My First AG Brew

[gonzo1974]

Well, after 4 extract batches, I picked up the extra equipment to do all grain. And I must say that the experience was awesome. I hope I checked off all my rookie mistakes:
1) old propane tank. had a hard time getting the flame just right and had a lot of soot on my kettles. oh, and then I ran out of propane 45 minutes into my boil and had to run next door to the feed store for a replacement. I got the wort boiling within 10 minutes and finished a full hour.
2) boil over. I guess I was intoxicated by the wonderful aroma of the hops, because no sooner than I dropped them into the wort, I had a massive boilover. It looked like bits of pesto all over the side of my kettle and floor. I was doing a blonde ale, so I hope this doesn't negatively impact my batch.

All in all, I think it went well. I have two more AG recipes planned this month, so hopefully they will go more smoothly.... I just hated that I had to go buy more propane today and the extra clean up was a hassle. Thanks to everyone on the forum for their advice.

 

[DirtyJersey]

Congrats! I just did my first all grain batch about 3 weeks ago and loved the process. To me, it was much more fun than extract. I racked to secondary today and tasted a sample.....tasted great! Can't wait to bottle and drink!

 

[Rivenin]

welcome!

 

[rambler]

Welcome to the obsession!! and Congrats on the beer!, I have been all grain brewing for 6 or 7 years now and wil never go back.

 

[GoCardinals09]

A note on the boil over. Adding the hops will always cause that. Try to use a giant spoon to whirlpool the wort before you add the hops and continue to spin the boiling wort while adding the hops. this will force the hops to the bottom of the brew kettle and stop the boil over.

Cheers

 

[zac]

My first AG batch took 8 hours, now I can knock out 30 gallons in 8 hours. Welcome to the good side of beer. Find a good base malt supplier.

 

[gonzo1974]

A note on the boil over. Adding the hops will always cause that. Try to use a giant spoon to whirlpool the wort before you add the hops and continue to spin the boiling wort while adding the hops. this will force the hops to the bottom of the brew kettle and stop the boil over.

Cheers

Thanks for the guidance on the boil over!

 

[gonzo1974]

There was minimal air lock activity this week... but thanks to the great advice on HBT, I waited it out and took a hydrometer reading... 1011 from an OG of 1044. I tasted the sample and it was very good. Will check again tomorrow before sending over to secondary.