All Grain - Where do I start

[AlexCricket]

I really want to go AG and have read a couple of books but am getting really confused.

1. Liquor - How important is it to adjust my water? Is it something I can develop over time or something that should be right from the off.

2. Sterilisation - I know that all kit should be clean but is there any need to sterilise equipment used pre-boil as surely the boil would kill off any nasty stuff

3. Acidity - related to Liquor I know but will recipes look after this form me or should I be concerned.

4. Brew Efficiency - Huh - I've not got a scooby here.

5. Dry Hopping/Switch-off Hopping - Does this not risk infection or do the natural antiseptic properties of Hops counteract

6. Gravity after sparging - Quoted gravities seem very low to me (1.006 etc.) is this to take account of the fact that water is driven off during the boil? But then often I see people topping up following the boil to replace lost water -

7. Irish Moss/Protofloc - Are these a must or just an option?

8. Gelatine in the Barrel/Bottle - Is this a must or an option?


Many thanks in anticipation of the expert help that usually comes from this forum

[lukesharpe]

1. Liquor - Don't ajust my water and it comes out fine. After you've done a few brews then might be worth trying out.

2. Sterilisation - I don't until after the boil.

3. Acidity - Not sure don't test the ph.

4. Brew Efficiency - what your OG should be - (actual OG) / (what your OG should be) =%efficency. I use Beersmith to calc that for me.

5. Dry Hopping/Switch-off Hopping - Not sure about this.

6. Gravity after sparging - 1.006 is more like the finished gravity. A starting gravity should be about 1.060

7. Irish Moss/Protofloc - Optional, but better chance of a clear beer.

8. Gelatine in the Barrel/Bottle - I only use Gelatine if the beer does not clear.

[tomU]

Hi Alex,
Yeah I think you're worrying too much about certain things - easy to do if you read a lot of brewing books but you're really best off just not worrying about little details and just getting stuck in - experience teaches you as much as reading books does.

In answer to your questions:

1. Dont bother treating your water for your first brew, other than adding a crushed campden tablet if you can smell any chlorine in your water. Style specific water treatments are something to get into at a later stage - you can make perfectly good beer with most water.

2. Things like boilers and mash tuns dont need sterilising for the reason you give. Just be scrupuously hygeinic with post boil stuff.

3. Again don't worry - wort is naturally acidic - it may not be precisely pH5.2 but that's nothing to worry about.

4. You wont be able to work out your efficiency until you've done a brew - it's basically a expression of the amount of sugars you end up with in your wort compared with the theoretical maximum you could get. Again don't get too hung up on this yet...

5. Switch off hopping certainly doesnt risk infection as the wort will be hot enough to kill any bugs. Dry hopping has a very small chance of causing infections but I have never had any problems and dont know of anyone else who has - just make sure your hops are fresh and stored properly (preferably in the freezer).

6. The figure of 1.006 is the gravity of the actual running coming out of the mash tun when ending the sparge and not whats gone into the boiler - by contrast the initial running of a 1.040 beer could be 1.060 for example. Preboil gravity should take into acout evaporation so you may boil say 28L of 1.035 wort to end up with 23L of 1.040.

7. Copper finings are an option - the hot and cold break alone should give you a clearish wort, but for the small price the improvements in clarity make them worthwhile. Protofloc is the better option in my experience by the way.

8. Gelatine is by and large unneccesary - most yeasts will drop out quite happily by themselves given a bit of time. I'd suggest using a well behaved dry yeast for your first run - safale S-04 or Danstar Nottingham both drop quickly and leave a stable sediment in the barrel/bottle.

Hope that's helpful, good luck getting started

[tomU]

lukesharp beat me to it...

[Mitchamitri]

Start by going to see someone have a brew day - its essential learning and very worthwhile, and the people on this site are generally human. Where are you?


I've only done three brews so am still learning,all have come out ok so far:

1. Liquor - How important is it to adjust my water? Just use tap water to start

2. Sterilisation - I sterilise pre-boil because I think its good practice (and its a throw back to my cider making, where you dont boil at all). But its not really necessary.

3. Acidity - related to Liquor I know but will recipes look after this form me or should I be concerned. - dont worry about that for now

4. Brew Efficiency - Huh - I've not got a scooby here. Don't worry about that for now. If you really want to know then download beer engine for free and see how your results compare

5. Dry Hopping/Switch-off Hopping - Does this not risk infection or do the natural antiseptic properties of Hops counteract - yes and no, remember ipa contains a lot of hops as a preservative

6. Gravity after sparging - Quoted gravities seem very low to me (1.006 etc.) is this to take account of the fact that water is driven off during the boil? But then often I see people topping up following the boil to replace lost water - Don't worry so much at this stage - just make it a bit over 5 gallons with some boiling kettle water so you'll get yer 40 pints after wastage
If your beer ends up a little bit too weak or a little bit too strong you really wont care - you've made beer!!

7. Irish Moss/Protofloc - Are these a must or just an option? I use protafloc

8. Gelatine in the Barrel/Bottle - Is this a must or an option? More an option - I dont use it


Oh, a couple of big lessons - wear stout shoes and protect your legs - at some point you will spill hot water or wort on you. Allow twice as much time as you think and warn the wife. And don't mess with it - once you have started mashing then leave it till its done - interfere and youll lose heat, dont keep lifting the lid on your fv to see it its working - that sort of thing. Less is more!

[vacant]

You seem to know easily enough in theory to start a brew with confidence.

