Sorry it's late but...Hello All!!

[Jason0698]

Hello all
My name is Jason and live in Glendora, California. I'm just getting back to brewing. I started back in 1998 with the very few extracts that were available and not that fresh either. I got frustrated with the lack of access so I stopped. Now that my finances have changed and the ease of access and brew shops, I have decided to get back into this exciting hobby. I want to ultimately get into all grain brewing, but since I am out of practice I think I will start off with partial mash. I have a few recipes that I have downloaded from Brewer's Friend that I am excited to try out. Can't wait to start!! I will definitely be asking questions (probably easy noobie questions), so be patient with me. Thank you in advance. Hope to make a lot of new friends here.

 

[jeffpn]

If you're comfortable doing extract recipes where steeping grains are used, you're ready for all grain. That's what Brew In A Bag (BIAB) is. Basically you're steeping all of the grains needed to make the beer.

 

[Jason0698]

Thank you jeffpn. I think I'm mostly concerned about my confidence in all grain brewing. My biggest worry is the grist/strike water ratio with enough room for sparge water to make a 5 gallon batch. I don't want the boiling volume too much or too diluted (or visa vera). Any tips on that?

 

[jeffpn]

I have a 44 qt pot I got from Amazon. I draw 7 gallons of water for all of my recipes for mashing. I'm not concerned about ratios. When the mash is done, I pull the grain bag, let it drain a bit, and then put it in a bucket with an upside down colander. I pour 170° water over the grains, planning to make my beginning volume 7.25 gallons. I boil off 3/4 gallon in an hour. I like to have 6.5 gallons at the end of the boil. That typically gets me 5 gallons packaged after doing a secondary.

When I start my boil, I have to be careful in the beginning not to have a boil over, but after that, the pot is plenty big enough.

 

[jeffpn]

I should mention that I have a graduated copper pipe that I use to check my volumes. I made it myself, pouring a gallon at a time into my boil pot and marking it. I used a copper cutter to score the pipe. If you cap the ends, it's easier to clean.

 

[jmcnamara]

Welcome back!

As long as you have an extra pot around, you have some wiggle room for some extra wort.

You'll get a sense of the nuances of your system. For instance, I know 12 lbs is about the max that I can biab in my 20qt kettle and still keep a decent thickness on the mash. Similarly, I can comfortably get a rolling boil with about 3.5 gallons in that pot, but at 4 gallons I have to watch it like a hawk so it doesn't boilover.

It comes with time young padawan