I feel like a nooB

[Bombo80]

I am a long time home brewer, but now after reading John Palmer's eBook on how to brew, I feel like the greenest, greenhorn, newbie that ever brewed an all grain batch of beer.

Here is my most recent all grain beer :

10# 6-row Malted Barley
.75# Belgian Biscuit Malt
.5# 80*L Caramel Malt
.3# Chocolate Malt
3 oz. Nugget hops (homegrown)
1.5 oz. Cascade hops (compressed plugs)
1 tsp Irish Moss
2 tsp calcium carbonate (to 3.8 gal. mash water)
1 tsp calcium carbonate ( to 4 gal. sparge water)
Whitebread Ale Yeast 14g

B.G. 1.056
calculated at 70% efficient

I haven't named this yet, but I feel it will fall somewhere between the Altbier and a robust porter. (I really like that chart that was in Mr. Palmer's eBook)

A synopsis of my equipment is as follows :
33 qt canner - mash pot
5 gal. stock pot - sparge water
6 gal. bucket lauter tun, false bottom
5 qt pots - wort collection
5 gal. glass carboys (several)
7 gal. plastic primary fermenters
Phil's Sparger
Corona mill - don't use any more
Commercial grade coffee grinder
copper immersion wort chiller
digital thermometer - new and calibrated
digital scale
Cornelius Kegs - several
20 pound CO2 tanks - several
various spoons, racking canes, hoses, tubes, stoppers, airlocks, cleaning brushes, hydrometer, grain bags, pH strips, bottle fillers, carboy handles, carboy rack, bottle caps, flip top bottle rubber seals (Grolsch bottles).

Here is where my newbieness awakens. I have several beer brewing books that I use as reference material to brew my beer, as well as the recipes to try. I have always followed the same brewing steps, for every batch I have made. I have never taken a gravity reading before the boil, always after it has cooled down. I was not concerned with my efficiency of the mash. I just did it.

Protein rest - 132*
mash in
mash 150* - 2 hours
mash 153* - 1.5 hours
mash 156* - 1 hour
mash 158* for real high gravity beers
mash out - 165*ish
transfer to lauter tun
rest 5 minutes
draw off and recirculate till clear
sparge with 165* treated water using Phil's sparger
usually end up with ~7 gal wort
boil to reduce volume to 5 gal.
add hops according to schedule
chill with immersion wort chiller
transfer to sterile primary fermenter
(sometimes I transfer then chill - no consistency)
pitch yeast
let 'er rip
transfer to secondary in about a week
wait until it finishes and clears up some more
bottle or keg

I have always enjoyed brewing beer. I just never looked into trying to streamlining the whole process. When I brewed, it was an all day affair. That was that. Now it looks like I might be able to do a batch in just a few hours, instead of all day. I know I started this hobby when there was no such thing as the internet, but I don't know why I waited so long to look around. I just went by what the books were telling me.

Sorry for the long rant, but I feel like kicking my own a$$ for being such newbie.

I guess I am going to have to make another batch, and try some of these other "new" methods that I just discovered. The good thing is, I can still drink what I have brewed, and have only had one batch EVER pick up an off flavor. We still drank it anyway.

So, if you have any suggestions, or comments, I would definitely appreciate them.

Thanks,

Bombo

 

[Orfy]

It depends where your priorities lie.

Some on here say that they have a brew day and they brew in a day.
The average seems to be around 6 hours.

If you think about it and use the correct procedures and methods you can brew in under 3.5 hours. I've done it many times.

Most of the time I do have adequate/plenty time and do other things when brewing so I'll take 4 hours plus to do a beer.

But when it comes down to it I know if I only have 4 hours or want to do some thing else then I can brew and nothing suffers.

 

[Funkenjaeger]

Protein rest - 132*
mash in
mash 150* - 2 hours
mash 153* - 1.5 hours
mash 156* - 1 hour
mash 158* for real high gravity beers
mash out - 165*ish

Just wondering... why the long multi-step mash schedule? I would think that after 2 hours at 150, there would be almost total conversion into wort with a lot of fermentable sugars and not too many long-chain dextrins, so I don't see what the additional steps at 153, 156, or 158 would be gaining you...

 

[Sea]

I'm still new to AG, and probably not one to give advice, but I think many of the brewers here are very happy, and have had great results, with a single infusion mash (usually in the mid 150s depending on style and desired sweetness/dryness) of only one hour or so total. Maybe give this method a try and see if you like it?

 

[Bombo80]

Thanks guys,

My long multi-step mash sequence is what I got from one of my brewing books, a long time ago, and the schedule I have always followed. That is why I feel like a dummy for not looking into other methods that might be out there. I read it, wrote it down, and followed it from then on.

I am in the planning stages for another batch, this weekend. I will try this other method and see how it turns out.

 

[Orfy]

Thanks guys,

My long multi-step mash sequence is what I got from one of my brewing books, a long time ago, and the schedule I have always followed. That is why I feel like a dummy for not looking into other methods that might be out there. I read it, wrote it down, and followed it from then on.

I am in the planning stages for another batch, this weekend. I will try this other method and see how it turns out.

Modern malts don't need multi temperature step mashes.
Most beers can be done with a single infusion mash. If you batch sparge then you can easily brew good beer in under 4 hours.

 

[FSR402]

Thanks guys,

My long multi-step mash sequence is what I got from one of my brewing books, a long time ago, and the schedule I have always followed. That is why I feel like a dummy for not looking into other methods that might be out there. I read it, wrote it down, and followed it from then on.

I am in the planning stages for another batch, this weekend. I will try this other method and see how it turns out.

Good to hear. Now with this "new way" you could brew 3 or 4 batches in the same amount of time. :rockin: