I'm and all grain noob and need help!

[Jhubbard9]

Hello everyone I have never done an all grain batch and am now trying to broaden my horizons and want to start all grain brewing. There is only one problem...I don't know the first thing about it! I have made many good (and bad) batches of beer so I know enough to get me started. I am still confused about what grains can be steeped and cannot be steeped to release starches. I also have been brewing by steeping grains, adding my sugar/malt extract bringing to a boil then adding hops, cooling and putting in a six gallon plastic fermentor. I just want literally any information about all grain brewing! Thanks for all your time!

 

[solbes]

I would start by picking up "How to Brew" by Palmer. Fantastic read and very informative. He will have all of the answers you are looking for.

You need base malt to "mash" in all grain brewing. Base malt examples are pilsner, 2 row, pale ale, maris otter, golden promise, Vienna, Munich, etc. They have enzymes that help convert starches of other malts and themselves to fermentable sugars. Very similar to steeping, but requires more control on temperature and time. Usually 150-156F for 60 minutes.

I started out my all grain by doing some partial mashes. That way if you bomb out on conversion of sugars in your mash, you still have some extract to add so that you are not that far off of your target. Northern Brewer and Midwest Supplies both carry partial mash kits. Consider trying 1 or 2. Cheers!

 

[Creepersale]

And. Also I would check you tube out for sure search for "all-grain brewing "
Some vids are better then others when I first started that was the best tool. But I also had bought palmers book ! And I still go back to it. The more you brew the more in-depth you can get into the book.

 

[Jhubbard9]

Okay I have a bunch of different grains right now and don't know which ones to use when doing all grains. So steeping is basically the same as mashing but you just have to make sure the temp is perfect? Even when I steep my grains I make sure they are 150-155 degrees consistently before I add my grains. I have a pale malt and 6 row right now along with a lot of other grains I can use in a mash. I am currently trying to formulate my own recipes using all grains and need to know how the sugars even get converted into the wort just from grains. Does like a 6 row or pale malt create sugars or only release enzymes in which other specialty grains can than release other enzymes creating the simply sugars. Basically I'm asking could I use like 5 pounds of just pale malt or 2/6 row to get sugars or do they only serve the purpose of creating those enzymes for other grains to do the job?

 

[acidrain]

Okay I have a bunch of different grains right now and don't know which ones to use when doing all grains. So steeping is basically the same as mashing but you just have to make sure the temp is perfect? Even when I steep my grains I make sure they are 150-155 degrees consistently before I add my grains. I have a pale malt and 6 row right now along with a lot of other grains I can use in a mash. I am currently trying to formulate my own recipes using all grains and need to know how the sugars even get converted into the wort just from grains. Does like a 6 row or pale malt create sugars or only release enzymes in which other specialty grains can than release other enzymes creating the simply sugars. Basically I'm asking could I use like 5 pounds of just pale malt or 2/6 row to get sugars or do they only serve the purpose of creating those enzymes for other grains to do the job?

First you have to crush the grains, then mash at an exact temperature for a given amount of time.
Then drain and sparge to get your pre-boil volume.

I would not try and make your own recipe... find one on the beersmith site or on the recipe forum here.

Watching You Tube videos is probably the best way to get an idea of what to do, and also to see some different kinds of equipment.

 

[balrog]

Read about diastatic power and mashing, for instance here. All the answers are there for the reading.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CB8QFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.howtobrew.com%2F&ei=HoeoU5LaFc6Bqgb9uoHABw&usg=AFQjCNGaXeWgrdU7lR5w5GscGEJqCkvapA&sig2=0mekjNsYut_rb_9JGaEasw&bvm=bv.69411363,d.b2k

Like solbes said, read through How To Brew. There is a lot more too it than just steeping with temperature control. It requires more equipment, attention to detail, time. It should be something you plan to do, not just one day say "today I'm gonna try an all-grain brew". Keep brewing kits to polish your other skills until you've read the whole book and understand it all. Then start by making tried and recommended recipes so you know whether your problem is poor technique or a poor recipe.

 

[TechyDork]

At the top of this All Grain forum is a great sticky with link to some great videos and tutorials. I would give those a quick read/view and that will help you get a better understanding of the All Grain brew process.

it isn't really that much more difficult than the extract brewing you have been doing. If you have a collection of grains i would say grab 6-8 lbs of 2 row and a half a pound of some crystal malts and mash at 154 for 60 min. Add 1 oz or so of a decent alpha bittering hop and boil for 60 min and then throw an ounce or so in for the last 10 minutes of the boil. that way you can use what you have on hand, and get a good idea of the process, and you will make beer!

have fun.

 

[Clarke]

and the journey begins...

Google, youtube and john palmer...

 

[Foosier]

You really need to read a book. Papazian's book is great. How to brew is great. Start there. Once you have read you should try a recipe using those techniques. Coming here and asking "how to" is a huge question. You need to read up on the basics first to know what questions you need to be asking. We all have been there and there is really no easy way unless you have someone nearby who can walk you through it. Maybe your LHBS has a class? That would be another option.

