Schedule for early '08
No brewing for the last two weekends and I am again not going to be brewing this coming weekend as I will be in New Hampshire campaigning for...well a presidential candidate (If you know me, you know who it is, otherwise I want to follow the rules of "no talking religion or politics on your brew blog"...well except when it's complaining about piss poor legislation as they had to do on MNB, that's always fair game).
That being the case, Nick, Meatball and I will be brewing the two weekends after. We are going to do some lagers so that we can take advantage of the weather. I was thinking about either a German Pils or a Maibock for 10 gallon batches on one weekend. We might do another IPA by request on that weekend as well, we will see. The weekend after we are going to plan a long brew day so that we can try the recirculation that was reading about in last month's BYO. The long and short of the technique is that you mash in two stages for 20 min each running all the water off. Now this should provide a very strong lager and we might be able to user the second runnings for another 10 gallon batch. This one is going to take some planning though.
That's what's on the agenda for now. Cheers!
11 comments:
All grain...all grain...will 2008 be the year I go all grain? Nope. I don't think so.
Not when I can live vicariously through you guys :-)
common, all-grain is calling, you know you want to.
If you're already doing full boils, all-grain is one EASY step to make. You can do it for less than $50.
If you're not already doing full boils, partial-mash is an EASY step to make, and will give you a lot more control over your beer than simple extract + steeped grain.
I haven't purchased through this guy, but I've heard good things from the folks on beeradvocate.com. His mini-masher ($24.99) is perfect for partial-mash, and a 28-qt mash tun ($49.99) would be well-suited to any all-grain beer up to 1.090.
If you want to make this stuff yourself (as I did), it's rather easy as well.
Go all-grain... You can do it!
Travis,
Heheh...I'll consider you the little devil on my shoulder taunting me :-)
Brad,
Thanks for the info. I certainly appreciate it. If it were just money, I would probably figure something out. I think it is extra time. I'm sure there will come a time when I feel like I need another challenge.
Thanks for the support guys!
All-grain is the only way. Once you start doing it you look at brewing in a whole new way. You'll be brewing the way it's been done for centuries. And the biggest perk is that it's a lot cheaper. $$$
Adam and E -
If I were to recommend someone make the plunge I would put two stipulations; time and an extra hand. Going from brewing alone to brewing with someone has been great. Totally motivated me. It takes brewing (all-grain anyway) from being a labor to being fun. All grain can be very labours on your own.
Though your brewing takes a blow initially with the change, in the end, I would say you make better beer you feel better about! Knowing that I make beer from grain, hops, yeast and water is a pretty good feeling. I never thought that was going to be a factor, but it is.
As far as the money on investment, build the tun yourself. It allows you to understand all the parts and where problems might be and it makes the investment easier to swallow. To Brad I would actually stay away from "in-between" investments as I think you would grow out of them quickly and be buying again making it a big purchase.
Cheers!
Thanks Travis. All your advice is much appreciated :-)
Well said Travis.
You guys make me sick! All grain brewing is not rocket surgery or brain science. All you are doing is extracting sugar from grain. You do not have to spend a fortune on equipment to do this. You could build a camp fire under a metal garbage can and drop in a burlap sack full of grain in there to mash it. Then you could lift the sack up and spray 170 degree water over it, out of a garden hose, to sparge. (you can crank your water heater up that high, mine is) Set that fucker back in the fire and let it boil. Throw some hops in and let that shit boil some more. When your done, throw it in a snow drift. (or let it set for half a day if it is summer time) Pour it in a carboy, (or a clay pot)throw the yeast in and BOOM! You just made an all-grain beer. It has nothing to do with spending big bucks on the big system. WE can all be sure that they did not have all this fancy crap 1000 years ago that we have today. Never make the excuse that you can't afford the equipment. Just tell yourself that you are smart enough, you are not too lazy and gosh darn it... people like you!
I should add that you could use an old truck radiator for a heat exchanger or a wort chiller. Don't give me this "I can't afford it" cry baby shit! Use your mamma's panty hose and a bucket for a mash tun you sorry bastards! He He!
Brew On!
Freak
Freak! Dood!
Heheh...I like where you're comin' from. It isn't rocket science! BTW I have used panyhose to steep grains. Though, I did boil them first ;-)
If every first time brewer had you taunting them, everybody would be brewing. That's how it should be!
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