Reflections on a first All Grain brew day

[rrvbrad88]

I brewed my first all grain batch sunday morning (5-29) and I was eager with excitement to step into this next phase of brewing. Having done extract kits and a partial mash for about a year I was ready to move on with this...(obsession).

I chose to do "Yoopers Haus Pale Ale" OG 1.058 and picked up the grains from my LHBS. I asked about the crush on his mill and he told me "its a good crush."

At the start of the day I preheated my mash tun (10g round cooler) and ss braid manifold inside with 1g of 180+ degree water for 10 mins or so.

I had a target mash of 154* with a 1.5 qt/lb ratio (16.5 qts total) so I heated my strike water to 170* and drained the tun and added 2/3 of the strike water in (with a silicone hose from my kettle valve, figured out that was a mistake in about 4 seconds)

Once most of the water was in I started doughing in and poured a little bit of grain at a time while stirring. After all the grain and strike water was I put my thermometer probe in and put the lid on for about 5 minutes. My mash temp was too high at about 156.5* so I mildly panicked and poured in some cool water and stirred....still too high I added more-maybe a quart+ and let it sit again...now 149*....F word. So some more mild panic-ing I added a pint of boiling water and got it to about 151.5 and I said the heck with it and let it be for 60 mins. Stirring at the 30 min mark.

Vourlauf-ing and draining the tun went fine and I added my sparge water to do a batch sparge. (another 16.5 qts) I was under the impression that the sparged water should not be over 170 so I added it to the tun and stirred and put my thermometer in-5 minutes later it reads 161*...

The gravity of the initial mash was 1.040 with about 14qts of wort
I added enough of my sparge water (the runnings being 1.010) to bring my kettle to a 6.5g boil. Gravity read 1.040....shoot. I added another gallon of sparge water and started the boil at 7.5 gallons to get more out of my low efficiency mash. I boiled till the level dropped to 6.5 g, maybe 45 mins to and hour and started my hop additions and the rest was normal.

My post boil OG came in at 1.050. It was surprisingly clear too, which made me feel good. Felt a little thin but the flavor was nice. First time using US-05 too(rehydrated), took about 40 hours before any airlock activity.

Anything I should do in my mash process to make things go smoother?

 

[dsniegocki]

Congrats! That actually sounds about par for the course for a first time with the standard cooler set-up. I don't think you hurt anything with the temperature swings, although the low OG makes me think you might want to ask for a double-crush at your LHBS.

The target temps will come with a little more experimentation... you'll settle in on a volume and temp to heat your strike water that you know will bring your mash to a certain temp. Every setup is different, so the best advice I think is to not change too many variables at once so that you can find what works for you... ie, your initial temp was too high, so either reduce your strike volume slightly or (preferably) lower the strike temp for next time. And keep a journal so that you know what you did last time, it is so so easy to forget.

One thing that you didn't mention is water chemistry and pH of your mash... that's important as well.

 

[pointcity-homebrew]

I brewed my first AG yesterday, a basic blonde ale.

I decided to handle the brew day "carelessly", meaning that I was not trying to hit the numbers "on the head", but within acceptable range.

I hit my numbers spot on, with an 80% efficiency.


This is how I mashed-

Coleman extreme chest cooler w/bazooka screen.

Heated strike water to ~175 F, transferred to MT and closed the lid to allow the entire vessel to heat up. I poured all of my grain in at once and mixed thoroughly, making sure to break up any masses. I wanted to minimize the time that the cooler lid would be open. I hit my target of 154. I checked my mash mid way through and stirred, temp was 153.3F. Mashed out, vourlauf, and batch sparge.

 

[kh54s10]

It sounds like your day went fairly well. I always put all my strike water in the tun then add the grain. If it is a little warm stir very well and the temp will drop. If the temp is far off then do what you did. Either add cold water or hot water to get close. A couple of degrees does not concern me. (exact is better)

I see you collected too much wort. I find it easiest to measure the volume of the wort after the mash. I then sparge with about 1/2 of what I need for preboil. I measure again and sparge with what I need for the rest. I need a little over 7 gallons for just over 5 gallons into the fermenter.

I measure with a dip stick I made by adding a gallon of water to my BK, making a notch, adding another gallon, another notch, etc.

Once you know what you need for boil off, getting the proper amount is much easier.

 

[kh54s10]

One thing that you didn't mention is water chemistry and pH of your mash... that's important as well.

I would not worry a beginner with this. I have been brewing all grain for 4 years now and have never measured pH and have only adjusted water in one batch.

I am looking into water to make my great beers even better though!

 

[oljimmy]

I'm a little confused about your numbers: if the first mash runnings were 1.040 and the post-sparge wort was 1.040, that means that the batch sparge runnings were... also 1.040? Having equal extraction from the mash and the batch sparge is very unusual, I believe (mine are usually 35-40 points apart, like 1.060 and 1.020). If you don't have one, I strongly suggest a refractometer to quickly test gravities during an all-grain day.

Anyway. I did the same thing you did on my first AG and panicked trying to hit mash temps bang on... three tips I've picked up: first, stirring hard drops the temp reasonably quick and ups your extraction (win, win). Second: ice cubes help in a pinch, by adding only a tiny amount to your mash. Third: If you're below your mash temp, run off some of the mash into a gallon-pot, boil it and add it back, stirring slowly.

Also if your batch sparge is below 170 don't sweat it. The temp doesn't matter, you are just rinsing sugar off the grains. Hence the importance of stirring.

Finally, you might have this already, but brewing software is your friend (Beersmith saves me so much time...).

 

[doug293cz]

I brewed my first all grain batch sunday morning (5-29) and I was eager with excitement to step into this next phase of brewing. Having done extract kits and a partial mash for about a year I was ready to move on with this...(obsession).

