I brewed my first batch of all grain beer. It's a Scottish 80 Shilling Ale from Northern Brewer, which I've brewed previously from an extract kit. I've been an extract brewer (on & off) for the past 10 years, and I've been very active for the past 3 years. All grain brewing seemed very daunting, and the equipment is expensive. But, alas, I finally took the plunge.
The process is pretty simple. Heat some water and let the grains soak for awhile. In this case, I heated 3.2 gallons of water to 170, added the grains and let it sit at 158 F for 60 minutes. Then I heated it to 170 for 10 minutes. This wort ("wert") was removed from the grains and poured into the brew kettle. Then 5 gallons of 172 F water was added. This wort was then pulled off and added to the brew kettle.
Time to brew the beer! Then the wort was brought up 212 F, hops were added and it boiled for 60 minutes. The wort was then chilled with an immersion chiller until the temp dropped to around 70 F. Then I transferred the beer to a carboy, added the yeast and let it feast.
The process is pretty simple. Heat some water and let the grains soak for awhile. In this case, I heated 3.2 gallons of water to 170, added the grains and let it sit at 158 F for 60 minutes. Then I heated it to 170 for 10 minutes. This wort ("wert") was removed from the grains and poured into the brew kettle. Then 5 gallons of 172 F water was added. This wort was then pulled off and added to the brew kettle.
Time to brew the beer! Then the wort was brought up 212 F, hops were added and it boiled for 60 minutes. The wort was then chilled with an immersion chiller until the temp dropped to around 70 F. Then I transferred the beer to a carboy, added the yeast and let it feast.
I did leave out 2 key ingredients: yeast nutrient and Irish moss (for clarity). Fortunately, I added some nutrient to the yeast starter, so it was active, healthy and ready to go. Within 6 hours I had active fermentation. The missing Irish moss, on the other hand, is going to bite me in the ass. I think the beer is going to be very hazy. I've been using Irish moss for years, and it makes a huge difference in clarity. I also did not use the airline to oxygenate the wort, but I'm not too concerned about that. I wanted to focus on the other parts of all grain brewing. And I have a strong fermentation, so it's no biggie. Next time, I will lay my steps out better beforehand.
Here's a small vid I made. Nothing too great, and I forgot to record the final steps of chilling and transferring to the carboy.
Here's a small vid I made. Nothing too great, and I forgot to record the final steps of chilling and transferring to the carboy.
YouTube Video
And here's the beer fermenting in the bathtub.
Left to right: Bourbon Barrel Porter, Scottish 80 Shilling Ale (all grain beer), Apple Cider
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