I'd just add a couple of points:

I use just a couple of grams of protafloc powder (1/4 tablet if you have tablets) based on page 14 of this article.
Don't add finings to the FV if you intend to bottle with priming sugar as you don't want the yeast settling out.

[Eric]

Another for good measure confirming what's been said. Many, including me, started without knowing as many questions to ask. Get going and ask what you think might be improved.

1. Depends on your water and your recipe. Will effect 4. Hard water is more difficult to treat than soft but you can deal with this to improve later brews. Is your water hard?

2. Cleanliness pre-boil, sterilise post.

3. I think this is the same as 1.

4. You can worry about this when you know what your efficiency is, just don't expect it to be high at first and increase the amount of malt.

5. Done all the time so don't worry.

6. A figure not to go below. It will start much higher and as the sugars wash out it reduces.

7. Worth the cost.

8. Since being told here to try SO4 yeast I'm looking to dump my stock.

[AlexCricket]

Just a quick thank you to you all for your help and assistance. I have couple of kits to keep me going until all kit assembled but I think that I am definitely going to take the plunge - probably best when I've still got a fairly good stock of beer.

Many thanks

[Eric]

Use up your kits, you'll not likely want any once you've tasted your AG.

[J_P]

Hi Alex, here is my two penneth

1) I don't bother tweaking my water too much like chemistry A-Level and would suck the fun out of brew day. The only thing I'd consider doing is adding half a cambden tablet to remove excessive chlorine however I'm lucky enough to have good water.

3) I don't tinker with the PH of any part of the brew process I've had consistently good results leaving stuff the way it is.

5) The hops will take care of themselves don't worry about it plus It's a great way to add hoppy punch to your brew

6) I'll probably be castigated for this but I don't fanny on taking readings from the end of the sparge it's just too much hassle, I've not tasted any tannins or any other nasties. 4.5 KG grain mashed in 12l of water and sparged with 23l of water and boiled for 90 minutes gets you 23l of 4 - 4.7% beer.

7) Protafloc is great, preventing haze is better than trying to cure it with post fermentation finnings

Cheers

John

[Whorst]

I would definitely at some point look into your water. If want to brew a summer brew with 100% Maris Otter or 50/50 MO & Lager Malt you could have problems.

[J_P]

I would definitely at some point look into your water. If want to brew a summer brew with 100% Maris Otter or 50/50 MO & Lager Malt you could have problems.

What problems do you envisage Whorst?

[hoppingMad]

Hi, just in case you are still reading... hehe

I really want to go AG and have read a couple of books but am getting really confused.

1. Liquor - How important is it to adjust my water? Is it something I can develop over time or something that should be right from the off.

No, do a batch or two first. Thats the easiest way to tell if you have an issue with water chemistry, unless you already have reason to suspect.

2. Sterilisation - I know that all kit should be clean but is there any need to sterilise equipment used pre-boil as surely the boil would kill off any nasty stuff .

Just clean your kit before you put away after brewing. Sanitise post boil utensils.

3. Acidity - related to Liquor I know but will recipes look after this form me or should I be concerned.

Same answer as for 1, see if you have the need before fixing it.

4. Brew Efficiency - Huh - I've not got a scooby here.

Just brew. See what you get using your hydrometer... you have one... right ?

5. Dry Hopping/Switch-off Hopping - Does this not risk infection or do the natural antiseptic properties of Hops counteract.

I often dry hop and have never had an infection in 3 yrs of all grain brewing. Just do it.

6. Gravity after sparging - Quoted gravities seem very low to me (1.006 etc.) is this to take account of the fact that water is driven off during the boil? But then often I see people topping up following the boil to replace lost water -

Perhaps you are confused between your beer's final gravity and the specific gravity of your wort as you near the end of the sparge ? I dunno. But the final beer's gravity will be around 1.007-10 . Some people measure theSG of their wort near the end of sparging to help them decide when to stop eg 1.008.

7. Irish Moss/Protofloc - Are these a must or just an option?

Irish moss is a must for me. I have never needed anything else... clear beer.

8. Gelatine in the Barrel/Bottle - Is this a must or an option?

I've never needed it.


Many thanks in anticipation of the expert help that usually comes from this forum

[jubby]

Your questions have pretty much been answered, but as far as your water treatment is concerned, it depends where you live. In my area, if i don't lower the ph and remove carbonates, the beer is crap (unless i brew a mild or porter, as the grains are acidic) . where are you? There will be someone here that will let yo know if your water is ok untreated. From what I have read, I think most areas are ok, but it's best to check. If you do need to treat your water, it's not rocket science, just add a little carbonate reduction solution (CRS) the amount depends on your waters alkalinity which can be easily tested.

[AlexCricket]

Thanks for all your help

I am in the Welsh Borders between Hereford and Brecon - water does n't taste too bad but I have been adding half a crushed Campden Tablet to my water for my kits for good measure.

Seems like I have been worrying a little too much - that's the problem with trying to perfect the theory before the practice.

The only thing that I am still a little unclear about is the Hydrometer readings - yes I've got one

I think that the best way to explain this is that I know that the the gravity immediately before fermentation is the SG and should be around 1.040-60 depending on style and strength and I know that the FG should be below 1.012.

The area that confuses me is when people quote hydo readings immediately after the sparge. If you sparge down to 1.006 but have only collected 17l of wort then surely there is no way that you will get a SG of 1.040 or above.
Is this because of
Poor Efficiency
the 1.006 not being corrected for Temperature adjustment
You then just boil the 17l and then effectively end up with a 14l brew

Sorry to continue to trouble everyone - your help so far has been fantastic.