First All Grain Attempt Help

[dkeller12]

I am in the planning phase of my first all grain brew day after finally putting together all the equipment needed and although I hate asking the "What do you think I should brew?" question, I feel like I should. Here is the reason why I am asking. I had previously made up my mind on what to brew, a pumpkin ale, then I started seeing posts about how pumpkin causes all sorts of stuck sparges. So with that being said, I think I will scratch that and save that for another time and start simpler. So I am asking "what I should brew" because I want to know if there is a good style to start with that will help out a new all grain brewer learn the steps involved in the all grain process and learn the new equipment. There may not be a bad style to start with, but just wanted to see what other thought before I dive in. I have done 19 batches, primarily partial mashing, and want to get the most info out of my new setup without having to worry about styles that will complicate things. Any thoughts on the pumpkin option or others would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ron,ar]

I have never brewed with pumpkin so cannot comment on that recipe. However I have had experience with stuck sparges and they are no fun. I learned quickly that using some rice hulls with brews that tend to cause stuck sparges (wheat and pumpkin to name a few) helps a lot.
If I were you, I'd stick with something simple such as a SMASH just to get your feet wet on your all grain equipment. But then you have been doing partial grain for a while so maybe you will do better than some of the rest of us who jumped straight from extract to AG

 

[Facinerous]

Once again I see fear from those who have yet to produce an all grain product. I have seen it often on HBT and I for one, don't see a need to worry.

First you have already brewed plenty of extract batches. You know the process. There are a few more little things involved with all grain brewing but in reality, it is extract brewing.

For what you know. You know how a mash should work. If you have your specialty grains for an extract brew, basically mashed before the boil, you have already done all grain. All you did beyond that is add LME or DME. So what is the difference... The base malt. When you create a recipe what is the LME or DME. Essentially it is just the base malt.

Of course you see all kinds of posts related to all grain brewing, and people out there trying to perfect their art. In reality there is no dissimilarity between all grain and extract brewing. Just make it simple. You have already done brew in a bag (so to speak) by doing extract batches. So why not do a brew in a bag all grain batch.

What is different about what you want to brew? The pumpkin. I can easily see how this could complicate your process. In reality there is nothing complex about it. How do you prepare the pumpkin. Bake for 45 min at 375 or so, cut up into little pieces and add to the bag. It can result in a stuck sparge so how do we fix that. Just add some rice hulls. For every problem there is a very simple fix.

To answer your question directly. I would take an extract recipe that you know and produce an equivalent in all grain. Your specialty malts should not change, and all you are doing is adding the equivalent bast malt to match the LME/DME addition. Thats really it.

It really is not rocket science. Its just a baking substitution. If you pick a recipe that you want to do (including your pumpkin stout) just ask HBT what the base malt equivalent would be for a weight of LME/DME. Aside from that you already know how to brew beer.

So jump in head first and just do it. You will learn a lot more along the way as we all have. You will have more questions as we all have, and I would hope that those question will be answered.

 

[dkeller12]

Ok so you both mentioned rice hulls and I have never used them. Do you just add them to the mash and mix them in or something else? And, are they sold at the lhbs or somewhere else? Not sure I have seem them but wasn't looking either. Thanks for the help.

 

[Facinerous]

Yep, your lhbs should sell them. They are super cheap and you shouldn't need to much. You just add them in the mash and they give the rest of everything breathing room to allow water to get around.

 

[WhackedBear]

Once again I see fear from those who have yet to produce an all grain product. I have seen it often on HBT and I for one, don't see a need to worry.

First you have already brewed plenty of extract batches. You know the process. There are a few more little things involved with all grain brewing but in reality, it is extract brewing.

For what you know. You know how a mash should work. If you have your specialty grains for an extract brew, basically mashed before the boil, you have already done all grain. All you did beyond that is add LME or DME. So what is the difference... The base malt. When you create a recipe what is the LME or DME. Essentially it is just the base malt.

Of course you see all kinds of posts related to all grain brewing, and people out there trying to perfect their art. In reality there is no dissimilarity between all grain and extract brewing. Just make it simple. You have already done brew in a bag (so to speak) by doing extract batches. So why not do a brew in a bag all grain batch.

What is different about what you want to brew? The pumpkin. I can easily see how this could complicate your process. In reality there is nothing complex about it. How do you prepare the pumpkin. Bake for 45 min at 375 or so, cut up into little pieces and add to the bag. It can result in a stuck sparge so how do we fix that. Just add some rice hulls. For every problem there is a very simple fix.

To answer your question directly. I would take an extract recipe that you know and produce an equivalent in all grain. Your specialty malts should not change, and all you are doing is adding the equivalent bast malt to match the LME/DME addition. Thats really it.

It really is not rocket science. Its just a baking substitution. If you pick a recipe that you want to do (including your pumpkin stout) just ask HBT what the base malt equivalent would be for a weight of LME/DME. Aside from that you already know how to brew beer.

So jump in head first and just do it. You will learn a lot more along the way as we all have. You will have more questions as we all have, and I would hope that those question will be answered.

I just want to say thank you for this post! I'm about to complete my first all grain attempt. I need to build up my mash tun and immersion chiller and then I'm off to brew up a Oatmeal Cream stout. Well I'm off to build my new equipment and I will be back to post up my experience.

 

[Yooper]

I would say to brew what you like, as long as it's a style that is "easy". If you like stouts, those are pretty easy and can hide some mistakes. Also, beers like American ambers are simple, and generally not an issue with things like water and pH, so that might be a good first brew as well.

When I taught my brewing friends all-grain brewing (they had made extract batches before), we did this beer: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f66/fat-sam-amber-ale-88880/ The hops are easy to sub, and the beer is simple to make. They loved it, and made it a few more times after that.

 

[KeninMN]

Sure, it's easy to make beer using the all grain method. It's a bit more complicated to make really good beer. Study the water chemistry primer in the Brew Science section of HBT. And my advice for a first brew is pick something that you know so you have something to compare your results to. I did a cream ale for my first all grain batch, and because I had done one as an extract, and have had several readily available commercial examples, I was able to know whether or not my first brew was successful. I'm happy to report that it was the best brew I've made to date...

 

[WhackedBear]

My first extract brew was a brewers best Irish stout I did that about a year ago. That is one reason why I chose to do a stout. HBT has been a great resource that no brewer should go with out.

 

[TasunkaWitko]

Personal opinion: I'd keep it easy and familiar, but interesting.

Perhaps a wheat beer or Belgian beer ale - something you like that is also basic. Plenty of time down the road to have fun with it!