Where to start?

[laxation]

What is the best way to start with all grain brewing? I have no idea about what hops/yeast/grains do what - so how do I know what sort of beer to make?

Is it a case of trying to replicate a beer you like?

 

[mtb]

One of the most palatable beers I brewed early on was Dr Smurto's Golden Ale, and I stand by it as an "easy win" - ie a beer that most people will enjoy.

 

[DU99]

laxation ..what gear do you have

 

[damoninja]

One of the most palatable beers I brewed early on was Dr Smurto's Golden Ale, and I stand by it as an "easy win" - ie a beer that most people will enjoy.

Concur.

I made this in a 25L willow esky with a gran bag and 3 kmart pots on the stove. Made a huge ******* mess but the results were great.

 

[Adr_0]

Do you know what sort of brew setup you'll be using, eg big pot and bag, Grainfather, Robobrew? Are you going to cool the wort at thr end of the boil or not cool (no chill)? It's important because some recipes consider the extra hop extraction in 'no chill' and some do not - Dr Smurto's golden ale will taste different if it's not chilled after the boil.

To answer your question, recipes are a good place to start but some of the American recipes go a little over the top with the variety of malts. Searching in the Recipes section here will rarely see you led astray.

If you're someone whose likes to tinker, have a look through what is on offer at your local Homebrew store, or at Breiss and Weyermann (as two examples) to see the range. Malts are generally considered base malts (pale ale, pils, pale wheat) which has enzymes and needs conversion in a mash from starch to sugar; crystals (medium crystal, Cara-munich, etc) which are generally limited to 5-10% and which have been kilned long and hot enough to convert all the starch to sugar and then heated up to caramelise/crystallise it; and toasted/roasted malts (amber, brown, chocolate malt) which haven't been converted but have been toasted/roasted and need to be mashed - although getting into chocolate you technically don't need to.

Hops... There are some site sponsors that have good descriptions. How long is a piece of string? Hops will likely push a style from one region to another, eg Centennial and Mosaic in a pale/amber ale would make it American while Challenger and Goldings would make it English.

Yeast is arguably more important than both malt and hops, in terms of character. I love English ale yeasts and use them a lot. The yeast will have a big impact on perception of malt/hops, other fruity/spicy flavours, clarity of the beer, how dry or alcoholic the beer ends up, etc. So you should get to a point where you consider your yeast and build your recipe around that, rather than whack a yeast in at the end.

Lots of wonderful flavours and aromas await.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

Start with a few kits and play with Hops etc... kits make good beer.

If you dont know what you want to brew then starting into AG wont achieve much

 

[Adr_0]

Start with a few kits and play with Hops etc... kits make good beer.

If you dont know what you want to brew then starting into AG wont achieve much

And yeasts.

Going down this path for a few beers will also prompt you to sort out yeast temperature control and cleanliness/sanitation.

 

[laxation]

laxation ..what gear do you have

According to my mate, everything needed to make all grain beer


he doesn't brew his own though

as for chill vs no chill, i have no idea... haven't really looked into ag brewing at all. thus the thread!

 

[warra48]

Where are you located?

If you're anywhere near a brew club, I'm sure some of its members will help you out. An experienced mentor is a great help.

 

[DU99]

my answer is how long is piece of string....so your starting from scratch.....and you have never brewed before..for starters how much do you want to spend in equipment..all of us here brew on different types of gear to achieve a result...as someone stated where do you live.....

 

[Droopy Brew]

Do you have a temperature controlled chamber to ferment your wort?

If not that is a first point of order- dont waste your time going into AG without a sound understanding of fermenting.

Kit and kilo takes 10 minutes, AG about 5-6 hours to make wort. Either fermented at high and fluctuating temperatures or with poor yeast health/numbers will produce an ordinary result.

Do a couple of brews with cans first to understand fermentation, yeast, gravity readings, bottling and sanitation. Then maybe make your way into extract brewing to get an understanding of what different hops and specialty grains bring to the table. Then as you read and learn more you can work out what sort of set up you will need for All Grain.

I applaud anyone wanting to jump straight into AG but without the basics it will often result in a disgruntled and discouraged brewer. Baby steps mate.

 

[laxation]

This is extract brewing right?
http://store.coopers.com.au/recipes/index/view/id/54/

I have brewed before, just nothing but kits, dabbling in different yeast/hops

im in melbourne

 

[Droopy Brew]

That's it mate. So basically you do a mini boil with hops to get bitterness and flavour. Often you would steep some specialty grains for about half an hour in 65-70C water first to add colour and flavour before doing the boil. Then you add the boil to the malts and top up with water. It will give you a better beer than kit and kilo and you can start to understand what flavours the other ingredients can produce.

But - have you got temp control for fermenting? If not then that is your priority. If so then give extract a lash to get your head around the ingredients.

 

[wereprawn]

Would be good if you could list the gear you do have so we can be more helpful . Biab is the easiest way to start ag. And in the future you can always incorporate the pot/urn into a more sophisticated setup if you like.

 

[Ducatiboy stu]

God damn shame Grumpy's are not still going

The had THE BEST beginer kits on the planet

 

[malt junkie]

This is extract brewing right?
http://store.coopers.com.au/recipes/index/view/id/54/

I have brewed before, just nothing but kits, dabbling in different yeast/hops

im in melbourne

Plenty of active brewers and good brew clubs in and around melbourne check the clubs section of the forum. Also Melbournions have an affinity/addiction with collaboration brews so if you see a brewer with a location near you (usually noted below their user name) send them a message and find out what the go in your area. Vic also have 2 case swaps (mid year and Xmas) a year where we all get together and brew up a large (600L+) ag brew and drink and talk beer, great place to learn.

 

[Nebes]

This is extract brewing right?
http://store.coopers.com.au/recipes/index/view/id/54/

I have brewed before, just nothing but kits, dabbling in different yeast/hops

im in melbourne

Were abouts in Melbourne you from?

 

[Lionman]

Best way to start AG?

This is subjective.

Cheapest - BIAB. pot (40L+ preferable) + bag and you can get started.
Easiest - Get a single vessel electric brewery like a Robobrew, Grainfather or Guten.

I built a single vessel electric brewery from a crab cooker, ball valve, some bolts and an electric element. It's fairly basic kit but seems to brew nice beers. Cost under $200 to build, although I plan on adding a pump and temp controller which will probably push the total cost up to a bit under $300. This will be comparable in functionality to a ~$500+ Robobrew.

 

[Gloveski]

Having recently just gone into all grain myself from no brewing experience I was in the same situation as you.
I cut my teeth for a few months doing kits, beer and cider mainly to get a decent feel for the fermentation side and kegging.
Most important is get yourself some time of temp control set up for your fermentation ie a fridge and a controller is a good start.
I spent numerous hours reading on this forum and others and watching youtube videos on different types of all grain set ups.
I decided on a grainfather but there is heaps of other options all really comes down to how much your budget is etc.
Still first few all grain brews I was way out of my depth and had no idea about effieciencies etc. Now 7 brews in I have a rough idea of what I am doing lol .

 

[BrockHops]

Best way to start AG?

This is subjective.

Cheapest - BIAB. pot (40L+ preferable) + bag and you can get started.
Easiest - Get a single vessel electric brewery like a Robobrew, Grainfather or Guten.

I built a single vessel electric brewery from a crab cooker, ball valve, some bolts and an electric element. It's fairly basic kit but seems to brew nice beers. Cost under $200 to build, although I plan on adding a pump and temp controller which will probably push the total cost up to a bit under $300. This will be comparable in functionality to a ~$500+ Robobrew.