1st all-grain pouring... 2nd in the fermentor.

As I'm writing this I'm taking the first sips off my first all-grain brew. Initial thoughts: Good, but I need more work. I'm very critical of my beer where as I'm sure Erin will say she loves it. She also said my very first beer was amazing though I know it sucked.

For my first all-grain brew, I choose Midwest Supplies Red Hook ESB clone kit. I wanted to do a kit where someone else had done all the grain thoughts for me. My 2nd kit was "The Innkeeper", which I blogged about earlier.

My first trip into the grain room was interesting. For those of you who don't homebrew or haven't wondered though those grain room doors, it's basically a room full of bins of grain. The two homebrew stores that I patron, Northern Brewer and Midwest Supplies are very different. Northern Brewer has 3 price points for all of their grain, and trust me there's a lot of options. Each bin has a different color which stands for that pricepoint. Midwest Supplies on the other hand has different prices for each grain. With Midwest, as you choose different grains you write down the grain code, price, and amount; much like the loose bolts and nuts section at the local hardware store. After you collect your grains, you run it though the mill to crack the grain.

You may be asking yourself "What the hell is this 'All-Grain' brewing you're talking about and how is that different then what you were doing before?" Wonderful question... Let's dive in:

When people first start homebrewing, they often buy a starter kit like this. When you buy an extract kit it typically includes Malt extract, Hops, Yeast, and sometimes an additive such as honey, spices, or possibly steeping grains. The basic idea is one would heat up the water, add the malt extract, wait for the water to come back to a boil, then add hops at different intervals. Typical boil time is 60 minutes. After the boil, the liquid (called wort) is cooled to around 70~80 degrees, added to a fermentor, then yeast is added. It sits here for anywhere from 2 weeks to a month. At this point its moved into some sort of serving container, be it bottle or keg.

With extract, it requires less equipment and can brewed faster. My typical extract brew time was around 2.5 hours, including setup and cleanup. Don't get me wrong, you can make some mighty tasty beers as my friends will agree, but malt extract can be a limited factor. You need to remember that though there are many different malt extracts, there are only so many.

Malt extract is grain that has been soaked in water to convert the grain to starches (sugar), refined and bottled. All-grain brewing removes the malt extract and adds that conversion part.

With all-grain brewing, I first start by adding the grain to a kettle or "mash tun". For my setup I use a 10 gal orange cooler, much like those seen on a construction site or on the sidelines of a football game. From there I let the grains sit in warm water (around 155 degrees) for about an hour. I then pour off the liquid into a kettle and add fresh water. This is called the sparge. I perform what's called "batch sparge" which is where I just add additional water at around 168 degrees for about 20 minutes, washing the grain of any additional sugar. Most professional brewers perform what's called "trickle sparge", which is adding water at the same rate as it's coming out. They do this because they want to get the most value out of the grain. For me, if I lose some sugar on the grain I might be out $1 worth of value... For a larger brewer it could costs hundreds to thousands of dollars. Brewers call this "Brewhouse Efficiency". I'll post another blog about this.

After the sparge I perform the same steps as extract brewing. I bring my liquid to a boil, add hops at different times, add any special items, then cool. I pour it into a fermentor where I add the yeast and let it sit for about 2 week. I then move my beer into the keg. I keg my homebrew because I hate cleaning bottles and I can control the carbonation of my beer. From there my bum friends come and drink my stuff. Lol Cheers.. love you guys!

When I all-grain brew, my brewtime is about 5 hours including cleanup. I really enjoy all grain because I like starting with raw materials and ending with a finished product. I also like the idea of creating my own recipes, which can be done with extract, but not to the same level as all grain. Really the main reason why I started homebrewing is because of the amazing beer that I had at my friend Ted's house. It was like no homebrew I had ever had. I thought I was drinking something that had been made by a professional.

Though it takes more time, I find I have more pride in my beer. I'm addicted to all-grain. We'll see how well it works come winter time.

Prost! -Ryan