My all grain beer brewing

[art b]

Here is a guide to my ''brew/mash in a bag'' beer brewing

i made 5 gallons of wort yesterday, it will be fermented later this week..

pics to follow ...:mr green:

[Incursus]

This will be the next step for me...well I'll give it a go anyway

[Roadkill]

Quoting: art b

Here is a guide

Where ?

[art b]

here is step 1 ...

this method is exactly as a brewery will  brew,
but on a small scale and without having to move liquid from one vessel to another too often,

select a grain bill...

here i have used

4kg marris otter barley
1 kg of caramalt a slightly roasted malt
1 kg of pale wheat

cost of grain around £6

the grains add different qualitys to the beer , taste, colour,head retention,mouth feel ...oh er missus ..


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the home grown tomatoes were not used in this recipe ..

i used 100g of brambling cross hops, £2.00

[art b]

step 2

the mashing, this is basically like making a pot of tea...

the pot is filled with hot water,150 deg,
and a 1m square of voile is used as a bag ,
held in place with elastic around the rim of the pot,

the grain is stired in ...it now starts to smell nice...

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this is left to mash for 1hr - 90 mins..
[during this time we made some lamb pasties]

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i use a piece of celotex to retain the heat and throw an old duvet over the pot,


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this takes place on the kitchen floor near the hot water and inside to retain heat ,

[art b]

the neat trick with the brew in a bag technique ,
is that once the mash is done the bag is pulled and the wort that is left is boiled in the same vessel
so there is no fluid to move around ,

so step 3

the bag is pulled and twisted to drain it a bit .



this is the used grain ,on the square of voile [net curtain]

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which i give to a lady down the road for her chickens in return for some free fresh eggs....

im livin the good life dream...

the pot is then put on a gas ring outside to bring up to the boil...

here it is ..before i pulled the bag out, its easier when its outside and at the right height,

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this set up is all temporary ,as i only brew every now and then ... and so therefore a bit different each time...

this time it features a recyclin box and a slab..



note the windy conditions yesterday with the edges of the bag having a dance..

the gas ring is fed from a gas tap next to my boiler and a length of hose...
normal /most people use a gas bottle...

you can boil the pot on a hob if you wish ...but there is a fair bit of steam involved..

[Roadkill]

How do you choose what grains you're gonna use ?

Is there a system . . like - I what it a bit hoppy so use X ???

[art b]

step 4

boiling ....
the wort is boiled for 1 hr ...during which time the hops are added,
some early to bitter the beer and others later to add aroma and other tastes.

gas ring in action.

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i split 1 pack of 100g of hops into 2 and add half at the start of the boil and the other half 20 mins from the end
there are many of different options ,im just doing an easy option at the moment and getting good beer...



boiling wort with the 1st addition hops...the hops are contained in hop bags made from the bag offcuts...
they float around in the top of the boiling wort ..and smell great

the white stuff is the hot break , which is protein, this settles out at the end of the boil...


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20 mins from the end 2nd addition hops in the other hop bag,

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the boil is completed and the wort is left to settle for 15 mins,

i add a finnings [irish moss] at this stage and stir the wort until it starts to whirlpool , this makes the debris in the pot settle into a cone the centre..

the wort look clearer and the hop bags are draining..


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[Incursus]

Quoting: art b

the pot is filled with hot water,150 deg,

Fahrenheit I'm assuming

Quoting: art b

which i give to a lady down the road for her chickens in return for some free fresh eggs...

Cool I know a few chicken owners

[art b]

Quoting: Roadkill

How do you choose what grains you're gonna use ?