 

[cobrem]

Just to add to this, specialty grains (non-base malts) are kilned or roasted at temperatures which denature the enzymes, meaning that they cannot do any conversion on their own. Not sure how much this adds to your understanding - :/

 

[Jhubbard9]

Thanks all definitely reading Palmers book and ordered 6 more on amazon for further reading. Just needed a good place to start before I really jump into it.

 

[MindenMan]

Most Public Libraries have a decent selection of home brew books. The first books I read were from the library. Cheap too!

 

[Jhubbard9]

I had some time off of work today and got to studying. All Grain brewing is very simple to what a lot are making it out to be...All you have to do is preheat water to a temp of 155-168 F than add that to a ten gallon mash tun. This will sit for 60-90 minutes with crushed grains added directly to the tun. After this is complete you drain the liquid into your boiling pot and sparge ( which is just a fancy word for sprinkling water over the grains previously soaking in the tun to get your final product) in which now you can boil an add hops and whatever else you want. The only thing you have to watch is mash temperature, the amount of water per pound of grain used and crash chilling. If im wrong correct me but thats what it seems to be from my perspective.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

As far as basic principles: yes it is very simple. Soak grain to dissolve sugar, rinse grain to collect wort, boil wort to make beer.
But the devil is in the details and your equipment. Learning how much you need to vorlauf to prevent grain from going in the kettle, adjusting for your efficiency so you hit the gravity you expect, how much heat your mashtun loses during mash.

 

[Takuie]

You don't have to buy Jon palmers book. He offers it free on his website as well as a downloadable PDF file. how to brew

Most of us here started same as you did, but before opening the world of all grain and customizing recipes, you gotta learn to walk before you can run. Myself, I brewed by recipes already formed. Once I mastered those recipes, I would tweak them a little to make them better for me. Couple brews that way and you will be hammering out beer recipes for the gods in no time.
You don't have to buy expensive mash tuns or HLTs. There is a plethora of information on how to make your own with little to no cash. It's all about the research and doing your homework.

My first all grain was biermunchers cream of three crops. Cheap grain bill and is by far one of my favorite lawnmower beers. Friends love it, can't keep enough of it around.

 

[RonPopeil]

Hello everyone I have never done an all grain batch and am now trying to broaden my horizons and want to start all grain brewing. There is only one problem...I don't know the first thing about it! I have made many good (and bad) batches of beer so I know enough to get me started. I am still confused about what grains can be steeped and cannot be steeped to release starches. I also have been brewing by steeping grains, adding my sugar/malt extract bringing to a boil then adding hops, cooling and putting in a six gallon plastic fermentor. I just want literally any information about all grain brewing! Thanks for all your time!

I'm going to go against the grain (lolol) a bit and give you my personal experience. Skip the books. How To Brew from Palmer is good to have but I use this forum and google more than anything.

The main thing to learn about all grain is the basic process of brewing beer this way and how you're going to adapt that procedure to your brewing space. Grains are easy. You can look at recipes and figure out which grains are base grains and which are specialty grains. You can always look at northern brewr, morebeer, briess and weyerman's websites to learn more about that stuff as well. Then you'll want to know about styles which bjcp is great for. The take away from there is that while style guidelines are tight, breaking the rules is a lot of fun too.

Familiarize yourself with the whole mash >boil > chill > ferment process. Figure out the logistics of your environment. Are you going to have to carry an 8 Gal kettle filled with hot wort 15 yards to your hose to chill it? Plan your space out.

About the process. Beer is fermented, carbonated wort. So you, as a brewer need to make wort. This is done by "mashing" or soaking grains in warm water. Temperatures vary by recipe. This soak, generally, lasts for an hour at which point you will drain the fluid out of your soaking vessel (typically a mash tun). The next part of mashing is called sparging. I do what's called "batch sparging. Basically you fill the mash tun with another volume of warm water and agitate the grain to extract more sugar. The other method commonly used is called "fly sparging" which is a process of gently showering your grains with the hot water while your drain the mash tun. It's a little trickier and people say it's going to result in a less malty beer. It also improves how much sugar you can extract from X amount of grain (extract efficiency).

From here it's the same as full boil extract. Bring to a boil and run your hop schedule. Chill it as fast as possible and get it in the fermenter. Job done.

 

[KeninMN]

At a minimum, here are two places to start:

The BIAB sticky:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f244/biab-brewing-pics-233289/

The Water Chemistry sticky:

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

 

[RonPopeil]

I wouldn't even worry about water builds yet. Get a Camco drinking water hose along with a Camco inline carbon filter. $30 investment that works quite well on city waters. If you're using municipality water then odds are your biggest challenge will be chlorine and this Camco setup works quite well for getting rid of that.

