An All Grain IPA Day

Craig and I went to a home brew day for newbies a few weeks back. We learned a lot of new tricks and helpful hints. The one that got my attention, that I’d like to share with you, is the "brew in a bag" method that has gained some popularity with all grain brewers on a budget. Being the adventurers we are we decided while we are waiting for our supplies for our custom mash tun to arrive, why not try this method out? After stopping by Siciliano's Market in Grand Rapids and grabbing up our list of ingredients we set out for the lake shore with high hopes for our new found method of grain mashing.

Basically from my understanding the "brew in a bag" method utilizes a steeping process for extracting the needed sugars from the grain rather than commonly filtering mash water through the grain bed. Keep in mind, I view this method as a very affordable way to try all grain brewing but not very efficient. Grain brewing is a longer process by far and does require a bit more work.

Supply List for grain brew step:

·        Grains for Mash

·        Mash Tun – we used a 48 quart Beverage cooler with a bulk head valve for easy liquid transfer…we are waiting on our screen/bed-filter to complete our basic mash system 

·        Sanitizer

·        Warm Water

·        Stir paddle

·        Thermometer

The Process: First, sanitize anything that will come in contact with the young beer/wort. We started with warm water (3 gallons) about 155 degrees F in a 48 quart Coleman cooler. Mash water can vary in temp. Recommendations depend on the type of grain that you are extracting sugars from. For this recipe we were looking for around 155 degrees and the cooler drops about 5 degrees every 45 minutes so we will add some additional warm water about half way through the mashing process to keep the desired temp.

After putting all the grain in cheese cloth bags and placing them in to the cooler of warm water, stir it around a bit to make sure everything is uniform and let steep for around 40 minutes. At the 40 minute markers I checked the temp and it was sitting around 149 as expected. I then added some additional hot water to the mash (around 1 1/2 gallons) to hopefully bring the temp back in range and let it steep for an additional 50 minutes with a temp at around 157 degrees.

I tried to take a gravity reading for preboil and there was a lot shrapnel floating in the liquid. Therefore, the readings were inaccurate and frankly all over the place. If I was to use this method again, I would definitely consider filtering some of the debris out to get better gravity readings or using a finer mesh bag.

I pulled the grain bags out of the mash water and used an additional Gallon of warm water to rinse the remaining sugars from the grain bag and disposed of them. This method did work relatively well as far as holding the desired temp range.

Now if you have brewed a beer ingredient kit that comes with directions, you are currently at the boil step in the directions. You have basically made your own malt extract with this process and can initially follow the same steps from here on depending on the beer style your making. I recommend making your first batch from a kit so that you can get an idea of the entire process and make your desired changes from there.

For some of our more advanced followers, you may be sitting there trying not to pull your hair out and stab your keyboard furiously. I am aware that I have not covered ph levels or any type of water conditioning for that matter. I would like to note this is a very basic/cheap alternative to the extract brewing process for new brewers and I feel water conditioning is not a big concern for the newbies. I used tap water, as our local supply has suitable water specifications for the amateur brewer. I will add a post with explanations and advantages to conditioning water at a later time.

A Side Note:

If you’re in the west Michigan area looking for a good place for helpful brewing advice and a fantastic place to acquire everything needed to brew your own beer. Siciliano's market (http://www.sicilianosmkt.com/) Grand Rapids is outstanding. The staff is always helpful with ideas and alternatives if you can’t find exactly what you’re looking for.

As always... please share your input on the subject!

Brew On!!! 

Before You Get Started!

Stop! Yes stop right there. There are 5 important things before you get started. This is for those of you frantically searching for the best price to get started brewing at home (we all have  been there). 

If we have learned anything about home brewing it's that Number 1, cheapest isn’t always the cheapest. The best way we have found to continue our hobby without forcing our families to eat ramen noodles every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner is to do some good research on a product before you buy. The benefit of home brewing, in our current times, is the large number of distributors that offer the supplies you will need. You will find many companies selling the exact thing you need to get started. But..

Number 2, Read as many reviews as you can handle before you commit.

Number 3, Don’t let the excitement overwhelm your good judgment.

The best way that we have found to get a good start without spending hundreds and even thousands of your hard earned dollars, is to (Number 4,)invest in a home brew starter kit.  Generally these kits will come with the very basic equipment to get you started. Again research on each kit, most will not come with the boil kettle (which is a must have). Consider what you’re looking to get from your brewing when purchasing a kettle. Is it a way to supply yourself with fresh crafted beer or are you looking to supply friends with your tasty brew during gatherings to show your absolute dominance in the beverage category.  5 gallons may seem like alot, but you may find handing out your brew may cut off your tasty supply very quick.

We started with a home brew kit, combined with a very simple 6 gallon stainless kettle and have been very satisfied so far. Although we are now out drinking our brew capacity (for reasons unknown).

One Major thing that seems to be a standard for reputable home brewers is(Number 5,)cleanliness. Which should be listed as number one because of its importance. Keep that in mind when considering new equipment. If it’s hard to clean you’re not going to do a good job cleaning it and your brew is going to be the one suffering; along with anyone that may choke it down their hatch. I will cover more on the cleaning process later as it deserves its own post.

A few good reads to help with different processes. 

Dave Miller's Homebrewing Guide: Everything you need to know to make great tasting beer
Extreme Brewing: An Enthusiast's Guide To Brewing Craft Beer At Home

As always...please share your personal experience with us in the category.

Brew On!! 

A Pale Ale Tale

Well if you’re like me and you love beer than you’re in the right place. I have been a craft beer enthusiast for the better part of 6 years, but recently have stepped into the fascinating world of home brewing. It was love or should I say obsession at first taste. Even though my first home brew was from a beer kit and it wasn’t the best tasting brew.  I couldn’t contain my excitement that I in fact have created beer. Much Like I imagine a cave man declaring “I have created fire!”, even though lighting struck a tree branch and got it started.

The Craft Beer industry has exploded with new home brewers and new brew pubs popping up every day.  For the hardcore craft brew geeks, this is great news. This has brought the cost of home brewing down to a much less expensive hobby and has resulted in a vast array of new techniques for the home brewer.

   

Recently a great friend of mine has been won over by the less watery tasting side of the beer community, thanks to yours truly. He has chosen to support me and our quest for the perfect beer! In my opinion just like my children they are all perfect in their own way, but hey we can have a lot of fun and have some tasty concoctions for our journey to the unobtainable.

In the pursuit of perfection we have decided to document some of our adventures so that we may provide at least one piece of valuable information the to our follower brewers. So feel free to share your stories and criticize our perfected techniques! 

And by all means BREW ON!!