All Grain for Newbies

[Hairy]

On 11/14/2018 at 12:12 AM, Worthog said:

I have just tested my two different water sources, but I haven't tested a mash yet.

My tapwater is 5.75. My tank (rain) water is 4.5 using test strips.

Looks like I should use rain water for my mash in future as it has a better starting pH (?)

Cheers

 

Are you sure the pH is correct? As Kelsey said, most tap water is neutral to alkaline.

That is tough water to brew with. Adding grain will drive the pH even lower. You will need to look at ways to raise the pH whilst keeping all the salts/minerals in balance.

[Smashed Crabs]

Would pH up or pH down work for this ? I remember having to use these for my fish tanks cause I had some that liked brackish and some that needed high pH.

[The Captain!!]

5 minutes ago, Smashed Crabs said:

Would pH up or pH down work for this ? I remember having to use these for my fish tanks cause I had some that liked brackish and some that needed high pH.

Yeah nah, don’t use Ph down in your beer. Most of the time it’s sulfuric acid. 

Ph up is normally Bi carb. 

[Smashed Crabs]

SIck, I haven't needed to alter the make up of my water ... just thought of these as I use to use them.

 

Cheers

[Otto Von Blotto]

It's the mash pH that is altered more than the water itself. Usually lactic acid or acidulated malt are used to lower it, to raise it either bicarb soda or chalk is added. I prefer chalk because it also gives calcium and doesn't increase the sodium like bicarb does, however I hardly use either one as I'm usually wanting to lower the pH, for which I use a combination of acid malt and very low carbonate content water (I make my own water profiles from distilled water).

[Worthog]

I've decided to use my tap water (5.75-6 given strip subjectivity) and do nothing except measure my mash 10m in.

Cheers

 

[Worthog]

Well, my mash sample cooled to 36c measured pH5.5  10m in, using my tap water (5.75-6)

36c is not 20c as it should be so I could probably extrapolate it down  to around 5.4 which seems perfect pH for my pale ale.

I think I need a meter to measure more accurately. 

[Fergy1987]

So I'm thinking of going all grain but before I go all in, what am I actually looking forward to? I always read about freshness etc but am I really going to be knocking up beers that are like what a commercial brewery produces.

Is there that much of a difference in flavour? Or it just gives you more options and control in what you brew?

[The Captain!!]

42 minutes ago, Fergy1987 said:

So I'm thinking of going all grain but before I go all in, what am I actually looking forward to? I always read about freshness etc but am I really going to be knocking up beers that are like what a commercial brewery produces.

Is there that much of a difference in flavour? Or it just gives you more options and control in what you brew?

All to the above.

I found all grain easier to understand and easier to control the beer flavour.

I also find my beers more flavourful than commercial craft brews. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some pretty shit ones too but working on the same recipe over and over till it’s perfect is something I like to do.

i believe i have become better at tasting beer and understand what my process provides to my beers. 

Once I understood the process and my system, recipe making has been a lot better and currently now producing really good pales, ipas and Saison’s. 

If you have the time for brew days, you won’t look back.

 

[porschemad911]

1 hour ago, Fergy1987 said:

So I'm thinking of going all grain but before I go all in, what am I actually looking forward to? I always read about freshness etc but am I really going to be knocking up beers that are like what a commercial brewery produces.

Is there that much of a difference in flavour? Or it just gives you more options and control in what you brew?

I brew all-grain, kit and even partial mash beers. There is a difference in flavour between the kit and all-grain beers but it is not huge. Just something very slight in the background that tells me it was an extract beer. The paler the beer and the less strong flavours there are, the greater the difference will be.

In my experience attenuation will also be lower if you use LME. And going partial mash or all-grain opens up a much wider range of possibilities. But all the brewing methods are fun anyway. 

Cheers, 

John 

[Otto Von Blotto]

4 hours ago, Fergy1987 said:

So I'm thinking of going all grain but before I go all in, what am I actually looking forward to? I always read about freshness etc but am I really going to be knocking up beers that are like what a commercial brewery produces.

Is there that much of a difference in flavour? Or it just gives you more options and control in what you brew?

You can definitely brew beers that rival or in some instances exceed commercial beers. It does take a bit of time to get there through learning the process and ingredients etc. but that's half the fun of it.

I noticed a difference in flavor, it wasn't huge but it was noticeable enough to say that the improvement was worth the time and effort.  I'll never forget that first all grain batch how great it tasted at the time compared to the extract beers, and just the satisfaction of creating something like that from scratch. That did it for me, never done an extract or kit beer since except one kit a few years back when I was really time poor. 

And of course yes you have complete freedom and control over what goes into it, which opens up more options for recipes. 

[ben 10]

7 hours ago, porschemad911 said:

In my experience attenuation will also be lower if you use LME.

i always find extract beers to have a residual sweetness that does not suit my tastes. Complete control over the fermentability and flavour profile of the final product is the bit i like.

[Hilltop hops]

19 hours ago, Fergy1987 said:

So I'm thinking of going all grain but before I go all in, what am I actually looking forward to? I always read about freshness etc but am I really going to be knocking up beers that are like what a commercial brewery produces.

Is there that much of a difference in flavour? Or it just gives you more options and control in what you brew?

After years of doing kits and bits, steeping grains and extract brews went all grain. Basic set up- keggle, biab, no chill and inkbird controlled fridge. Found the difference to be night and day. Amazing flavour, freshness and can design whatever you want to brew. I use to think my beers were good but still had a slight homebrew/kit taste. My first 3 AG brews have been really tasty and couldn't be happier with the results.