZE
11) You CAN leave the lid off the pot and stir while chilling with an immersion chiller.
12) AERATE you wort. I drain mine through a double-mesh strainer into my fermenter for aeration.
13) Don't forget to take your yeast starter out of the fridge when you begin heating the mash water.
14) Keep pen/paper handy
15) Cool your wort samples in an ice bath before taking a hydrometer reading (more accurate that way).
16) Have everything in its place and a place for everything. BEFORE you start your actual mash - make sure you have all the tools/hops/yeast/etc... within easy reach.
17) DOUBLE CHECK your valves. Test them before you start your mash to make sure they are closed and don't leak.
18) DOUBLE check the hose clamps on your immersion chiller - test for leaks/cracks/etc...


What setup are you using? BIAB? 2-vessel? 3-vessel? How are you cooling?

I could go on - but really it will be better to know how you plan to brew so I can give tailored advice.

The only bits I can add to this rather well assembled list is:

19) after chilling to pitching temps add yeast pop in your airlock or blowoff tube and move to your fermentation area

20) NOW you may crack a beer! I've seen too many brewdays (my own included) go all wrong because the brewer has been drinking since the strike water started heating.

Also, try to keep up on cleaning and putting away stuff as you go, saves time at the end of what will likely be a long day.

 

[RM-MN]

1. Make it simple, forget the mash tun, the grain to water ratio, the preheating of the cooler. Get a paint strainer bag or a custom made bag and do it BIAB. Mill the grain as fine as possible. If your kettle is big enough, do a full volume, no sparge batch of it. Be sure to use enough water, the grain will absorb some and you will need to account for your boil-off.
2. Use a calculator to get the correct water temperature to hit your intended mash temp. Heat the water to that temp, put the bag into the pot and secure it so it will stay put. Stir in the grains really well so you don't get grain balls with wet outsides and dry centers. A whisk is excellent for this.
3. Wait. The typical mash period is an hour. Don't rush it. You can do that on a later batch once you are confident and know how to determine if the shorter mash will work for you. Don't sweat it if your mash temperature falls a few degrees. A coat or sleeping bag for insulation work fine.
4. When the hour is up, pull the bag out of the kettle. A rope and pulley system will make this easier or something to slide under the bag so it can drain back into the kettle like an oven rack. You can be patient and let it drain or you can be impatient and squeeze the bag, either will get you about the same result.
5. You now have mashed and extracted wort that is not concentrated. Bring to a boil, watching carefully that the hot break doesn't spill over. You will have a lot more hot break than you are used to since much of it has been removed in making the extract you were using. When the hot break subsides, add you hops just like you would for an extract batch.

 

[brewpool]

Measure your volumes and temperatures. It's going to take a few brews to dial in your equipment. Prior to your first brew, calculate your boil off rate. During the brew day measure your actual mash temp, the pre boil volume, pre boil gravity. Then measure volume into your fermentation vessel and starting gravity. This will all help you to calculate your actual efficiencies.

At the end of the day, don't sweat missing your target gravity on your first couple beers. I missed on my first two by 10 and 8 points until I dialed in my system. Keep the first couple beers relatively simple until you know your equipment.

Good luck and enjoy the process!