1. The very first thing I am noticing is that I am not getting as much beer as I would like to. Thus far I have brewed 2 IPA's, a wheat (that I accidentally dry hopped) and this weekend I will be brewing a Red Rye.
Whats the best way to get closest to 5 gallons? Should I steep grains in 6.5 gallons of water to adjust for boil off? I am bottling about 35-40 bottles typically.
2. Removing grain back after steep. Should I just allow this to drain in a colander into the beer or pour water over the muslin bag to get all the goodness out of the grains I can?
3. During the hop schedule is there any cons to using hop socks instead of just boiling hops floating around?
4. Whats the best way to determine if a beer needs to stay in the secondary longer to settle down a bit after fermentation?
5. Is there anyway to "filter" my beer when moving it into the bottling bucket?
Also, I am starting to feel like I am cheating a bit by using others recipes and brewing with extract. What is the best way to shift into all grain? Is the process really that different?
Thanks to all.
Whats the best way to get closest to 5 gallons? Should I steep grains in 6.5 gallons of water to adjust for boil off? I am bottling about 35-40 bottles typically.
2. Removing grain back after steep. Should I just allow this to drain in a colander into the beer or pour water over the muslin bag to get all the goodness out of the grains I can?
3. During the hop schedule is there any cons to using hop socks instead of just boiling hops floating around?
4. Whats the best way to determine if a beer needs to stay in the secondary longer to settle down a bit after fermentation?
5. Is there anyway to "filter" my beer when moving it into the bottling bucket?
Also, I am starting to feel like I am cheating a bit by using others recipes and brewing with extract. What is the best way to shift into all grain? Is the process really that different?
Thanks to all.