What to expect for my first AG

[Bamsdealer]

Pretty pumped. I have a 10 gallon igloo with false bottom on its way along with 11lbs 2 row, 1lb vienna and .5 lb crystal 40. If all goes well with my move to a new house this week, I'd like to brew on Memorial Day. I have some magnum and several ounces of cascade on hand, so that's what I'll be using for my hops. Also have a few packs of Notty Ale Yeast.

What can I expect for efficiency my first go around? I know there are some factors like PH, mash temp, etc so that's where my questions lie. I'd like to use tap water treated with campden tablets. I'll be on the same water in my new house and based on my current shower and shower head, probably have a decent amount of calcium in it. Without knowing the chemistry, would I be better off going half tap and half distilled water for a pale or IPA?

I plan to adjust the hops based on my OG. If it's in the 1.06 range I'll go with an IPA and use more hops. If it's in the 1.04 range, I'll shoot for a pale ale. I'd like to end up with 5.5 in the primary when all is said and done.

I need the most help with water quantities. Going for 5.5 gallons in the primary, how much water should I use for the mash and how much for the sparge? This will be my first completely full boil, so should I shoot to collect 6.5 gallons accounting for 1 gallon of boil off and hop absorbtion over 60 minutes?

On water temps, does 152 sound right for the grain bill listed? I'm guessing I'll need to heat the water to a higher temp to hit that 152 mark... how much higher should it be to account for heat loss during transfer and bringing the grain up to temp. Should I add the grain to hot water or add the hot water to the grain? For the sparge, I plan to sprinkle the water as needed over the grain. If I have time before brew day, I might cut the bottom off a plastic fermenter and drill holes to allow the water to drain evenly over the grain bed.

Stirring. Should I do it once, twice, not at all? At what points should I stir and how long should I mash before starting the sparge? I'm guessing I'll need to add a little hot water each time I remove the lid and stir to keep the temp at 152ish.

I've done as much research as time will allow, but any insight into my first AG brew day is welcomed. Can't wait to post the results!

 

[squeekybobo]

I'm tired out after reading that... You sound like you've got a decent handle on things. First off, I'd try not to worry too much about your efficiency too much, or else you'll be obsessed with it and get bummed if you don't hit all your numbers. I just did my second all grain. My first, I was worried about efficiency, and was bummed out. Kegged and tasted last week, and all I could think about was how it could have been better. My friends and family have all raved about it, and my brew club had positive things to say as well.

 

[Bamsdealer]

yeah, its a lot... just trying to get ahead of the game and eliminate as many hangups as possible my first go around.

 

[ChandlerBang]

yeah, its a lot... just trying to get ahead of the game and eliminate as many hangups as possible my first go around.

The first one is the hardest. You'll screw up something. Forget something. Whatevs. You'll still make good beer. Relax and have fun with the experience and you'll be way more open to learning. And write down EVERYTHING. Then you can go back later and look at it again if you need to.

 

[squeekybobo]

The first one is the hardest. You'll screw up something. Forget something. Whatevs. You'll still make good beer. Relax and have fun with the experience and you'll be way more open to learning. And write down EVERYTHING. Then you can go back later and look at it again if you need to.

+10 to this. It's all a learning process, and a fun and tasty one at that

 

[brewski08]

after my first AG i was really upset about my efficiency. i think i missed my expected OG by 0.02 (around a 50% efficiency). still made great beer though.

the most important aspect of getting used to AG is getting to know your system. as long as you know your system, you can get a consistent efficiency...and as you get to know your system more and more, you'll eventually be able to get a consistent and high efficiency.

once you go AG, you'll never look back. you'll also begin to appreciate your maltier beers much, much more.

 

[ChandlerBang]

after my first AG i was really upset about my efficiency. i think i missed my expected OG by 0.02 (around a 50% efficiency). still made great beer though.

the most important aspect of getting used to AG is getting to know your system. as long as you know your system, you can get a consistent efficiency...and as you get to know your system more and more, you'll eventually be able to get a consistent and high efficiency.

once you go AG, you'll never look back. you'll also begin to appreciate your maltier beers much, much more.

I don't know about never looking back. I like to sneak in an extract brew for ease and speed.

 

[Bamsdealer]

Well, my 1st all grain brew day was a total success. My efficiency was much better than expected so I upped the hop amounts and turned my pale ale into an IPA. I ended up with over 80% efficiency... I think because I collected the runnings and sparged too slowly. After an hour and 20 minutes of collecting wort, I was only around the 2.5 gallon mark so I opened up the valves a little and 40 minutes later I had over 7 gallons of wort at my expected post boil OG.