I chose to do "Yoopers Haus Pale Ale" OG 1.058 and picked up the grains from my LHBS. I asked about the crush on his mill and he told me "its a good crush."

At the start of the day I preheated my mash tun (10g round cooler) and ss braid manifold inside with 1g of 180+ degree water for 10 mins or so.

I had a target mash of 154* with a 1.5 qt/lb ratio (16.5 qts total) so I heated my strike water to 170* and drained the tun and added 2/3 of the strike water in (with a silicone hose from my kettle valve, figured out that was a mistake in about 4 seconds)

Once most of the water was in I started doughing in and poured a little bit of grain at a time while stirring. After all the grain and strike water was I put my thermometer probe in and put the lid on for about 5 minutes. My mash temp was too high at about 156.5* so I mildly panicked and poured in some cool water and stirred....still too high I added more-maybe a quart+ and let it sit again...now 149*....F word. So some more mild panic-ing I added a pint of boiling water and got it to about 151.5 and I said the heck with it and let it be for 60 mins. Stirring at the 30 min mark.

Vourlauf-ing and draining the tun went fine and I added my sparge water to do a batch sparge. (another 16.5 qts) I was under the impression that the sparged water should not be over 170 so I added it to the tun and stirred and put my thermometer in-5 minutes later it reads 161*...

The gravity of the initial mash was 1.040 with about 14qts of wort
I added enough of my sparge water (the runnings being 1.010) to bring my kettle to a 6.5g boil. Gravity read 1.040....shoot. I added another gallon of sparge water and started the boil at 7.5 gallons to get more out of my low efficiency mash. I boiled till the level dropped to 6.5 g, maybe 45 mins to and hour and started my hop additions and the rest was normal.

My post boil OG came in at 1.050. It was surprisingly clear too, which made me feel good. Felt a little thin but the flavor was nice. First time using US-05 too(rehydrated), took about 40 hours before any airlock activity.

Anything I should do in my mash process to make things go smoother?

Looks like your actual strike water total was something like 19 - 19.5 qts for a mash thickness of 19 / 11 = 1.73 to 19.5 / 11 = 1.77 qt/lb. Based on the table here, the SG of the wort in your mash (or first runnings SG) should have been 1.071 - 1.073. The fact that you only got 1.040 indicates that your conversion efficiency was somewhere around 100% * 40 / 72 = 56%. This is really low. Homebrewers can routinely attain 95% conversion efficiency or better. Things that can cause low conversion efficiency:

• Mash time too short. Low temp mashes take longer to convert, as do coarse crushes.
• Coarse crush. Larger grits take longer to convert than smaller grits. You can either crush finer or mash longer.
• Mash temperature being way off (less than ~148˚F or greater than ~162˚F) due to thermometer calibration issues. Check your thermometer for accuracy.
• Mash pH being way off (less than 5.0 or greater than 5.8.)

Brew on

 

[rrvbrad88]

Thanks for the tips/kind words. A few more things to mention per your comments:

I used only store bought spring water-ph unknown. I have a ground well in my yard and rural water(probably similar to average town water) in the house that runs through a water softener. Our water is very hard here in northwestern MN and the well water doesn't taste the greatest so I'm not sure about brewing with it without a quality lab report. So I am assuming that for now store bought water is probably the best way to go?

I think my next batch ill order grains from an online supplier and see if the efficiency goes up, but it may be hard to dial in on just that aspect as I learned a lot from my first batch to make #2 go smoother.

Would it be worth doing an iodine conversion test as well?

 

[doug293cz]

Thanks for the tips/kind words. A few more things to mention per your comments:

I used only store bought spring water-ph unknown. I have a ground well in my yard and rural water(probably similar to average town water) in the house that runs through a water softener. Our water is very hard here in northwestern MN and the well water doesn't taste the greatest so I'm not sure about brewing with it without a quality lab report. So I am assuming that for now store bought water is probably the best way to go?

"Spring" water is just as much an unknown as tap water, unless you have a water report for the spring water. Best option for you is to use reverse osmosis (RO) water from the dispensers at the grocery store, and then add gypsum (calcium sulfate), calcium chloride, and then lactic acid or baking soda as needed to get the proper mash pH. Water pH is meaningless for brewing. It's all about the alkalinity of the water and what that does to MASH pH. Read the first few posts in the "A Brewing Water Chemistry Primer" thread. Look into Bru'n Water for adjusting your mash pH. Has a bit of a learning curve, but is easy and fast once you get the hang of it.

I think my next batch ill order grains from an online supplier and see if the efficiency goes up, but it may be hard to dial in on just that aspect as I learned a lot from my first batch to make #2 go smoother.

Would it be worth doing an iodine conversion test as well?

I don't recommend the iodine test. Too many ways to get bad readings. Just measure the SG of the wort in the mash to determine your conversion percentage as described here.

Brew on

 

[DirtyPirate]

It takes a little while to dial in an all grain set up. Like previously said take notes. If your mash temp is a few degrees high just stir a few minutes with lid open. It is easy to panic in beginning but as long as you have good sanitation you will make drinkable beer.

 

[JGF]

Sounds a lot like out first all grain brew day. My dad and I laughed about it when we brewed on Friday about how boring AG has become after how much work it was the first couple of times.

Once we got it dialed in, it's become very predictable and simple. Though, I wasn't so sure that it would get there.

 

[MaryB]

My first all grain brew in 30 years today, on an all new setup... I overshot mash temp by 8 degrees(added some cold water to drop it a bit). I need to adjust water amounts because I boiled off a quart more than a test showed. In the end I got 81.5% efficiency and the wort taste test was fine. Beer is pretty forgiving stuff!