I'm very lost. Please help.

[Codafisler]

I have read the How to brew book. Cover to cover And I cannot for the life of me understand how to make an all grain wort. I don't know what it is. I have made several different meads. Show, plum, spiced etc. with no problem.I have made one Coopers Real Ale. From extract. And it turned out half descent. No off flavored. And I have another Coopers, Irish stout. Fermenting. I don't know if I'm reading the book wrong Or it's just not clicking in my head. But I'd really like to further my beer making by making my own recipes.
If any of you can help it be much appreciated.

 

[GrogNerd]

if you've made oatmeal, rice, pasta or potatoes, you've done what we do to get wort from barley: heated up starch in water and kept it at a constant temperature for a set amount of time

in those instances, when time is up, you toss the water (well, hard to do with oatmeal) and keep the starchy goodness

with this thing of ours, you toss the grain & keep the sweet wort

from there, the procedure is exactly as it was with your Coopers extract, boil + hops + ferment + carbonate = Cheers!

 

[NothingRhymesWithCurtiss]

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but here is a simple all grain wort/batch (Pale Ale):

9lbs 2 Row
Mash at 153 for 60 Minutes

Bring to Boil

.25 oz Centennial at 60 Minutes
.25 oz Centennial at 30 Minutes
.25 oz Centennial at 15 Minutes
.25 oz Centennial at Flame Out

Pitch yeast of your choice.

 

[JimRausch]

If I were you, I'd continue doing extract kits for a while until the process is smoother and makes more sense. Then take a baby step up to partial mashes before going to AG.
And reread the relevant Chapters in J.P.'s book. Study it like it was a textbook(which it really is). Use a highlighter so you can go back later to the important parts.
Plenty of recipes out there using LME and DME. You don't have to do AG to design a great recipe.
Good luck, you can do it!

 

[McKnuckle]

Read a different book? Watch some YouTube videos? Even though there are a ton of variables, distracting details, and process variations, the basic concept is extremely simple.

Mill grains
Dump them into hot water to a target temperature between 145-160F
Stir and let this sit for an hour, then...
Drain the liquid away
Optionally, rinse the grains with more hot water

The liquid output is wort. You then boil it and discard the spent grain.

 

[boydster]

In a nutshell, you need to heat some water (this is called your strike water) up enough so that when you add your grains, the temps settles down around 150-155F and hold it there for an hour (this is mashing). Then separate the wort from the grain (brew-in-a-bag brewers keep the grain in a mesh bag and remove it when mashing is done, for instance), bring it to a boil, and treat it like an extract kit from that point forward.

Does that help? Or is there a particular part that doesn't make sense and you want more detail about?

 

[JONNYROTTEN]

In simple terms:
Heat water to 160
Put your desired grain in a bag
steep 1 hour
pull bag
You just made all grain beer

 

[madscientist451]

Just break it down into separate steps:
1. Decide what beer you want to make.
2. Find an established recipe here on HBT or elsewhere on the internet.
3. Obtain the grain fron a local supplier or online retailer.
4. Put the grain in a BIAB bag, put bag w/grain in a brew pot w/water at the correct temperature, stir it up and wait.
5. Pull bag out and turn up the heat and let it boil for an hour.

So that it, you now have wort.
Go on you tube and watch some videos and then just jump right in, you'll figure a way that works best for you.

 

[Sailingeric]

Not sure if this is what you're looking for, but here is a simple all grain wort/batch (Pale Ale):

9lbs 2 Row
Mash at 153 for 60 Minutes

Bring to Boil

.25 oz Centennial at 60 Minutes
.25 oz Centennial at 30 Minutes
.25 oz Centennial at 15 Minutes
.25 oz Centennial at Flame Out

Pitch yeast of your choice.

Using this example, you will need to heat about 4.5 gallons of water to about 168, put the water into your mash tun with the grains. After an hour, drain into your pot and add another 3.5 gallons to the mash tun and fresh drain again. This should give you about 6.5 of wort. Bring to boil, add hops. After about an hour it will boil down to 5 gallons. Pitch yeast .

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

In other words, you are "mashing" the grain, in hot water and "extracting" the sugars. Then follow the process of boiling wort and adding your hop additions. Hope that helps.

 

[Saboral]

When you get crushed grain, the grain's starch's are exposed and ready to be converted into sugar. When you place the grain in 148-154 degree water the alpha and beta amalayze enzymes start converting the starches to fermentable sugars. From there out its just like extract.

 

[mongoose33]

Take your malted grain (barley, if I were you, to start, so you don't have to worry about diastatic power), and crush it. This allows the water (and enzymes in the malt) to get to the starch. If you don't have a grain mill, your LHBS can crush grain for you, or you can buy it online crushed.

Put some hot water in a mash tun. I use an Igloo cooler. Stir in the grist (now crushed). Make sure all the grain is wet in the mash (no dough balls floating on top). Cover it, and probably wrap the cooler w/ a blanket or simliar. Let sit for 60 minutes, stirring a couple of times.

At the end of that you have wort, pre-boil. It's sort of a magical thing.

