Newbie Question About Ag Brewing

[Truman42]

Just been reading the excellent post on "Moving to all grain brewing for thirty bucks" by NickJd on this forum. Its a great post with lots of information but I have a couple of questions.

1. So when you bring it back to the boil after squeezing out as much as you can from the bag do you then put your hops back in for the time the recipe suggests that you may be following? Eg you might throw in a bag of hops for 20 mins then another type for 10 mins whilst boiling the entire time?

2. When he pours the wort into the fermenter he doesn't mention adding any sugar or malt. Is this just a kit extract thing we have to do? My understanding is that the All grain method is just replacing the kit extract we would use but we still need to add sugar/dextrose malt extract like we would with a kit?

 

[jbumpstead]

Just been reading the excellent post on "Moving to all grain brewing for thirty bucks" by NickJd on this forum. Its a great post with lots of information but I have a couple of questions.

1. So when you bring it back to the boil after squeezing out as much as you can from the bag do you then put your hops back in for the time the recipe suggests that you may be following? Eg you might throw in a bag of hops for 20 mins then another type for 10 mins whilst boiling the entire time?

2. When he pours the wort into the fermenter he doesn't mention adding any sugar or malt. Is this just a kit extract thing we have to do? My understanding is that the All grain method is just replacing the kit extract we would use but we still need to add sugar/dextrose malt extract like we would with a kit?

Hey Truman,

Once you have squeezed the bag you have your wort ready to boil.

Add the hops at the appropriate time as indicated in the recipe you are following. Most are a 60 min boil, when a recipe states the hop addition time its from the end of the boil (e.g. 30 mins = 30 mins remaining in boil, 15 mins = 15 mins remaining in boil). Once you put the hops in the boil you leave them in.

No additional sugar/dex is required for all grain unless specified in the recipe. You are extracting all your fermentable sugars from the grain.

Cheers,
Justin.

 

[Superoo]

Just been reading the excellent post on "Moving to all grain brewing for thirty bucks" by NickJd on this forum. Its a great post with lots of information but I have a couple of questions.

1. So when you bring it back to the boil after squeezing out as much as you can from the bag do you then put your hops back in for the time the recipe suggests that you may be following? Eg you might throw in a bag of hops for 20 mins then another type for 10 mins whilst boiling the entire time?

2. When he pours the wort into the fermenter he doesn't mention adding any sugar or malt. Is this just a kit extract thing we have to do? My understanding is that the All grain method is just replacing the kit extract we would use but we still need to add sugar/dextrose malt extract like we would with a kit?

Assuming you are going to boil the wort for 60 minutes.

After squeezing the bag, you simply keep the heat on.
When it starts to boil, you would set a timer to 60 minutes.
Add your bittering hops with 60 minutes to go (at the very start of the boil).
Add your flavouring hops with 20 minutes of boil time left to go.
Add your aroma hops when you turn the heat off at the end of the boil (sometimes known as 0 minutes).


with AG, when pouring the wort to the fermenter, you dont add any malt / sugar usually, all the sugars you need have been extracted from the grain.

There are variations from the above, but this is a general guide.

Cheers

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

The reason you add sugar in a kit brew is generally:

1. To thin the beer out (in case the OG of the kit watered down is too high) and;
2. More importantly, in the reduction process (i.e. 'dehydrating' the wort created from a mash into 1-1.5kg of extract), some fermentable sugars will be lost, hence the sugar is there to replace it, and to give the yeast an adequate amount to munch on.

So, if you didn't have 'dehydrated' wort (i.e. Kit/extract), you'd never need to add the sugar (with specific recipes s/a belgian dubbel excepted). Fresh wort (a bit like anything fresh) is far better than anything else.

Think of it like the supermarket orange juice where the juice it came from was concentrated (probably to aid transportation) then remade. They always add vitamin C into it, just because the whole concentration/dehydration process destroys some (most) meaningful nutritional value.

But fresh OJ always tastes better and is better for you. It just takes longer to make.

