Have a go at simple AG

[pvt_ak]

Yup, no worries regarding batch size in FV.
Crushed grain is supposed not to last as long as uncrushed,however some of mine is crushed and have had it some time and i aint slinging it away:lol:.
I crush my own now.

Great stuff . Daft question - how do you crush it ?


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[chthon]

Nice thread, I started about the same way, after doing one kit beer which supplied me with an FV, a bottling pipe, four bottles and some cleaner.

However, I am looking to get people into brewing AG, without having done a kit brew before. What is missing is a simple way or methods to fill bottles without bottling pipe. The intro at the beginning of this thread seems to be built upon the fact that people already have bottling equipment because they did kit brewing. Here on the continent, I have the impression that kit brewing is not as popular as in the UK and the US. Another problem here is that no supplier delivers crushed malt. However, old coffee mills are a good, albeit rather slow substitute.

Now, regarding the brewing itself. With the lessons of Brülosophy in the back of the mind, it would even be easier to start brewing. At is needed is a 10 liter stock pot or pressure cooker. This can be used for mashing, cooking and fermenting. Do the mash like in the intro and the cooking like in the intro, but after cooking and cooling, just dump the yeast on the cooked wort and let ferment for 14 days. This way of working needs two things: a thermometer, and a way to crush malt.

However, after fermentation, bottling needs to be done. The problem is bottling without large investments. Sanitising all the cold stuff can be done with a little bit of bleach. However, what could be used for simple racking? A silicon tube is hard to find and relatively expensive (if you know it will be reused it is of course a good investment). It seems that with racking this way, one needs to take into account more loss than using a proper racking cane.

Any thoughts or ideas on inexpensive, easy racking for bottling? Could be DIY, but not too time consuming.

(And I am here in Belgium, so swing top bottles are easy to come by, no problem with capping).

 

[chub1]

Great stuff . Daft question - how do you crush it ?


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With a grain mill. before i got one i did crush some malt with a blender which apparently must never be done. All i can say is i never had a problem with doing it that way!.
Don't worry about storage. Crushed grain will last a decent while provided it's bagged ,airtight ,dry and stored out of the light:). I bet loads of people on here keep crushed grains for a good amount of time without any real detrimental effect.

 

[pvt_ak]

With a grain mill.
Don't worry about storage. Crushed grain will last a decent while provided it's bagged and airtight:)

Thanks folks . Can't wait to have a bash this weekend [emoji106]


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[brisboy]

With a grain mill. before i got one i did crush some malt with a blender which apparently must never be done. All i can say is i never had a problem with doing it that way!.
Don't worry about storage. Crushed grain will last a decent while provided it's bagged ,airtight ,dry and stored out of the light:). I bet loads of people on here keep crushed grains for a good amount of time without any real detrimental effect.

I destroyed a blender doing it this way. I order mine precrushed now and it lasts at least a couple of months.

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

Bottled my first AG this morning. The missus came down and said it smelled like a brewery.



I took that as a very good sign.

 

[Mungri]

Bottled my first AG this morning. The missus came down and said it smelled like a brewery.



I took that as a very good sign.

Nice one. Sure it will turn out well.
Had first taste of my AG2 on Thursday. Added a Simcoe hop tea to this one at bottling. Its lovely, the Simcoe really comes through. Only had 8 bottles but had to give one each to my 2 chief testers in work!
So impressed by the taste of AG.:smile:

 

[bobukbrewer]

I use a jug to transfer the fermented beer to bottles and have a 4 inch funnel for the bottles. I brew once a fortnight, have been brewing for 45 years and have had just one batch "go off"

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

Bottled my first AG this morning. The missus came down and said it smelled like a brewery.



I took that as a very good sign.

cloudy

:whistle:

 

[pvt_ak]

I bottled mine Elvis and had cloudy.
I didn't use any Irish Moss or Finings of sorts but think conditioning and then a cold crash should clear.
Using moss/Finings in #2 and #3 brews so will compare.


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[BeerisGOD]

I bottled mine Elvis and had cloudy.
I didn't use any Irish Moss or Finings of sorts but think conditioning and then a cold crash should clear.
Using moss/Finings in #2 and #3 brews so will compare.


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be good to know if theres much difference mate.

ive used irish moss in my last two AG's. I used 1g for both 11l batches.
How much do you use just out of interest?

 

[pms67]

Nice thread, I started about the same way, after doing one kit beer which supplied me with an FV, a bottling pipe, four bottles and some cleaner.

However, I am looking to get people into brewing AG, without having done a kit brew before. What is missing is a simple way or methods to fill bottles without bottling pipe. The intro at the beginning of this thread seems to be built upon the fact that people already have bottling equipment because they did kit brewing. Here on the continent, I have the impression that kit brewing is not as popular as in the UK and the US. Another problem here is that no supplier delivers crushed malt. However, old coffee mills are a good, albeit rather slow substitute.