Drain off the wort from the mash tun. Start by draining slowly, so the grain bed can act as a filter. Takes about a quart or two for the wort to run clear, at which point, collect it. Mix in some more hot water, stir, then drain off again (this is sparging, or rinsing the wort out of the grain).

And at that point, it's the same as if it were an extract brew. Boil, add hops at appropriate times, cool down, ferment.


Now, as simple as that it, there are things that may make it more....involved. Water PH, and adding additions to the water to correct imbalances in the water profile. Mash temperature. Things like that.

But--as noted above--if you take an established recipe, you can figure out the process without concern as to whether your recipe is at fault for any issues that emerge.

 

[GHBWNY]

@ Codafisler: all the explanations here are great and about as simple as can be. But is there someone who brews in your area you can have help you, or maybe watch them brew. By reading alone, the all-grain process somewhat intimidated me --- until I watched someone do it right in front of me (at a class given by a rep from a local brew club). Seeing it done in person took all the mystery (and fear) out of trying it for myself.

 

[Codafisler]

Wow. I want to thank everyone for their quick and helpful responses!
I can't figure out how to quote on my phone so bear with me.
Nothingrymeswithcurtiss. I don't understand the 9lb 2 row. I know what 9lbs is. But not 2 row.
Boydster. I basically make tea with the grain? That's what I'm understanding? That's called the mash?
I have a home brew store near me but no one takes me seriously. Being 22 and wanting to make good beer and wine is apparently never heard of so I just get cold shoulders when I ask these questions there.

 

[Codafisler]

@ Codafisler: all the explanations here are great and about as simple as can be. But is there someone who brews in your area you can have help you, or maybe watch them brew. By reading alone, the all-grain process somewhat intimidated me --- until I watched someone do it right in front of me (at a class given by a rep from a local brew club). Seeing it done in person took all the mystery (and fear) out of trying it for myself.

I HAVE FIGURED OUT THE QUOTE THING!! I'm learning! That would help me out tremendously. But I have no clue if anyone around me brews. I'm sure there are but I have no way to know

 

[GHBWNY]

Wow. I want to thank everyone for their quick and helpful responses!
I can't figure out how to quote on my phone so bear with me.
Nothingrymeswithcurtiss. I don't understand the 9lb 2 row. I know what 9lbs is. But not 2 row.
Boydster. I basically make tea with the grain? That's what I'm understanding? That's called the mash?
I have a home brew store near me but no one takes me seriously. Being 22 and wanting to make good beer and wine is apparently never heard of so I just get cold shoulders when I ask these questions there.

"2-row" is the most common type of barley used in most ales.

Yeah, you're basically making a "tea" with the grains. After an hour of "steeping" (mashing) the grains in the 152-degree (or so) water, you rinse them in some more hot water to get every last bit of sugar out of them. Discard the grains; you have just created your own "extract". Proceed as you would with your extract brew.

 

[Jimbodaman]

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMHLqnWCNjE[/ame]

 

[Codafisler]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMHLqnWCNjE

Extremely helpful. I'm a very hands on type of person. Thank you so much! Now to just learn how to pre start? The yeast like he did

 

[Dynachrome]

Just break it down into separate steps:
1. Decide what beer you want to make.
2. Find an established recipe here on HBT or elsewhere on the internet.
3. Obtain the grain fron a local supplier or online retailer.
3.5 Crush your grain (Local Home Brew Shop LHBS may be willing to do it for you BTW)
4. Put the grain in a BIAB bag, put bag w/grain in a brew pot w/water at the correct temperature, stir it up and wait.
5. Pull bag out and turn up the heat and let it boil for an hour.

So that it, you now have wort.
Go on you tube and watch some videos and then just jump right in, you'll figure a way that works best for you.

added step 3.5

 

[SunnyDownSnuff]

I second the poster above who says stick with extract and partial grain for a while. Meantime read the threads here, read and read and read some more. Eventually it will all make sense, then you can start with a one gallon batch or brew in bag or whatever. But keep reading and keep learning. As for your local home brew shop, don't they have any demonstration classes? Or, as also suggested above, find a local home brewer and sit in. Unless they are a complete misanthrope, they will be glad to help. And keep reading. Surf that net and mentally devour all you see. We're in the Information Age, and it's wonderful for this sort of thing. Cheers!

 

[filthyastronaut]

I feel like almost every brewer needs to have all grain demystified, and from then on it all seems fairly straightforward. Extract is basically just concentrated wort that has already been mashed for you. I would compare it to making cake out of a box vs. from scratch. Mashing, like everybody has been saying, is the process of immersing crushed malt in water and holding it at a range of temperatures, typically around 150 degrees. Through the malting process, the grain has enzymes that convert starches from the grain into sugar. When mashing, you are essentially just activating the enzymes by creating the appropriate conditions for them to do their work. There are many ways of getting this done, and the cheapest and most beginner friendly is probably Brew in a Bag. With that, you put your crushed grain in a large mesh bag and submerse it in the water, and you lift the bag to drain it. For that, you just need a large enough kettle and a large enough bag.

