Brewing first all grain, very overwhelmed

[Homer]

This Saturday I will attempt my first all grain, I've decided to brew Edworts Haus Pale Ale. I have been reading and reading anything I could find on water chemistry, mash PH, and mashing, but am still a bit foggy on all of it. On top of that, I will be brewing for the first time in the garage (with no running water) on all new electric equipment (cooler mash tun) and fermenting in a new fermentation chamber that I built . Needless to say, seems like there is a lot that can go wrong. I am okay with the beer not turning out so great this time, but want to make sure that it will be a good learning experience that I can build from. I will be using store bought spring or drinking water, since I do not have my carbon filters set up yet. I was thinking that maybe I should just forget about adjusting any of the water (maybe take some PH measurements for fun) and just concentrate on the most basic processes for this first time?

What do you guys think, or do you have any suggestions for me?
Any help will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

 

[Darwin18]

I usually suggest reading Denny Conn's write up on batch sparging for new all grain brewers: http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

Regardless of what your process is going to be it's a good write up to review.

 

[blizz81]

I don't know that you necessarily need to focus on treating your water right off the bat. Maybe try to get a repeatable AG process down first. Of course, go for it if you want to.

 

[Hello]

This Saturday I will attempt my first all grain, I've decided to brew Edworts Haus Pale Ale. I have been reading and reading anything I could find on water chemistry, mash PH, and mashing, but am still a bit foggy on all of it. On top of that, I will be brewing for the first time in the garage (with no running water) on all new electric equipment (cooler mash tun) and fermenting in a new fermentation chamber that I built . Needless to say, seems like there is a lot that can go wrong. I am okay with the beer not turning out so great this time, but want to make sure that it will be a good learning experience that I can build from. I will be using store bought spring or drinking water, since I do not have my carbon filters set up yet. I was thinking that maybe I should just forget about adjusting any of the water (maybe take some PH measurements for fun) and just concentrate on the most basic processes for this first time?

What do you guys think, or do you have any suggestions for me?
Any help will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

That link above is very useful.

First, relax just a bit. My first AG resulted in a dumper but that is because I simply refuse to drink beer I brewed if it is crappy. Most said it was fine, just thin, but I hated it.

Second, water is very important but I would perhaps stick with what you brewed with before, assuming you did brew before. For me, I just stuck to getting spring water because that is what I brewed with when I did extract and it was also my top off water. I understand mash pH and such is hugely important, but for now, I'd stick with the bottled stuff until you get your first AG brew day over with.

You're using electric so I assume you have everything in place and you've done a test run with water, right? Dump a few gallons of water (tap would do fine) into your HLT and run it through as though you're brewing. Make sure everything does work whether you're using pumps or gravity or a bit of both.

Basically, I'm just repeating what you seem to have already known. It'll go okay I bet.
One thing, keep some extra hot water as well as some cooler water on hand in the event you dump your strike water in your mash tun and the grain temperature regulates higher or lower than intended.

 

[Owly055]

You are already on the road to conventional mashing.......... good for you! I started All Grain Brewing in February and have done 26 brews since then.

I started out doing brew in a bag, and at first had ambitions of "moving up" to the mash tun & sparge system. Since I got my BC Barley Crusher, the results I am able to get have been so good in terms of efficiency and quality, that I would never consider a conventional mash! One kettle, a bag, a wooden spoon to stir, an immersion chiller, and my barley crusher make up my entire complement of brewing equipment. The crusher is the most important item. It saves money, and time. The chiller also makes for a huge time savings. It took me long enough to get around to building the chiller.

I can't see myself ever going to a conventional mash and sparge........ The bag allowed me to do my brew day in about 2.5 hours start to finish, and next Saturday, I expect to shave that down below 2 hours! And it's easy and painless.


H.W.

 

[thirstydeerbrew]

My best advice is to just relax and make some beer. Having said that, I remember my first all grain and I was terrified, but as long as you have all the necessary equipment you should be fine!

Water profile is not something you should fret about for your first batch. Focus on your steps and temps and you'll be solid.

 

[johngaltsmotor]

Rule #1: Have fun.

If you're really concerned you should walk through the process step by step and make your own notes to follow. I had an Excel spreadsheet that I made up for my first few all grain days. Just so I didn't skip something (preheating MLT) or wait too long (not having mashout water heated when needed). Also make sure you've got all your fittings and doo-dad's and whatchamabob's handy so they're sanitized.

If you're brewing in the garage and can leave the car outside overnight set everything up the evening before for your mental walk through.
It's understandable that it's nerve wracking. My first AG was a Schwarbier and my efficiency was terrible so I ran out in a tizzy and bought dark DME to bump up my O.G. Unfortunately Schwarzbier's look darker than they taste so Pilsen DME would have been best. So have a few pounds of a suitable DME on hand, just in case.