 

[texasbrewer73]

I don't know about never looking back. I like to sneak in an extract brew for ease and speed.

+1 on that. Especially when your local club gives you 7 lbs of extract free for going to an event.

Good job on the AG. Be careful on lautering too slow though. I've heard tannins and off flavors can get extracted when things are moving too slow. A stuck sparge or less efficiency is better than beer that has off flavors.

 

[daksin]

Awesome. Congrats! Be sure to update us on how the beer turns out. Pictures!

 

[jtkratzer]

How long was your brew day? My first all grain brew, which was also my first electric brew on my new rig, was way longer than expected, but I got 10 gallons of wort into the fermenters.

 

[Bamsdealer]

How long was your brew day? My first all grain brew, which was also my first electric brew on my new rig, was way longer than expected, but I got 10 gallons of wort into the fermenters.

About 7 hours. Probably wasn't the best idea considering I was sore, exhausted and our stuff was in boxes as we were in the process of moving into a new house over the weekend. It took me over an hour just to track down all my brewing stuff in the mess, but I had the grain, yeast and a new mash tun... and just couldn't be denied. Monday evening I started around 6 and didn't finish up till 1AM. Then it took me a couple hours to wind down so I went into work Tuesday on 4 hours of sleep and sore from the move.

I need beer badly as I haven't brewed since March due to a wedding, honeymoon and buying house. I have 3 more brews planned over the next month... can't wait to do another all grain this weekend.

 

[jtkratzer]

About 7 hours. Probably wasn't the best idea considering I was sore, exhausted and our stuff was in boxes as we were in the process of moving into a new house over the weekend. It took me over an hour just to track down all my brewing stuff in the mess, but I had the grain, yeast and a new mash tun... and just couldn't be denied. Monday evening I started around 6 and didn't finish up till 1AM. Then it took me a couple hours to wind down so I went into work Tuesday on 4 hours of sleep and sore from the move.

I need beer badly as I haven't brewed since March due to a wedding, honeymoon and buying house. I have 3 more brews planned over the next month... can't wait to do another all grain this weekend.

Just noticed you're in Collegeville...not that far away. My first brew day took a long time on Saturday. I had to fix a leak in my MLT, learn how to use these dang pumps, and I built a shelf for my fermentation fridge while the wort was chilling. I think I was close to 8 hours from the time I started actually brewing, but I had been up for a few hours before I got started. I'm glad I started in the morning, and on Saturday instead of Monday evening. I was in the same boat with not brewing much over the last few (something like 6 months). I just didn't want to brew another extract batch until I got the eHERMS going and that was extra motivation to finish the build. Mine was getting off active duty, a couple surgeries, our second pregnancy and resulting remodeling project, etc.

 

[Bamsdealer]

Yeah... probably just over an hour. Sounds like you have a really cool setup and have been just as busy as me.

Funny thing. I wrote off brewing this weekend, but Monday afternoon as I was fighting with the foot long grass the previous homeowner left us, beer was on the mind and I began putting my brew day together in my head. Had my wife run out for water as I didn't have time to prep any. I also made my first starter... mainly to see if the yeast was viable after the ice melted and it arrived warm in the mail. It was rocking the following morning so I left my chilled wort sit overnight before pitching. When I got home my 1.067 beer was going good.

I'll definitely be making starters from here on out.

 

[jtkratzer]

Sweet deal. I built the DIY stir plate with a computer fan and some magnets with an LM317 circuit for speed control. Another learning project for me and it works well for my 1.5-2L starters.

 

[Bamsdealer]

Yeah... stir plate is next on my list. The great thing is my house has an extra full sized fridge in the garage. I think I may try a pilsner or lager this weekend before it fills up.

That gets me to thinking. I should probably run out and get some yeast tomorrow so I can step up a starter and have it ready for Saturday or Sunday.

 

[jtkratzer]

Yeah... stir plate is next on my list. The great thing is my house has an extra full sized fridge in the garage. I think I may try a pilsner or lager this weekend before it fills up.

That gets me to thinking. I should probably run out and get some yeast tomorrow so I can step up a starter and have it ready for Saturday or Sunday.

That turns into a chest freezer for food, a side by side for two temps of fermentation control and a dedicated fridge for beer which soon will have three taps on it.