 

[Codafisler]

I feel like almost every brewer needs to have all grain demystified, and from then on it all seems fairly straightforward. Extract is basically just concentrated wort that has already been mashed for you. I would compare it to making cake out of a box vs. from scratch. Mashing, like everybody has been saying, is the process of immersing crushed malt in water and holding it at a range of temperatures, typically around 150 degrees. Through the malting process, the grain has enzymes that convert starches from the grain into sugar. When mashing, you are essentially just activating the enzymes by creating the appropriate conditions for them to do their work. There are many ways of getting this done, and the cheapest and most beginner friendly is probably Brew in a Bag. With that, you put your crushed grain in a large mesh bag and submerse it in the water, and you lift the bag to drain it. For that, you just need a large enough kettle and a large enough bag.

I was thinking of using a camping cooler (new one). Is there anyway I can add a heater of sorts in it to keep it at a exact temp I need? Or is it just a pour boiling water in and cover?

 

[Dynachrome]

Yeah, you need your base grain to be malted. That process releases the enzymes that break down the grain starches into sugar. It's referred to also as diastatic power.

Malt extract is frequently used in the brewing of beer. Its production begins by germinating barley grain in a process known as malting, immersing barley in water to encourage the grain to sprout, then drying the barley to halt the progress when the sprouting begins.

The other specialty grains may not be malted. They are for flavor and color.

 

[Dynachrome]

I was thinking of using a camping cooler (new one). Is there anyway I can add a heater of sorts in it to keep it at a exact temp I need? Or is it just a pour boiling water in and cover?

Using a thermometer is highly recommended. Most brewers shoot for a target temperature around 154 deg F. To low and you won't get starch conversion, too high and you will get astringent tanic flavors.

 

[filthyastronaut]

I was thinking of using a camping cooler (new one). Is there anyway I can add a heater of sorts in it to keep it at a exact temp I need? Or is it just a pour boiling water in and cover?

You wouldn't need a heater if you have an insulated cooler. Typically you would calculate the temperature of the water you add to the grain so that when you add it (some people add grain to the water, others add water to the grain) the temperature drops to your target mash temperature. If you miss it, you would add hot or cold water to adjust it, unless you are mashing on a burner of some sort and can heat it directly. No matter what you do, a trusty thermometer is your friend.

 

[FatDragon]

Wow. I want to thank everyone for their quick and helpful responses!
I can't figure out how to quote on my phone so bear with me.
Nothingrymeswithcurtiss. I don't understand the 9lb 2 row. I know what 9lbs is. But not 2 row.
Boydster. I basically make tea with the grain? That's what I'm understanding? That's called the mash?
I have a home brew store near me but no one takes me seriously. Being 22 and wanting to make good beer and wine is apparently never heard of so I just get cold shoulders when I ask these questions there.

Simple answers: 2-row is brewing barley. Yes, mashing is making tea with grain.

Slightly longer answers:

2-row is a variety of barley. It's the most common grain in US beer brewing (and many other places as well) so it's often assumed you'll know what it is. What we use is actually malted 2-row barley - the grain is allowed to germinate and then stopped in the middle of the process by being dried in a kiln. The malting process is necessary to producing wort from grain, but you don't need to be too concerned with it because your brewing grain is already malted for you.

"Mashing" is essentially making tea with malted grain. You crush or grind the grain before mashing (most brew shops will do this for you if you request it and most brew kits come with grains already crushed) in order to extract the starches and allow the enzymes to work on them. Mashing requires relatively controlled temperatures to work; in general, you need to keep the grain tea steeping between about 60-70 degrees celsius or 142-160 degreens fahrenheit. Within that range you will make wort, but most recipes call for a more specific temperature within that range as a warmer or cooler mash will produce wort with different characteristics.

For me, reading about brewing didn't really help much until I actually watched the process for myself. If your homebrew shop doesn't do brewing classes where you can watch and be involved in brewing an all-grain beer as a student of the craft, try and find a local all-grain homebrewer (ask customers at the brew shop if necessary) who will let you participate in a brewday with him or her. Most of us are all too delighted to evangelize the hobby and help out a new brewer.

 

[MaryB]

If we knew your location maybe an all grain brewer would step up and have you help a batch or two. We always needs slavers... errr helpers to do the cleaning, sanitizing, and other drudge work lol! Kidding aside it would be a good way to learn and once past the mash step it is al the same as an extract brew.

 

[Codafisler]

If we knew your location maybe an all grain brewer would step up and have you help a batch or two. We always needs slavers... errr helpers to do the cleaning, sanitizing, and other drudge work lol! Kidding aside it would be a good way to learn and once past the mash step it is al the same as an extract brew.

I'm in Tacoma Washington. I'm more than willing to buy anything someone would need to teach me. I do not shy from hard work either. GET THE WORD OUT!

 

[DU99]

Find a local brewer and sit in on session or two,then get him to walk you thru it as you do your batch.Its seems complicated with terms used .but once you get the hang of it,there will no stopping you..as other's have said there's of video's around on

 

[day_trippr]

This club is in South Tacoma http://www.hopsclub.com/
Might be worth checking them out...

Cheers!