So, I crossed over into the all grain world…and I gotta tell you it’s pretty darn confusing. With the kits, all of the instructions are given to you and its a pretty easy process to follow. I brewed up an all grain Oktoberfest http://www.northernbrewer.com/documenta … erfest.pdf. I had to spend allot of time on line finding out what the fermentation temp had to be and what the boil time had to be along with how to maintain the mas temp. I guess I have to “un-stoopid” myself (as my wife tells me) and read up on the terms and lingo used.
Can someone please point me in the right direction for clear answers to brewing all grain lager beers as well as just plain ol’ brewing all grain? :cheers:
Scroll down to “Brewing Your First Batch Sparge Beer”
Difference between a lager brew and an ale brew, the temp you ferment at. lagers in the 50’s. Ales in the 60’s. Exact temps? That’s a personal preference.
If you are using Pilsner malt, boil for 90 minutes instead of 60.
Lagers require a larger yeast count. There is a good write up on the Midwest message board. But it seems to be down right now.
All Grain is considered an advanced brewing technique. Nothing changes from the boil till it is done except you are likely cooling a much larger volume of wort as compared to extract batches.
Basically once you get the process down, you only make minor tweaks based on style or recipe. But since everyone does the steps up to the boil a bit differently, it would be hard to do step by step instructions. NB sells an all grain video that is decent. Lots of stuff on Youtube. Denny’s site is great for the basics that work great
Pick up a copy of “The Complete Joy of Homebrewing” by Charlie PaPazian. Read it three times. Great info. John Palmer and Michael Jackson also have great books on methods, science and troubleshooting.