 

[helibrewer]

This Saturday I will attempt my first all grain, I've decided to brew Edworts Haus Pale Ale. I have been reading and reading anything I could find on water chemistry, mash PH, and mashing, but am still a bit foggy on all of it. On top of that, I will be brewing for the first time in the garage (with no running water) on all new electric equipment (cooler mash tun) and fermenting in a new fermentation chamber that I built . Needless to say, seems like there is a lot that can go wrong. I am okay with the beer not turning out so great this time, but want to make sure that it will be a good learning experience that I can build from. I will be using store bought spring or drinking water, since I do not have my carbon filters set up yet. I was thinking that maybe I should just forget about adjusting any of the water (maybe take some PH measurements for fun) and just concentrate on the most basic processes for this first time?

What do you guys think, or do you have any suggestions for me?
Any help will be greatly appreciated

Thanks

With bottled water you won't have to fret chemistry much. You should shoot for 80-100ppm Calcium (usually using Gypsum). For Pale Ales I replace about 3-4 oz of the base grain with acid malt and that takes care of the mash pH concerns, that's about all there is to it.

What do you plan for your sparging process?
I assume you plan to strike into your mash tun then just cover and wait (no heating)?

 

[Skarekrough]

Learning the basic mechanics of all grain I've found is easier to teach if you cut out as much stuff that's not wholly necessary.

With that said, I might suggest just not sparging for the first run.

Calculate the amount of water you will need by:

5.25 in fermenter
+
1.0 gallons lost to boil per hour
+
.08 gallons lost per pound of grain
=
Total water amount

Figure out your total water amount, calculate what temp you want to mash at and just go at it that way.

Will you be not 100% on your OG and will your efficiency suffer?

Eh, sure. Probably. But from teaching I find that the process as a whole is overwhelming. If the cost of getting all that down is a beer that's .10 off the OG then that's a small price to pay for getting their minds wrapped around the basic concept so they can introduce different sparging techniques next time around.

The thing to remember is that prior to stainless steel vessels and yeast cell counts and heat resistant tubing, mash pumps and refractometers there were plenty of people making beer with crude devices that were nowhere near as precise as we have now.

Learn to walk before you can run. Learn the basics of the process as a whole before you add more steps in which will increase your efficiency.

At the end of the day, without a sparge, you'll still have made beer. Is .10 off from the OG a decent price for getting over that hump? I've had plenty of people say that it is.

 

[Homer]

I usually suggest reading Denny Conn's write up on batch sparging for new all grain brewers: http://hbd.org/cascade/dennybrew/

Regardless of what your process is going to be it's a good write up to review.

That is a good read, thanks!

 

[Homer]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the great advice and for calming my nerves (somewhat ) I will list below some of your advise.

-Make an extensive list of things to do.
-I should probably have some DME on hand incase I am way off on my OG.
-Have some spare cold and hot water on had to adjust mash temps.
-Use same water from my extract batches
-Relax and have fun


I will be batch sparging in my rectangular cooler (although I think its a bit large) with no heating in the cooler. I did a water test a few weeks ago to test for leaks, but unfortunately I won't have time to do any other walk trough's of the system. (its at a buddy's garage)

Do you think I need Gypsum this time, and should I replace 3-4 oz of the base grain with acid malt (I used this before in a partial mash)? Is there any adverse effects to using these?

Did I miss anything, and thanks again!

 

[MindenMan]

There is so much great information on this site, it can be overwhelming. Just a couple of thoughts: if you add too much water, you'll still have beer, if you add too little water, you'll still have beer, if your mash temperature is a little off, you'll still have beer, if you add the hops other than at the exact minute your recipe says, you'll still have beer. Take lots of notes, and if something isn't right when you are done, you'll know what not to do nest time. Happy Brewing!

 

[pvault98]

You are fine using the same water you have always used. If you realy feel the need to want to do something to your water, a simple solution is mix 50% of your tap water with 50% distilled from the store. This way you will still have some mineral content and should overall end up kinda middle of the road. For a lighter style beer it wouldn't hurt to add some acid malt to get the pH down a bit, however I would shoot for about 2oz if you are just going off the cuff and not really dialing it all in.

Water aside, just focus on your process as that is far more important than water. Some DME on standby is great b/c that way you won't be as stressed out if your efficiency isn't what you hoped for. The first few batches take some time to learn your system and your process. Take good notes and just keep trying to make each batch better than the last. Good Luck!

 

[kh54s10]

I suggest that you forget about water chemistry. The bottled water is probably close enough as is. Since you are batch sparring you do not have to concern yourself with ph either.

Do your mash with about 1.25 to 1.5 quarts per pound of grain, preheat the tun.

You do not need a mash out when batch sparging.

Sparge temperature is not critical.

Figure out how to measure the amount of wort in the bk. I made a dipstick by filling a gallon, marking the stick,add a gallon, mark again etc.

Sparge with half the amount to your pre-boil measure and do a final sparge to the volume needed.

All grain is easy. There is just a little more to pay attention to.

Don't over think things.

Go for it, it will take a couple batches to work everything out.

Have fun.




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[seanybubbles]

The most important thing is to have fun. The 2nd most important thing is to take really good notes of what worked, what didn't. Take notes on the liquid volumes for your equipment as well. Good luck!


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