# first batch....all grain



## Robust-RN (Apr 23, 2015)

I just sampled a glass from my first ever batch of home brew....I've been thinking of brewing for a long time but just never took the leap. Until now. I did how ever decide to start making fruit wine after being inspired by Dangerdave ' s dragon blood wine. The family has become quiet found of my Cranberry Pomegranate wine and the confidence gain from successful wine making pushed me over the edge and I made my first beer. 
As far as commercial beers go I really like Dos Equis Amber and Negra Modelo both are evolutions of Vienna lagers as far as I know. So I set out to brew a beer with similar flavor profiles. I decided to make an all grain beer to accomplish my goals. I also like the BIAB method because I didn't have to build an elaborate mash tun. I am very impressed with my results. 

3lbs Vienna malt
3lbs pale malt
1 lbs Cara aroma malt
.5 lbs c20 crystal malt
1 lbs flaked corn
0.5 oz cascade @ 30 min
O.5oz centennial @ 8 mins

Full volume mash 70 mins @ 158 degrees
60 mins boil

Cooled wort in ice bath and pitched Nottingham ale yeast. The fermentation bucket sat in the utility sink with cold water and a towel draped over it to keep temp as low as possible and I fermented around 68 degrees. 
I racked the beer into the carboy tonight and pulled out and chilled a couple of pints, force carbonated it with a soda stream type device and wow....malty... moderate to low hop flavor ....very close to how I imagined it....now to bottle the rest, let it carbonate, age a few weeks and enjoy


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## jswordy (Apr 23, 2015)

Sound delicious, and the glass is pre-tilted for our drinking pleasure!


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## Robust-RN (Apr 23, 2015)

I know right....couldn't edit the orientation after I posted it and was too tired to delete and repost photo.....


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## Robust-RN (Apr 23, 2015)

I used a 5 gal paint strainer bag....The 
next batch I will split the grain between two bags so the grain has more room to contact the mash water. And have the grain milled twice. I didn't quite get the preboil SG the wort calculator said I should have.


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## BernardSmith (Apr 23, 2015)

Not meant as a rhetorical question - but mashing at 158 F will leave a lot of unfermentable sugars, won't it? So the mouthfeel will be rich but the beer will taste sweeter ... Was that your intention? (Not made wheat beers so I don't know whether they are usually mashed at higher temperatures. I generally mash barley grains closer to 150 F )


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## Elmer (Apr 28, 2015)

Looks good.
I really like Cascade & Centennial, just planted 1 of each! 
I have really enjoyed using flaked corn in my brews, adds a sweetness.
What was the final ABV%?


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## wineinmd (Apr 28, 2015)

Looks good. I like the SodaStream idea. Mine is just sitting in the basement with a little CO2 left in the tank. I might give that a shot on my next batch. 

Any particular reason you mashed for 70 minutes? Conversion was probably done well before that. I know people boil pilsner malts for longer than 60 minutes to help drive off DMS precursor, but I've never heard of mashing for longer than 60 minutes.

Good call on getting the grains milled twice for BIAB. You'll get faster and more complete conversion that way.


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## BernardSmith (Apr 28, 2015)

I thought 90 minutes was often suggested as the mash time with Pilsner malts to reduce DMS precursors


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## wineinmd (Apr 28, 2015)

BernardSmith said:


> I thought 90 minutes was often suggested as the mash time with Pilsner malts to reduce DMS precursors


That's the boil time and not mash time.


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## BernardSmith (Apr 28, 2015)

Arrggghhh! Sorry.. brain spasm...


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## Robust-RN (May 7, 2015)

This was my first ever batch of beer and a recipie I made up. The extra mash time was my way of making sure I had converted enough starches, I didn't have any iodine in the house to test with. The mash temp was taken from several brew videos I had watched, not sure now who had done them to give credit. The extra 10 mins boil time was to reduce the volume a little more because my preboil SG wasn't as high as I wanted it....the finished ABV is about 4.5%.
The beer has now carbonated in the bottle....I used brown 16oz swing tops. And I am very happy with the results. I will brew this again soon......I am sure I had a good dose of beginners luck.


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## wineinmd (May 7, 2015)

Robust-RN said:


> This was my first ever batch of beer and a recipie I made up. The extra mash time was my way of making sure I had converted enough starches, I didn't have any iodine in the house to test with. The mash temp was taken from several brew videos I had watched, not sure now who had done them to give credit. The extra 10 mins boil time was to reduce the volume a little more because my preboil SG wasn't as high as I wanted it....the finished ABV is about 4.5%.
> The beer has now carbonated in the bottle....I used brown 16oz swing tops. And I am very happy with the results. I will brew this again soon......I am sure I had a good dose of beginners luck.


Awesome. Congrats!

For BIAB, you'll be surprised how quickly conversion takes place. Some people advocate for a 30 minute mash or less if the grains are milled into a near-flour. 

You listed a 70 minute mash time and a 60 minute boil. Were those numbers reversed? If so, what you did makes sense. 

Mash temperature can have a big impact on the finished product and is dependent on what characteristics you are looking for. It might be worth looking into if you are interested in doing other styles. 158 might not be appropriate.

As long as you are attentive to the process and understand why you did what you did, it isn't luck. Good practices make good product.


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## Robust-RN (May 8, 2015)

This was my first ever batch of beer. I got the temp for the mash from a couple of videos I had watched but don't remember who posted them to give credit. The extended mash time was my way of insuring I had converted enough of the starches. I am certain that I had a fair amount of beginners luck on my side but I am more than pleased with the results....I bottled the beer in 16oz swing tops and it is now carbonated on its own. Abv is around 4.5%


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