My first All Grain is tasty...

[oojuxeoo]

Just tasted my first AG batch. I made an English Pale Ale. I call it Bitter Holiday. I am very happy with the results.:rockin: The only gripe I have would be my low efficiency, which I already am pretty sure I know how to increase. I am also tired of bottling too.... maybe after the holidays I can get the kegging going with a kegerator.

 

[Warped04]

Congrats! The eff. can and will improve if you track your process.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

What was your efficiency? Unless it was crazy low, don't sweat it. You just need to do a few brews and find a consistent efficiency and base your ingredients around it. You nailed the taste, and that's the starting point.

Oh, and congrats!!!

 

[bad67z]

Congrats on your first AG brew, I'm making the leap over the holidays.

Cheers...

 

[oojuxeoo]

I came in around 63%, but I know my temps were off a bit, and I should have stirred my mash a little more when sparging. My manifold needed a little work too. Next batch should be much better.

 

[thelastdandy]

yeah, don't sweat it. i started at 61% with my first. you learn how to tweak it with practice and practice only based on your set up. after three batches i was up around 80% consistently. already sounds like you know where your prlblem spots are.

 

[thelastdandy]

also, don't stir the mash when sparging, you don't want to disturb your grains at all when rinsing or you'll end up with a stuck mash.

 

[HomerJR]

I'm down to my second-to-last sixer from my first AG batch and I'm bummed. I too had efficiency problems due to temperature issues. Mine was due to not getting sparge water hot enough. Still, it's darn tasty and it gets better with each bottle. I finally figured out a good procedure on the 3rd batch (in the primary) and I can't wait to see how it tastes!