newbie wants to get started with grains

[beerburglar]

i just brewed my first batch of beer with LME, it's fermenting now and should be done by the weekend. i want to try a batch with grain, and i'm wondering what would be the easiest, cheapest brew to start with to brew from grains? should i try a few more brews with LME first? any help would be awesome, thanks, and cheers!

 

[HillbillyBrewer]

www.dennybrew.com and also the following youtube video is a nice watch:



That's if you are wanting to go all grain. Basically a cooler with a braided hose in the bottom and spigot on the outside is all you need to get started with AG.


If you meant brewing with specialty grains, just steep them in the water for 30 minutes at about 150 degrees, remove and then bring water to a boil and brew as usual.

 

[IrregularPulse]

read read read, Then just do it. It's easy than it looks/sounds. I'm thinking you mean AG

 

[Bonnevillain]

Just dive into AG. I started with all grain after researching on this site for a few weeks--no books necessary (though reading them later on certainly helped me with my process).

If you want a cheap, easy brew to start with, I'd recommend a hefeweissen. You will definitely want to use a blow-off tube rather than an airlock when fermenting, as wheat produces a ton of krausen. Hefes are best consumed young, so an added bonus is that your beer will be drinkable quite soon.

 

[malkore]

search the forums for 'partial mash'. it'll let you learn some all grain basics, and any problems with low gravity are resolved with DME or LME during the boil.

it takes a bit of dedicated equipment to brew All Grain.

 

[beerburglar]

wow, thanks a lot everone for the prompt responses! i think i have heard that trying a hefeweissen is a good start somewhere else as well. (bonnevillain) what is a "blow-off tube" and where can i get one cheap?

 

[Bonnevillain]

A blow-off tube is basically just a bigger airlock that you make with some tubing. If you're fermenting in a bucket, you can attach a few feet of 1/2" tubing to the bottom part of a three-piece airlock and stick that into your bucket lid. The other end of the hose goes into a small bucket of water (preferably StarSan solution or a weak bleach solution [ratio of 1 oz bleach/5 gals. water]). This way the beer foam will end up in the bucket rather than spewing out of your airlock.

If you're using a carboy, you can just get a section of big tubing that fits snugly into the neck of the carboy.

Do a Google image search for "blow off tube" and you will see the many ways people have done this.

 

[FxdGrMind]

Dito on the "Partial Mash" suggestion.

Do you have a LHBS? (Local Home Brew Shop) If not look up some of the online ones and take a look at their Kits, they should give you an indication by "Ingredients".

LME and DME (are vaugely the same, one wet one dry hence L and D )

Look for recipies with Grain bills in addtion to the LME or DME. They should have a recipie instructions for processing these "Specialty" grains. Like "Steep" at 150-155 for X amount of time.... with Y amount of water etc.

It's like taking a baby step into ALL Grain. Lets you know how it works and still if you mess it up you still end up with realy good beer as the Specialty grains usually don't add much to the OG.(origional gravity, taken after boil/before adding yeast)

Do some looking in the Recipie section here too. Lots of Great info there and help is always just a click away!

Love this Place!!!:rockin: