First all grain day.

[Eddiebosox]

First all grain brew day

Got a group of friends together this weekend to do my very first all grain batch in my new setup. I chose to go with a simple Irish ale but added about 3 extra pounds of marris otter to up the ante a little bit.

Amount Item
7.50 lb Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM)
3.00 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
0.75 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM)
0.25 lb Special Roast (50.0 SRM)
0.13 lb Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM)
0.13 lb Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM)



Boil Amount Item
60 min 1.00 oz Williamette [5.50 %] (60 min)
30 min 1.00 oz Fuggles [4.50 %] (30 min)
10 min 0.25 tsp Irish Moss (Boil 10.0 min)

Things I screwed up:

I hit my mash temp perfectly at 154, but after a little over an hour when I sparged my temp dropped almost 4 degrees. I used an igloo cooler but we were doing it outside in the cold so maybe that explains it. Not sure how it will affect the beer other than making it a little thinner.

I managed my volumes just as beer smith said but I ended up with 5 ½ gallons instead of five. As a result I ended up with an OG of 1.048 (corrected for temp) which is a lot less than the expected OG of 1.064. According to beersmith making adjustments for the extra volume I had about 61% efficiency. I’ll take it. Also, the 3 pounds of Marris otter from MLHBS he said he grinds to about 60% efficiency in their store grinder. The rest was from the northern brewer kit.

All in all, it was MUCH easier than I had feared. Im using a low end wort chiller so it took a bit longer to colol but thats nit picking. I jsut need to hit my numbers better and up my efficiencies.

 

[bmbigda]

In most cases, the lid of the cooler is not insulated and many people put a blanket or a towel over it. This could account for 1-2 degrees but not 4, unless it was freezing temperatures outside. Did you preheat the mashtun? With coolers this is a critical step because while you think you hit your mash temp of 154F, the cooler insulation is still absorbing heat. Adding boiling water 5-10 minutes before mash-in takes this out of the equation.

For your volume overage, that's typical of Beersmith. A few more all grain brews and you will learn to calibrate accordingly.

 

[Eddiebosox]

I didn't put a blanket over the cooler and did notice it wasnt perfectly sealed halfway through. And I did preheat the mashtun.

When I opened up the valve on the mashtun and saw my very first all grain wort come out, it felt pretty good. As hooked as I was on this hobby before, I am all in now...

 

[Eddiebosox]

Another thing, I vorlaufed about 3 picthers worth and it still seemed kind of grainy. SHould I be draining at a slow speed or opening it up all the way?

 

[Colby]

Another thing, I vorlaufed about 3 picthers worth and it still seemed kind of grainy. SHould I be draining at a slow speed or opening it up all the way?

What kind of manifold are you using in the cooler?

 

[Eddiebosox]

What kind of manifold are you using in the cooler?

stainless steel braid.

 

[Mikethepoolguy]

Store the mashtun and the grain indoors or move it indoors the day before brewday. That way you will quickly learn what temp to heat your water and avoid preheating the tun. I heat my water to 11-12 degrees above mash and I'm on target every time. If your tun & grain is 70 this week and 40 next week what do you heat to?

 

[mikeysab]

You should open the drain slowly. It allows for the grain bed to set on top of the braid, instead of being sucked into it. My first time using my manifold, I opened it up all the way, and it never cleared fully. Now I open it up about a quarter of the way, till it clears, then slowly open it all the way, and i'm good to go.

 

[Eddiebosox]

You should open the drain slowly. It allows for the grain bed to set on top of the braid, instead of being sucked into it. My first time using my manifold, I opened it up all the way, and it never cleared fully. Now I open it up about a quarter of the way, till it clears, then slowly open it all the way, and i'm good to go.

Sounds good. If I rack to a secondary can I get most of the grain debris out of the finished beer?

 

[mikeysab]

Nah, it'll settle out in your primary

 

[hinke]

I always heat up my mash water a few degrees higher than the calculated strike temperature. I then let it cool down to the correct strike temp by stirring the water. It has worked really well for me.