My first All-grain Batch!

[larin1477]

Ok...I finally did it..I am brewin my first all-grain batch as I write this!!...

course im pretty sure i screwed up but oh well...

I started by pouring the grains in the tun...then I mashed for 60 min at 155...(i used 4.5 gal of water)....i ended up with 3.5 gal of wort...so i did what i though was sparging...using another 3 gal of water (which ended up being 154 after pouring it int the tun)...for 45 min...total wort was 6 gal...gravity was 1.030 at 125F...si i think im close to my goal of 1.049...its boiling now...here's a pic of the 1st mash!

[larin1477]

heres a pic of the boil!

[BrewDog]

Congrats and welcome to the AG club.
Doesn't a mash smell GREAT!?!

It looks to me like you nailed your gravity dead on, maybe even a point high (adjusted for temp). Great Job!

From here on, it's the same as brewing an extract batch.

Now, what's NEXT?????

[larin1477]

R u serious BrewDog?!....it was ok to do two mashes like that?...man...i was already hooked...now im even more of a hooker...(wait...thats not right!...lmao)

[BrewDog]

Yes. That's what's called a batch sparge. That's how you gain efficiency in your mash.

3 things for next time:

1) You used 2 qts per lb. That's on the high side. Better to stay around 1.25 qts per lb. You run the risk of astringency with too thin a mash.

2) You don't need to sparge for 40 mins. Just drain the first runnings, refill, stir, wait about 10 mins, recirculate, then drain the second runnings. Same deal, you may have some astringency from the long sit in the sparge water.

3) Take a pH reading to be sure you are around 5.2, and do an iodine test to ensure you have converted. Most of the time, these things read normal, but it is best to know. Read up on those 2 things on Palmer's How To Brew (http://www.howtobrew.com) web site.

DON'T WORRY about it. I am sure the beer will be good.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by larin1477
R u serious BrewDog?!....it was ok to do two mashes like that?...man...i was already hooked...now im even more of a hooker...(wait...thats not right!...lmao)

you didn't need to wait after adding the second batch of water. The starches have already converted to sugar, so you are just rinsing (or sparging if you like the German) the sugars out of the grains. What you did is called batch sparging

[Otis_The_Drunk]

Welcome to all grain brewing, this is the beginning of a great adventure.

[larin1477]

K...as always i have a question...The rubber plug I used is a little too small...it is a 3 it just barely worked...once it got hot it was pliable and could almost come through the hole...anyone know where I can get one a little bigger?

[larin1477]

Just transferred the brew to the primary...1.040 OG @ 78F which means 1.042...close enough...Pro mash figured 1.049 @ 75%...tasted sweet...VERY Smooth..we'll see how it comes out!..oh yeah...it seems a little dark for a blonde looks more like a Pale than a blonde.

[dparsons]

They always look darker in large volumes.

As for stoppers, any HBS should carry them in several sizes.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by dparsons
They always look darker in large volumes.

As for stoppers, any HBS should carry them in several sizes.

any hardware store as well, but not all have drilled stoppers in the size you need.

[Mad Scientist]

Congrats on taking the plunge