Now, regarding the brewing itself. With the lessons of Brülosophy in the back of the mind, it would even be easier to start brewing. At is needed is a 10 liter stock pot or pressure cooker. This can be used for mashing, cooking and fermenting. Do the mash like in the intro and the cooking like in the intro, but after cooking and cooling, just dump the yeast on the cooked wort and let ferment for 14 days. This way of working needs two things: a thermometer, and a way to crush malt.

However, after fermentation, bottling needs to be done. The problem is bottling without large investments. Sanitising all the cold stuff can be done with a little bit of bleach. However, what could be used for simple racking? A silicon tube is hard to find and relatively expensive (if you know it will be reused it is of course a good investment). It seems that with racking this way, one needs to take into account more loss than using a proper racking cane.

Any thoughts or ideas on inexpensive, easy racking for bottling? Could be DIY, but not too time consuming.

(And I am here in Belgium, so swing top bottles are easy to come by, no problem with capping).

Other than spraying your hand in Starsan and filling bottles by dipping them in FV (joking)I don't know an easier way than buying a little bottler (around a fiver) and attaching it to the tap on your FV

 

[fourbob]

A basic syphon only costs a couple of quid..... If you really don't want to invest try a sanitized jug. The last couple of bottles would be tricky not to disturb the trub too much.

 

[MyQul]

Other than spraying your hand in Starsan and filling bottles by dipping them in FV (joking)I don't know an easier way than buying a little bottler (around a fiver) and attaching it to the tap on your FV

You might be joking but I remember a few months ago a forumite who posted that this was basically how he bottled (cant remember who it was)

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

I bottled mine Elvis and had cloudy.
I didn't use any Irish Moss or Finings of sorts but think conditioning and then a cold crash should clear.
Using moss/Finings in #2 and #3 brews so will compare.


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Let us know how you get on, please. :thumb:

It's been bottled and conditioning in the kitchen for a bit. Looked pretty unappetising. I'm going to shift it into the mancave and let it sit in the cool for a month...

But, because I was so intrigued and excited about my first ag brew........and also a bit dubious, I popped one in the fridge yesterday.

After work I had a pint of my lager, and then a pint of my wheat beer - both ice cold, crystal clear, and really nice.

I cracked open the bottle of ag, and poured. Cloudy as anything. Well carbonated. Had a taste............expected the worst.

It was lovely. I let the missus have a go, and she said "wow". Although cloudy, it actually tasted 'clear'...does that make sense? It was the cleanest, untwangy thing I've brewed to date. Lovely malt aftertaste, just a hint - nicely bitter. Really drinkable.

This is problematic.....I'd enjoyed making it, but wondered if the actual beer might be disappointing, or not actually worth the extra time and faff.

I think it might well be.....

(*googling all in one and biab all evening*)

 

[Mungri]

Let us know how you get on, please. :thumb:

It's been bottled and conditioning in the kitchen for a bit. Looked pretty unappetising. I'm going to shift it into the mancave and let it sit in the cool for a month...

But, because I was so intrigued and excited about my first ag brew........and also a bit dubious, I popped one in the fridge yesterday.

After work I had a pint of my lager, and then a pint of my wheat beer - both ice cold, crystal clear, and really nice.

I cracked open the bottle of ag, and poured. Cloudy as anything. Well carbonated. Had a taste............expected the worst.

It was lovely. I let the missus have a go, and she said "wow". Although cloudy, it actually tasted 'clear'...does that make sense? It was the cleanest, untwangy thing I've brewed to date. Lovely malt aftertaste, just a hint - nicely bitter. Really drinkable.

This is problematic.....I'd enjoyed making it, but wondered if the actual beer might be disappointing, or not actually worth the extra time and faff.

I think it might well be.....

(*googling all in one and biab all evening*)

If you're thinking of going one pot biab you could do worse than this from geterbrewed.
http://www.geterbrewed.com/basic-biab-starter-kit-kit-brewers-upgrade/
At £101.00 with an all grain kit thrown in it's good value. I was a bit cheeky and asked for the Sir Simcoe kit which is £22.00 on it's own.

 

[JapanBrew]

The cloudy is just chill haze. It'll clear but takes a few weeks.
But isn't brewing awesome!? Sounds like you did a great job.

 

[bobukbrewer]

Has anybody tried this ? would be easy to clean and sterilise afterwards...

 

[ElvisIsBeer]

The cloudy is just chill haze. It'll clear but takes a few weeks.
But isn't brewing awesome!? Sounds like you did a great job.

Brilliant. Thanks. :thumb:

 

[Covrich]

Brilliant. Thanks. :thumb:

Going from kits to all grain you look in the pot and see all that protein floating around and are like "what the hell have I made?" then you see an inch thick trub in the fermentor and are freaked out a little.. Its a change but you start to ignore those things and beer will clear with time and you can find way to help it too..

Sounds like you're off to a good start and your brewing world just opens up more and more now