 

[Jhubbard9]

Right now im just trying to get the very basics of all grain and going from there. I just wish I had my own space and a bigger budget to work with. Being 21, full time work/college student and working with a kitchen sink in a small apartment my brewing capabilities right now are severally limited. All this information is very helpful and love how the brewing community is always open to sharing information to help everyone out! Hopefully when I go to brew school ill be able to start answering some questions.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Right now im just trying to get the very basics of all grain and going from there. I just wish I had my own space and a bigger budget to work with. Being 21, full time work/college student and working with a kitchen sink in a small apartment my brewing capabilities right now are severally limited. All this information is very helpful and love how the brewing community is always open to sharing information to help everyone out! Hopefully when I go to brew school ill be able to start answering some questions.

Skip brew school. It's like bartending school, and it's a waste of time. Read everything you can on the internet, and join a local brew club. You'll be amazed at the amount of high quality educational materials/people that are all around you.

Go get a real education for life, and stick with brewing as a hobby for now. Use your higher education later to pursue your love of brewing. Horse first. Cart later.


I'm drunk. I'm going to bed now, because I'm old...

 

[Takuie]

Doing your research is by far the most important step. I read, research and study anything and everything I can get my hands on. By the time I was ready for all grain, I felt that book wise, I was a subject expert. This forum and google are by far my most valuable resources for information and answers to questions.

Pick a simple recipe with a cheap grain bill and brew it a few times. Take good notes, review your notes and learn from your experiences as well as your mistakes.

 

[Jhubbard9]

Hahaha @ k1ngl1ves! I feel you on the drunk part but whats posting to a homebrew forum without having a couple of your own brews right? I eventually want to open up my own brewhouse and spread the interest and passion I have for making beer to everyone within a community. I think brew school would be the best way to do that. It gives me credibility when trying to open up my own brewery. I love brewing and have been doing it since I was 16. I just want to gather as much information as I can from seasoned pros like yourself so I can eventually take all of my learning and apply it to become successful doing something I love.

 

[divrguy]

I think all grain is way easier than most think. Once you start doing AG, you don't have to worry about which grains need mashing and which don't. They all get mashed. Recipes get easier, you can do anything your heart desires. Your journey only gets better and more fun from here.

Can you afford to go to a good school like Siebel Institute? If you're really set on going pro, an education in today's fast moving craft brew market would be invaluable!

Cheers!

 

[DurtyChemist]

Hello everyone I have never done an all grain batch and am now trying to broaden my horizons and want to start all grain brewing. There is only one problem...I don't know the first thing about it! I have made many good (and bad) batches of beer so I know enough to get me started. I am still confused about what grains can be steeped and cannot be steeped to release starches. I also have been brewing by steeping grains, adding my sugar/malt extract bringing to a boil then adding hops, cooling and putting in a six gallon plastic fermentor. I just want literally any information about all grain brewing! Thanks for all your time!

I made the switch a while ago from extract right into all grain. I do brew in a bag which is very easy to understand coming from partial mash. You put ALL of the grains in the bag and steep them at a specific temperature (148-160F) for an hour or longer. You pull the grains out just like you've done in the past and everything is the same. Bring to a boil, add hops, chill and ferment. I brew in a keggle and the easiest way for me to mash was to add about 8 gallons of water, 10-15 lbs of grain and just do that once or twice to get an understanding of everything. After that you can start reading about how much water, pre boil gravities, step mash, and anything else you can think of. You'll wonder why you didn't switch earlier.

 

[Jhubbard9]

@ divrguy I live in Colorado and fortunately live close to CSU which is home to many micro breweries and for the reason CSU offers a fermentation technologies major.

 

[charliehorse]

Jhubbard... there is a lot of good advice on the Internet on how to brew an all-grain batch of beer but nothing beats the experience of participating with somebody who has been there. Since you live in Colorado, I've sure that there is a homebrew club nearby. That said, remember, brewing beer isn't rocket surgery. Relax. It ain't that complicated and you shouldn't have to mortgage your house to get started with All-grain. People have been making beer for about 10,000 years, with improvements with every batch (OK... BMC beers have been a step backward).

While it might be handy to go to CSU for some classes, this seems to be a bit excessive. Basically, you only need 4 things that you might not already have. something to mash your grains in, something to do a full boil (of about 7.5 gallons), something to get the temperature of your wort to a boil quickly and something to cool it down quickly. A bathtub full of ice water ain't gonna work anymore.

Let's face it, if you can read, making an extract kit isn't all that hard. All-grain brewing isn't much harder. The easiest thing to do is to find somebody local who brews all-grain and do a batch with them and ask questions until you loose your voice. This is exactly how I learned and I've "paid it forward" many times. The best part about learning like this is that you now have a brew partner. I asked questions to a total stranger at the local brew shop and made a friend.

With all of that in mind, the last thing that I would do is go charging into your local brew shop with your credit card in hand, jumping with excitement announcing that you are going to start brewing All-grain. You'll end up with lots of expensive equipment that you just don't need. Start simple and work your way gradually. This time next year, you'll be answering questions.