explanation of brewing terms for an all grain beginner

[Godsdog]

hiya again guys
like I said in one of my first posts,im a lazy kit brewer of some 40 odd years and after reading the thread on ACE boilers I really think im gonna take the plunge and get one,the reason for this post is my confusion of brewing terms as with a kit its just boil the tin up throw in the sugar top up with water and pitch the yeast.so my questions are as I cant find threads are
1,do you only work out the ibu if you are devising a recipe,other than that just follow a tried and tested recipe?
2,would it be ok to leave the wort in the ACE until it cools to yeast pitch tempeture and then transfer into a sanitised fv?(think I may go the cooling cube route to start with though)
3,the best way to sparge over an ACE
4,are edittions the same as additions,ie the hops and stuff after the boil?
5,what size grain bag for an ACE?
6,do I need to add irish moss
7,can someone explain what exactly first and second runnings are?
8,what is DMS exactly?
9,also im a bit confused as to when you add the hops etc,ie 60 mins 30 mins etc,flame out is that right after cutting the power to the element?
like I said,40 odd years brewing and learned nothing really,but want to get my head around it and have a go before I curl up my toes,id also be grateful if anyone can suggest a simple ipa recipe with citreous overtones or a golden ale with toffee overtones,any links to clik on for answers rather than typing them out will be cool
thanks again guys,a great forum and haven't been able to keep off it since signing up :thumb:

 

[rodabod]

1.Yes.
2. Yes.
3. I haven't used one.
4. "Edditions"? Sounds like a typo.
5. I haven't used one.
6. Don't have to. I sometimes don't but it can help clarity.
7. First runnings is the first wort which comes off the grains. It is the sweetest. Second runnings would refer to subsequent wort coming from the grain which would often be less sweet since they will have been "sparged" with fresh water to help get every last bit of sugar off the grains.
8. http://beersmith.com/blog/2012/04/10/dimethyl-sulfides-dms-in-home-brewed-beer/
9. Times given are the amount of time before you switch the power off. 60 minute is just as the boil starts if it happens to be a 60 minute boil. Flameout is as you say, when you turn the power off. For good hop aroma, you need late additions (this can include dry-hopping).

Stick to known-good recipes such as real recipes from commercial brewers, or at least recipes that are fairly fool-proof when you start. See if you can clone a beer which you already like.

 

[Dads_Ale]

Save up a few extra pennies and get a Grainfather...... 😀

 

[Godsdog]

Save up a few extra pennies and get a Grainfather...... ������

WHY what is the basic advantage to a grainfather?btw I don't need to save up my pennies the one thing Im not short of is ready cash :whistle:

 

[Dads_Ale]

WHY what is the basic advantage to a grainfather?btw I don't need to save up my pennies the one thing Im not short of is ready cash :whistle:

Essentially you get everything you need in one very neat package (you will need to add a hot liqueur tank though)
I have one on trial at the moment and think it is a great bit of kit. Check out the Grainfather trial feedback thread.

 

[stevej]

Im a gasman myself but a bloody big burner :whistle:

 

[MyQul]

I'm not going to answer all the Q's but just pick out a couple.

2. I guess I'm a bit of a no-chill specialist as for a couple of reasons I refuse to use a wort chiller. No chill is good but you need to take several things into account.

a) Sanitiation - as the wort chills it contracts drawing in air along with any microbes so you need a tight fitting lid on anything your going to no chill in. I use cling film on the top of my FV to no chill in. You need to sanitse the cling film too as the steam from the wort condenses on it and drips back into the wort.I use star san in a spray bottle
b) Hop utilisation - You need to remove your hops from the wort in some way before leaving it to cool. If you don't they will continue to isomerize until the wort reaches about 80C, leading to much more bitterness in your beer than planned. I strain the hops out of my wort passing it though a sieve on its way into the FV to do this
c) Hop flavour/aroma - the oils from the hops that give beer its flavour and aroma are very volitile and as so get carried away with the steam from the near boiling wort as it cool leading to a flavourless/aroma less beer. There are a couple of things you can do to put the flavour/aroma back in. i) The following day take about 3L of wort out of your main body of wort and bring it to the boil and add your flavour/aroma additions at the appropriate time. ii) Hop tea/dry hop - as I understand it, hop tea add flavour and some aroma whereas dry hopping adds aroma and some flavour iii) Hop standing - wait till your wort gets to 80C and add the flavour hops then leave them to steep in the wort for about 20 mins before removing. As I undersand it doing this is the same as doing a 20min hop addition

I'm still experimenting with the above. I've tried i) and am planning to try out ii) the next time I do a bitter

8) You don't need to really worry about DMS from what I've read because malt is well modified nowadays DMS just isn't a problem anymore. EXCEPT when using pilsner malt

 

[Godsdog]

Essentially you get everything you need in one very neat package (you will need to add a hot liqueur tank though)
I have one on trial at the moment and think it is a great bit of kit. Check out the Grainfather trial feedback thread.

read the thread on the grainfather and watched the youtube video sell of it,although it looks a good bit of kit I think its a wee bit overpriced for having what seems essentially a stackable sparging arrangement.the other thing is the cooler coil,it looks a tad fiddly and it wouldn't fit onto my mixer tap,then theres also the lack of an alarm that could sound to alert you when the mashing and the boil is done,for such a price surely it could have been incorporated,my kitchen cooker has one,all in all I still think I will go with the ACE and a cool cube,maybe when its put in it hot could I bung it on the fv heating tray overnight so it doesn't fall below the yeast pitch temp?only a thought:wha: as I say im new to this all grain malarky

 

[clibit]

1,do you only work out the ibu if you are devising a recipe,other than that just follow a tried and tested recipe? If the hops you are using have significantly different AA% you should recalculate the hop quantities.
2,would it be ok to leave the wort in the ACE until it cools to yeast pitch tempeture and then transfer into a sanitised fv? YES. (think I may go the cooling cube route to start with though)
3,the best way to sparge over an ACE. DUNNO
4,are edittions the same as additions,ie the hops and stuff after the boil? This doesn't make sense to me
5,what size grain bag for an ACE? Dunno.
6,do I need to add irish moss. Yes.
7,can someone explain what exactly first and second runnings are? In the bob sleigh every team gets two goes. Have you seen Cool Runnings? Sorry! I think others have explained this.
8,what is DMS exactly? Ditto
9,also im a bit confused as to when you add the hops etc,ie 60 mins 30 mins etc,flame out is that right after cutting the power to the element? The timings for hop additions are down to the recipe. You can add hops at any time you like. To the mash, before the boil, any time during the boil, after the boil, in the FV. Or at bottling time if you make a hop tea. The earlier you add them, the more bitterness and less flavour and aroma they add, the later you add them the less bitterness and more flavour and aroma they add.