Best Brew for 1st All-Grain Batch?

I got a bonus at work and I decided to blow it on brewing!

I've got enough for an all-grain batch or two. I'm primarily an extract brewer (~6 batches), but I had one horrible attempt at a partial mash. I'm looking to get past that, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a simple all-grain style/recipe to get me over that hurdle.

I have a 5-gallon Igloo-style cooler with a hose braid filter and a 7gal brew kettle, if that helps. I currently have bottled a hefe and am planning a Mosaic IPA, so I'd like to avoid those if possible.

Thanks!

My own opinion here, but the first few are really going to be learning experiences. You're going to pick up on the processes involved in all grain brewing, so the I'd recommend something with few steps (single-infusion mashes, for instance). The 5 gallon cooler will limit the amount of grain you can mash with, If you want an easy drinking beer, I'd say go ESB.

Check out Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde or Cream of Three Crops. 5 gallon cooler should be fine for those but a full volume boil will be challenging with a 7 gallon kettle.

I chose a light bodied beer over a beer that would cover up some of the flaws I might have had in my process. I brewed a kolsch for my first all grain, but you could also do a SmaSh pale ale as well. Like Ardon said, something simple so you can dial in your system and also get a feel for the individual ingredients. Congrats on the step up!

You might go with something a little more malty which will cover slight off flavors you might get while fine tuning your process. Maybe a simple brown ale. One of my best was done from leftovers.

I would suggest either the Irish Red or the Cream Ale all grain kits from northern brewer. The cream ale was my first all grain, and I missed my efficiency by quite a bit, which was because I went to fast on the fly sparge. Anyway, the beer still turned out great, so I would have to suggest that one.

Good luck!

A cream ale might work well...I still have some Irish Red from my starter kit, so I like the idea of a cream ale better. Great lawnmower beer, too; and my dad is very fond of Gennessee Cream.

I will second Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde as your first All Grain brew!
BM's Centennial Blonde

You want something cheap and easy for the first attempt and the grain/hop bill on this one will be super cheap. I would shy away from the cream ale as a first attempt as the corn and/or rice in the grist tends to cause stuck sparges if you don't have the process down well.

Oh, just thought of something--I do have a pound or two of biscuit malt and a pound of flaked oats, if that changes anything.

Thanks for all the ideas, guys!

Jayhem said:

I will second Biermuncher's Centennial Blonde as your first All Grain brew!
BM's Centennial Blonde

You want something cheap and easy for the first attempt and the grain/hop bill on this one will be super cheap. I would shy away from the cream ale as a first attempt as the corn and/or rice in the grist tends to cause stuck sparges if you don't have the process down well.

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Good point on the cream ale. I rescind my recommendation for Cream Of Three Crops.

Third vote for BM's Centennial Blonde. It's a fantastic beer, cheap to make and an all around good beer. I recommend this recipe to all my brewing friends who are just starting all grain. I do ten gallon batches several times a year with excellent results every time.

So next question: how large a pot do I need for a 5-gal all-grain batch?

Enoch52 said:

So next question: how large a pot do I need for a 5-gal all-grain batch?

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Depends on how risky you are lol... I use a 7.5 gal pot for 6ish gallon boil for a 5-gallon batch, and so far so good..

You can probably eke it out with your 7 gal but your brew day will be much easier with a 10 gal.

I agree with BM's Centennial Blonde. It's cheap (I just did a 10 gallon batch for maybe $30 - 5's are around $22 for me) and it's very straightforward. And it's quite tasty. It's also a quick flip - when I've mismanaged my pipeline, I can have this from brew to keg in just over a week (sure it's green still, but it's still beer!)

Just did my first all grain and it turned out great. American wheat from northern brewer. $19.00 plus shipping. Primary fermentation for ten days and then in the keg. So simple and easy to make. Just had people over for a party and every one liked it even the bud and miller crowd. Great first brew.

Just priced this out at my local homebrew shop--$27.27 for 5gal and $45.47 for 10gal (mostly due to grain being sold by the pound and hops sold by the ounce). Still an incredible price, considering I'm used to brewing 5gal for $45-50 including shipping.

Enoch52 said:

Just priced this out at my local homebrew shop--$27.27 for 5gal and $45.47 for 10gal (mostly due to grain being sold by the pound and hops sold by the ounce). Still an incredible price, considering I'm used to brewing 5gal for $45-50 including shipping.

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Yep! Once you start buying your base grains in bulk and your hops on sale in 1-lb packages you will realize even more savings. Since I harvest yeast for 5-generations I can brew that Centennial Blonde Ale for about $23 for 11 gallons and that includes the propane used to brew! that works out to less than $1.50 per 6-pack!