It's time for that leap. That leap from extract and kit brewing to all-grain. You've gone as far as you can go with extracts but it's not quite far enough. How difficult is it going to be? With the right equipment, it's fairly simple. Your biggest commitment will be to the extra time involved. Let's start with the simplest form of all-grain brewing, the single step infusion mash.
Assuming you have the equipment that I described in the last newsletter, single-step infusion mashing will be a snap. First, let's start with a recipe:
American Pale Ale
mash temp = (lbs. grain X grain temp X 0.43) + (gal water added X temp water added X 8.33) divided by (lbs. grain X 0.43) + (gal water added X 8.33)
X = multiply
I add the 167 degree water to the mash tun and then add the grain. Stir to mix thoroughly. The temperature should stabilize at 151. If you're doing stove top mashing, just add the grain to the pot. You can hold the temperature fairly well in the oven with the setting on warm. Wait about an hour for conversion. You can check for conversion with iodine, as described in the minimashing article.
After conversion, if your using a cooler, you won't be doing a mash out, where the enzymes are deactivated. Stove top mashers can add heat (remember to stir) and bring the temperature to 170 degrees for mash out. Hold the mash here for about 10 minutes.
Next step is sparging. A good rule of thumb for sparge water is twice as much sparge water as mash water. We'll need about 4.5 to 5 gallons 175 degree water. Recirculate the first runnings from the wort until it runs clear (no particulate matter) and then begin adding the sparge water. Keep about 1 inch of water above the grain bed. Sparging should be a fairly slow process. For this recipe it should last about 1 hour. Try to not disturb the grain bed too much. Collect the runnings in your boiling kettle. If you stove top mash, you'll need to gently transfer the mash to your lauter tun prior to sparging. If you have a false bottom, you need to add sparge water to the tun so it covers the false bottom. This will prevent the mash from becoming "stuck".
After collecting the wort, it's time to boil. You'll have about 6 to 6.5 gallons of wort. That's why we need something heavy-duty to boil on. Boil for at least 60 minutes. Hop schedule for the above recipe is 1 oz Perle for 60 minutes, 1 oz Cascade for 10 minutes, and 1 oz Cascade when you turn the heat off. (One oz Cascade can be added to secondary for dry-hopping).
After boiling, chill as quickly as possible (preferably with a wort chiller) to fermentation temperature. Siphon (or pour through a mesh, I do) the wort into your sanitized fermenter, add the yeast starter, add an airlock, and your ready to go.
It will take about 3 extra hours to produce this beer from all-grain as opposed to an extract brewing process. Lots of that time can be spent doing other things (cleaning and drinking beer; or vice versa!). What you'll end up with is a kickback amber pale ale with plenty of hoppiness. A true American classic you brewed from scratch!
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