Think of all-grain brewing as obtaining the oranges yourself and making your own juice, and kit brewing as getting the small container from the supermarket and adding water yourself to make juice.

Goomba

 

[Nick JD]

Watch this (and no, that's not the real me :unsure: ).

 

[Truman42]

Thanks heaps for the explanations. You sure thats not you in that video Nick? They seem to know everything you do..

Just a couple of more questions.

1. Do you buy your hops already in the bag ready to go and if not where can I get the bags from? Also should I use hop pellets or flowers etc?

2. Where is the best place to get the actual wort bag from?

 

[Mikedub]

Truman, check the sponsors at the top of the page for your bag and hop needs,

Watch this (and no, that's not the real me :unsure: ).

does anyone use a can of O2 into the wort prior to pitching, as used in this video,

 

[Nick JD]

Thanks heaps for the explanations. You sure thats not you in that video Nick?

I'm not as pretty.

For the bag, you can buy premade, or if you're a tightarse, Spotlight has white (or ivory) 100% Polyester Swiss Voile. Don't ask a young hottie where it is - they never know. Ask an old Nana attendant. Start near the curtain material section.

 

[Malted]

Spotlight ... Don't ask a young hottie where it is - they never know.

I had quite a good time following a young hottie all around the store. It got to the point that I was going to suggest she ascend a ladder to look for it... h34r:

 

[Superoo]

Don't ask a young hottie where it is - they never know. Ask an old Nana attendant. Start near the curtain material section.

 

[Nick JD]

I had quite a good time following a young hottie all around the store. It got to the point that I was going to suggest she ascend a ladder to look for it... h34r:

There's a young lady at my local spotlight who is just, like, :icon_drool2:. Come to think of it, I do need some more elastic for my y-fronts...

 

[Rurik]

The reason you add sugar in a kit brew is generally:

...
2. More importantly, in the reduction process (i.e. 'dehydrating' the wort created from a mash into 1-1.5kg of extract), some fermentable sugars will be lost, hence the sugar is there to replace it, and to give the yeast an adequate amount to munch ...

Goomba

How? Suger does not boil off it just concentrates.

 

[np1962]

I had quite a good time following a young hottie all around the store. It got to the point that I was going to suggest she ascend a ladder to look for it... h34r:

Careful Malted, if that hotty works at Spotlight at Gepps Cross it may be my niece.
Nige

 

[dicko]

I had quite a good time following a young hottie all around the store. It got to the point that I was going to suggest she ascend a ladder to look for it... h34r:

Totally :icon_offtopic:

Mmmm! nice beaver! :lol:


Courtesy Leslie Neilsen.

Cheers

 

[Lord Raja Goomba I]

How? Suger does not boil off it just concentrates.

Sugar does concentrate, but it'll be whether the chemicals within the chain breakdown upon overboiling and whether the sugars are fermentable (edible by yeast). IIRC - the sugars are still sugars but harder for the yeast to eat. At least that's what I read, though it were many years ago, and I couldn't give you a source.

It's where the OJ analogy came from as well. Lots of boiling will destroy nutritional value of anything.

Goomba

 

[Spork]

Watched the U-tube clip. So - BIAB is an Australian invention?

 

[Rurik]

Sugar does concentrate, but it'll be whether the chemicals within the chain breakdown upon overboiling and whether the sugars are fermentable (edible by yeast). IIRC - the sugars are still sugars but harder for the yeast to eat. At least that's what I read, though it were many years ago, and I couldn't give you a source.

It's where the OJ analogy came from as well. Lots of boiling will destroy nutritional value of anything.

Goomba

I have never heard of this and would like to see the reference before I make up my mind about it. If you cannot back up these statements do not go spreading them as if they are fact as it will only add to the confusion.

 

[felten]

You're probably talking about maillard reactions, and melanoidins.

 

[Rurik]

Why would maillard recaction be part of this process when according to the artical these happen at 151c ?

 

[felten]

It says they happen noticeably at 151c. They can occur at lower temperatures, but at a decreased rate.

I'm no expert on this anyway, just pointing out that's what LRG was probably talking about.