First all grain - too easy?

[Ludesbrews]

All,

I just moved my setup to the garage, and it’s fully functioning in terms of actual cooler/hardware/liquid transfer and all. I am thinking about doing an extremely simple (and inexpensive) test run, just to give my setup a try.

I was thinking a 5 gallon batch with a single base grain, and obviously hop additions to boil.

Thoughts or pieces of advice?

Thanks
151

 

[FunkedOut]

I don’t think the grain bill being simple or complex will alter your brew day experience once you’ve made the recipe formulation and weighed it out.

The grain bill will affect the mash pH, which will affect mash effeciency, but that’s true regardless of the grain bill complexity.

Maybe restricting the grain bill to a single base malt is not necessary?
You could try a proven recipe to eliminate the formulation part out and focus on the process.

If you’re set on a single malt and single hop (SMaSH), then for me, Vienna and Hallertauer Mittlefreu makes a great beer.


From your description of the gear, sounds like you’re mashing in a cooler.
Adding heat to a cooler usually means adding water.
Are you planning on a no sparge, batch sparge or fly sparge?
No sparge is easier, and the greater thermal mass means you’ll lose less heat over the mash time.

Leave some water out of the first strike, say a couple gallons, in case you undershoot your desired temp.
If you nail the temp, you can still add that water at the appropriate temp once temps have settled and you’ve confirmed it.



That’s all comes to mind at the moment.
Good luck with that first all grain!

 

[kh54s10]

That is a good idea. I would use a base grain that has more flavor than just 2 row. Maybe Maris Otter. Then pick a hop that you know the flavor of and if it ends up similar to what you expected you will know you are on the right track. Or you might try a hop that you want to know the flavor/aroma characteristics. Though that might hide something in the process that using a familiar hop could show.

Expect your all grain to be off a little in terms of OG or volume, or both. You will most likely need to do some tweaking of your processes to get all the numbers right over the next few brews.

Keep good notes on your gravities. I take at least a first running gravity, preboil and post boil (OG) reading. Also note you volume into the fermenter. If you are low or high you will need to adjust for your boil off rate. For instance. My propane burner doesn't stay steady at low settings so mine is hotter than most. I boil off 2 gallons per hour so I need about 7.3 gallons, preboil, to get 5.25 into my fermenter.

You might what to boil some water to calculate your boil off rate before doing the all grain batch. (if you don't already know your boil off rate)

 

[Pappers_]

What they said ^^^^^^^^

I always suggest that folks take a look at @Denny 's easy sparge instructions when they first start all-grain. It helped me.

 

[Velnerj]

Aim to hit either target gravity or a target volume. Hitting both on the first run will prove to be difficult and frustrating. Hitting one will be manageable and rewarding. That will also let you learn your system a bit.

 

[AzOr]

^^^what everyone else said. The cost between base malts and specialty malts per batch is literally pennies. I do agree that keeping it simple is a good way to break in your system.

Also- be sure to have a cup or two of dried malt extract on hand. If your OG is too high, dilute with water. If it is too low, add a bit of extract.

 

[kh54s10]

^^^what everyone else said. The cost between base malts and specialty malts per batch is literally pennies. I do agree that keeping it simple is a good way to break in your system.

Also- be sure to have a cup or two of dried malt extract on hand. If your OG is too high, dilute with water. If it is too low, add a bit of extract.

Or if the difference in gravity is not great, just go with the flow. Note it and make adjustments for the next brew.

 

[bracconiere]

100% base malt beers are great! taste light, but with a smooth creamy mouth feel....don't go too heavy on the hops, and you'll be surprised what you get.

 

[kh54s10]

100% base malt beers are great! taste light, but with a smooth creamy mouth feel....don't go too heavy on the hops, and you'll be surprised what you get.

Or make a single malt, single hop Double IPA!!!

 

[smata67]

Do you have beersmith or some other means to estimate the required quantity of water and temperature? As noted, you definitely want to have some extra hot water on hand to make adjustments. When you dough in, be sure to stir things up for at least a minute maybe more to stabilize the temperature throughout the bed before adding anything. I once got impatient or lost track of time, added too much hot water, then cold and could never seem to stabilize the temperature. I think my thermometer was low on battery and also acting up (not a bad idea to have a backup). Eventually said screw it, closed the tun. I had no idea what temperature I was mashing at, and ended up with a 1.002 FG! Another insight I can offer is to not underestimate how long the brew day is going to take, have plenty of time at your disposal, it will most certainly take longer than whatever you estimate.

 

[brewbama]

I like a simple pale colored ale or lager to test most anything from hops, to equipment, process, etc. Just base malt and half pound of med crystal/caramel/Cara-whatever and a clean yeast.

 

[bracconiere]

Or make a single malt, single hop Double IPA!!!

i think with the hops you'd loose the creamy mouthfeel....i'd say troll the local garage sales for a lagering fridge...or cragslist....