Making the leap into all-grain brewing can be a challenging and rewarding experience for the homebrewer.  While any method of making homebrew can turn out a fine product, there is not denying the satisfaction gained by making beer in much the same way that the “big boys” do.  All-grain brewing also gives the homebrewer complete and total control over all aspects of the finished product.  Taste, color, clarity, mouth-feel, sweetness, bitterness and aroma can all be fine tuned but tweaking the type and amounts of the ingredients.  At the Homebrew Garage we still marvel that we can make a delicious beer from a mere bag of grain and encourage others to give all-grain brewing a try.

Now it is time to get honest.  All-grain brewing is cool and does give a certain sense of satisfaction when you are savoring your hand crafted pints with friends.  It also requires more time, money and equipment than the other brewing methods.  Also, because the homebrewer has so much control over the final product he also has the ability to ruin the wort if he isn’t careful.  Brewing all-grain beer is for those who are serious about their homebrew or who truly enjoy brewing beer for a hobby.  While not for everyone, we encourage people to try all-grain brewing and see if they enjoy it as much as we do.

Additional Equipment Needed

-         Large Brew Kettle (preferably at least 8 gallon capacity for a 5 gallon batch)

-         Propane Burner (or other heat source capable of bringing 5 gallons of wort to a boil)

-         Mash Tun (vessel where the milled grain and hot water create the mash)

-         Hot Liquor Tank (vessel where hot water is stored for use in sparging)

-         Wort Chiller (used to cool the boiled wort to yeast pitching temperatures)

Don’t say we didn’t warn you…these items can be a bit pricy!

Procedure

Mashing

Mashing takes place in a vessel called a mash tun.  While homebrewers can use several different types of mash tuns, at the Homebrew Garage we use 5 gallon insulated water coolers with the plastic valves removed and replaced with stainless steel bulkheads and ball valves.  One thing all mash tuns have in common is a false bottom strainer at the bottom of the vessel to allow the sweet wort to be drained away when the mash is complete.  Mash tuns can be purchased from homebrew supply shops or the enterprising homebrewer can do what we did and make their own.  Either way they should be large enough to hold 12-15 pounds of grain and several gallons of water and be well insulated.

There are several different ways to mash but the simplest method is the infusion mash.  Begin by heating approximately 1.5 quarts of water for every pound of grist (crushed grain) in your recipe to 170 degrees Fahrenheit.  Add the heated water to the mash tun and slowly mix in the crushed malt and adjunct grains.  This process is called mashing-in or doughing-in.  It is very important to make sure the grain is well mixed and that no dry pockets remain.  Once the grain is well mixed, check the temperature of the mash.  Your target temperature will vary by recipe, but typically you are shooting for a temperature of between 150-158 degrees Fahrenheit.

It is important to note that if your mash temperature is too low the enzymes won’t effectively break down the starches in the grain and if the temperature is too high (above 168 degrees Fahrenheit) the grains can release astringent flavors called tannins.    If your mash is too cool, add small amounts of hot water (about 200 degrees F) until you are at the desired temperature.  Conversely, if the mash is too hot, quickly add small amounts of cold water until the mash temperature falls to an acceptable level.  Once the temperature has stabilized the mash needs to sit for 60-90 minutes to allow the starches in the grain to be broken down into fermentable sugars.  This is where having a well insulated mash tun is key as you won’t have to add hot water to keep the mash temperature steady.

At this point you can call the mash finished or you can do an additional step called a mash-out.  To mash-out you will need to add 200 degree water to the mash to bring the temperature up to 168-170 degrees and hold if for about 15 minutes.  This helps warm up the grain for the next step and also stops the conversion of starches to sugars.  If you decide to do the mash-out please remember that temperatures of 170 degrees can lead to harsh flavors in your beer so add the hot water slowly!

Sparging

After the mashing is complete heat about 2 quarts of water for every pound of grain in the recipe to 170 degrees and then add it to the hot liquor tank.  Again, here at the Homebrew Garage we use insulated plastic water coolers for hot liquor tanks as they hold the temperature of the sparge water steady.  Slowly drain off a quart or two at a time of the sweet wort from the mash tun (since we don’t transfer into a different vessel it is now technically a lauter tun) and then gently pour it back over the top of the grain bed.  This recirculation of the wort helps to settle the grain bed so it can more effectively filter out husks and other debris.  After recirculating several times you will notice the wort is no longer as cloudy as it was and no more solid debris (known as draff) comes out.  At this point you are ready to sparge.

Much like mashing there are several methods of sparging but the most common is fly (or continous) sparging.  To fly sparge you allow the sweet wort to slowly drain from the lauter tun into the brew kettle while simultaneously adding hot sparge water from the hot liquor tank to the lauter tun.  In essence you are trying to put the same amount of sparge water into the lauter tun that you are draining out so the water level remains steady.  There are several devices available to distribute sparge water evenly over the grain bed (you don’t want all the sparge water running though one spot) but a good sized kitchen colander is cheap way to do the same thing.   This process should be done slowly so that it can effectively wash all of the sugars created during the mash out of the grist and into the brew kettle.

If you sparge too quickly the grain bed can compact which will retain sugars and possibly cause the mash to become stuck.  If this happens stop draining wort and adding sparge water.  Stir the mash back up and slowly begin the process again.  Continue with the sparging until you have collected enough wort (typically 6-7 gallons for a 5 gallon batch) or until the runoff reaches a specific gravity of 1.008-1.012.  If done right the fly sparging process usually takes between 45-60 minutes and is an effective method of making sure all the sugars created during the mash end up in your wort.

Congratulations!  You have now created a hand crafted all-grain wort that will end up and wonderfully refreshing and delicious beer!