Getting back in the groove

[rcwhiteh]

Greetings, fellow beer lovers:

MSGT Bob Whitehead, USAF (ret) here; I've been out of the homebrewing scene for over 20 years. My wife bought me a first-generation Mash & Brew system a few years back; now that I am fully retired from my military and civilian careers, I want to pick it up again.

My big problem is that I've never done anything more complex than a partial mash, and I finally opened the Mash & Brew rig only to learn that it's really intended for full-mash brewing. On top of that, it looks like I might not be able to do all-liquid malt or partial mash brews with the rig.

So I'm looking for information on incorporating the Mash & Boil rig into my traditional being practices. I'm digging out my Papazian book and relearning everything; I might even do one batch old-school just to prove I still remember what to do.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

[bellhp]

Welcome back , i rebought Charlies book when I restarted brewing after decades like you.
Also I brewed extract then and now all grain .. There's good info here to get you going and always someone to answer questions .
Cheers , and thanks for your service.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Welcome! I moved to all grain sometime ago, BIAB on my stove top, but occasionally I do a batch with extract/mini mash to shorten a brew day. Great group of people here and tons of info to sort through too. Welcome back.

 

[AzOr]

Thank you for your service Bob.
Most all in one systems will have their own recipes and instructions. I would start there.

Papazian’s book got me hooked but there have been a lot of changes in home brewing since his first few editions. You may end up getting more confused. In fact, some of his recipes are still in my rotation (Vagabond Gingered Ale for one).

You may also want to try on of the many YouTube channels that brews beer on a similar system. For me, I learn better visually.

Good Luck on whatever you choose to brew!

 

[jschein]

Hi Bob, thank you for your service.
If you are comfortable doing partial mash from 20 years ago you can use the mash and boil for that too! I have a Grainfather and when I want to have a short brew day I will do a partial mash with a short 30 minute boil.
Good Luck

 

[wallyLOZ]

Thank you for your service.
Welcome from Missouri.
Big fan of Charlie Papazian. Keep us posted on your progress. Cheers!