All Grain Newbie

[mctoon]

Got a call from my mate to ask me if i would be interested in this.

1 Mash tun
2 Boilers ( I think he said BURCO? )
5 x 25 Kgs bags of grain,
Hops, he said something about Northdown?
6 Pressure barrels,
Books and a few other bits

All for £150, a bargain i thought , ready to be delivered for december

Ive read several posts about all grain and it sort of scares me a bit, is there a noddy guide of all grain brewing out there?. I understand the concept , but its the measures of "strike" and "sparge" water etc. I could do with a newbie recipe, any ideas?

Cheers Mal

[mctoon]

OOOPs, just reads the post under mine " A bit lost" , sort of answers a few of my questions, Cheers Mal

[Garth]

Hey Mal, thats a good deal for that little haul, I'd take his offer. there's a lot of grain there as well. Northdown can be a good all round hop, some packet of yeast and you're away.

There's nothing scary about all grain, it's just the idea of doing for the first time. The way I see it, the only crucial thing is the mash temp, and even then as long as it's in between 63 - 68C, you'll make something drinkable. My first one I did a 23 litre stout recipe, ended up with only 18 litres in the fv, but tasted amazing. Your first one will too.

I'll be brewing on Sat or Sun if you want to come and have a butchers, I'm about 50mins straight down the A1 from you, it might make more sense to you if you see it.

[mctoon]

Cheers Garth,

Thanks for the offer i will pm you, im a Ferryhill boy myself, was the RAF that brought me here to settle, i could come for a brew lesson and visit the Hop & Grape at the same time

[Robdog]

I wish i had friends with those sort of offers

[Garth]

get yourself round then robdog, if you're anywhere near..

[Parva]

I'd agree, that's a pretty good haul there. I'd also go out of my way just to see someone do an AG recipe just to witness how easy and unscientific it all is. Sure, you can go as pro as you like with it adjusting your water quality to suit and whatnot but you can also go very basic and still produce outstanding beer!

[Garth]

you can get yourself as well Parva if you like, I'm right next to the A1 J61, nothing scientific going on here....I can barely spell it..

oh I see you already AG, well get yourself up anyway, party on...

[Parva]

Sorry Garth, wasn't trying to invite myself. I had the pleasure of seeing IanB brew before I attempted my first, I'm hoping to bang on with AG #8 tomorrow myself, and my first 10g batch. Should be fun as my Dad is going to make a 'Geordie' beer kit at the same time as he used to make lots of homebrew years ago. I'm going to ferment and keg them both exactly the same (I'm brewing Summer Lightening), I don't think he has a light burning somehow.

[Garth]

I had a sip of IanBs Cascade brew when I picked me cornies up, great bloke, nice beer too.

Father and son effort tomorrow? nice one.

[Parva]

Yeah I must admit, the brew he had on tap whilst I was there was A1. Top class setup in that 'shed' (if you can call it that) too. And yeah, Dad's an old kit brewer and usually likes to help me on a brew day (help me sup what we brewed previously mostly). Still, I'm looking forward to trying mine vs his tomorrow, he was even reluctant to let me add half a campden tablet to his water but I persuaded him in the end. One Geordie bitter kit versus my all grain Summer Lightening, how could I possibly lose this one!

[Kristoff]

is there a noddy guide of all grain brewing out there?

Hi Mal, i've just taken the AG plunge and I found the guide by Jim on this site (top right of screen, click All-Grain) and Horden Hillbillys website
http://uk-homebrew.tripod.com/
they're both a great simple introducion to AG. I followed their guidelines and have made a fantastic first AG brew. They both take you through the whole brew, without getting too technical, explaining the basics, but enough to get your first on the go, also there's some great Youtube vid clips, all from america, but still relevant, just do a search on All Grain Brewing on YoutTube.

My first AG recipe was Hogs Back TEA, a good simple recipie, for a fantastic beer. Going to do 100% Satisfaction next, another very straightforward recipe, for a great beer. Good luck

[booldawg]

Is there some sort of brewing explosion going on in the NE? Just spoke to my brother-in-law who's up in Bedlington and just come back from Wilkinsons with enough kit to see his first brew day this weekend.

[Damfoose]

all I can say is one hundread and twenty five kilos of GRAIN good grief

[mysterio]

Yep, I would grab it, bargain I think.

All-grain brewing is piss-easy and you'll be making better than pub quality beer for pennies in no time. Remember to post a thread when you do your first brew-day.