Is there a system . . like - I what it a bit hoppy so use X ???

the grains are used for colour ,texture and taste ,,
each variety of beer has a different recipie

so pale ales,lagers and stouts are very different ...light grain and roasted,smoked,dark grain..

the hoppyness [cool word] of a beer is made by the addition of the hops,,, some for bittering and others for flavours ,,ie citrus,flowery  etc..

nb
you guys can make a hop tea [or dry hop] to add to kits to change the flavour , as kits lose there hoppy flavours as a rule during the reducing process,

[art b]

Quoting: Incursus

Fahrenheit I'm assuming

yup...

i get away with water from the combi boiler,
topped up with a couple of kettles of boiling water ...


it actually has to start of at 160 .[strike temp]
to allow for the cold grain tipped into it..to bring it down to 150

[Incursus]

Quoting: art b

make a hop tea

[art b]

step 5 ...

so the hard work is done and a few hrs have passed around 5 ..

but during that time most of it is time spent waiting so i set an alarm on the phone and get on with life or working..[weekday brews]

i drain the very hot wort into a 5 gallon food safe cube ...

[a pic from earlier in the year...]


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this is the sealed and the contents made to make contact with all the sides...which means the contents and the cube are pasturised and can be stored for up to 2 years...
before fermenting. this is idea came from Australia as they have very little spare water for cooling

i tend to leave them for 2 days chilling to allow debris to drop out ...grain dust and hop particles,,

i have now figured that the cube of hot wort
will fit back into the pot filled with cold water this allow it to cool quicker and helps it to clear [cold break]



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so the one pot i have is ,

the mash tun ,
the boiler ,
the cooler

this method is a lot less expensive and quicker than the traditional 3 vessel system.... and there is very little to wash up...

[art b]

last step ...fermenting

i syphon the wort ..[its still just sugary water] with hoppy flavouring,
into the fermenting bucket add yeast , usually an safale 04 or 05 ale yeast around £2.50
which i rehydrate for i hour to get it multiplying

here it is fermenting in the fermenting cabinet set at 19 deg
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so all in all its a bit of messing around ,
but makes great beers for less than £10

[Roadkill]

How big's your Mash Tun ?

EDIT -

Explain, again, how your Fermenting cabinet works (for a laymen)

[art b]

a cople of links

compare this faffing about ...[skip through]


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to this biab method..


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[art b]

the youtube brewing vids are the new milf porn for me


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[Roadkill]

Next questions -

Can you ferment in your mash tun

and

Once barreled (assuming you add CO2) how long will a beer last in the barrel for ??

[art b]

Quoting: Roadkill

Next questions -

Can you ferment in your mash tun

and

Once barreled (assuming you add CO2) how long will a beer last in the barrel for ??

yes,
you can ferment in any thing ...including the chilling cube...


i have kept beer in a keg for 4 months ..

probably as long as its got co2 protecting it..

but most beers will degrade after 12 months ,unless there very strong flavoured and have a high alcohol content ... like an imperial stout which can take 5 years to mature ..

...and you dont open the tap too often...

[Roadkill]

Am toying with the idea of doing a 50 or 100 litre batch and filling 2/4 kegs.

I don't see me needing to keep it longer than 6 months.  

[art b]

Quoting: Roadkill

How big's your Mash Tun ?  

EDIT -

Explain, again, how your Fermenting cabinet works (for a laymen)

the pot is 76 litres.... wanna borrow it ...

a good bit for fermenting larger brews is a [blue ]plastic mango barrel [with a screw on lid ..obtainable from indian restaurants ...[an ebay ]

the cabinet is insulated and has a temp controller and a heat source [i use a 60w lamp]

ive seen them made around an larger  fv ,

by fitting celotex/polystyrene  around the fv and putting in a heat source [tube heater or light bulb]

[art b]

Quoting: Roadkill

Explain, again, how your Fermenting cabinet works (for a laymen)

heres my small version


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heat controller ..

ebay around £14


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[art b]

rehydrated yeast, kept warm in the airing cupboard for 12 hrs
and a cube of wort waiting to meet each other ..


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[art b]

im actually only on my 4th all grain brew...

so its been a learning curve,
no major mishaps and every time the beer has been a success,

the 1st one came out with too much wort leading to a weaker beer [ we drank some of it at rk's bbq]

in fact some of you have tried alll 3 of my previous brews...

heres a pic of the spare gallon before it cleared..


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[art b]

mango barrels can be used as 50l fermenters ...

and boilers.. if you add kettle elements ..


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