How to brew your own beer - The All Grain method
- Thread starter PaulStat
- Start date
Associate
So you are planning to use your boiler for mashing? If you are I would recommend getting a mash tun, the cooler type that NickK mentioned is a good choice it will cut down the time on your brew day.
A big stock pot is also handy to heat sparge water on the cooker, I got a stainless one on sale for about £10 years ago.
One point about transfer of liquid - gravity helps unless you're pumping sticky sugar water around.
Boil water -> mash tun hot sticky water -> hop boil -> warm sticky water (after break) -> fermentation bin.
So each of these steps sees water being transferred, so if you plan the position you could use gravity or a sterile pump (then use gravity on the last to the ferm bin). Make no bones - transferring 5 gallons of boiling or hot liquid should be kept as safe as possible.
I used todo - boil, then transfer to mash tun at the highest point (you could pump here to give a nice spare flow rate). Then let gravity drop down to a smaller lower point for the boil and then to fermentation bin.
Boil water -> mash tun hot sticky water -> hop boil -> warm sticky water (after break) -> fermentation bin.
So each of these steps sees water being transferred, so if you plan the position you could use gravity or a sterile pump (then use gravity on the last to the ferm bin). Make no bones - transferring 5 gallons of boiling or hot liquid should be kept as safe as possible.
I used todo - boil, then transfer to mash tun at the highest point (you could pump here to give a nice spare flow rate). Then let gravity drop down to a smaller lower point for the boil and then to fermentation bin.
Soldato
This may be useful to some to save some money, i've just placed an order with thehomebrewcompany.ie, take advantage of the weak €. I got for just under £70 inc. delivery
2x fermenting bins with taps and air locks, a dial thermometer, trial jar, a belgian tripel AG kit and a 25kg bag of Irish pale malt (Minch).
2x fermenting bins with taps and air locks, a dial thermometer, trial jar, a belgian tripel AG kit and a 25kg bag of Irish pale malt (Minch).
Soldato
So, i've finished modding my boiler, made a hop strainer and fitted a new ball valve tap and bulkhead. I can't make my first brew till next week though. At least it gives me more time to make sure i do it right.
In the boiler...
Then i finally fitted the ball valve tap and bulkhead
Leak test...
And finally, testing the flow through the hop strainer...
And my first brew will be...
In the boiler...
Then i finally fitted the ball valve tap and bulkhead
Leak test...
And finally, testing the flow through the hop strainer...
And my first brew will be...
Soldato
Hi guys!
Not sure how i've managed to miss the last 6 months worth of posts on here! Got some catching up to do
I came on to look is anyone had used or built a counter pressure bottle filler.. Nothing came up on the search.
The worst part of bottling at home is the priming sediment, pour it all at once or cloud up in a mist of back washed yeast, travelling, is a no no. This kills my dreams of camping with homebrew. I now carry the pub gas cylinder and corni keg everywhere.
Not my actual setup but very close!
This can be cured buy force carbonating in a keg the filling bottles with sediment free beer. Like you'd buy from the shops.
Using one of these:-
Cost +/- £60
How it works:-
The top 'T' is hooked to the keg and the gas supply (pub gas in my case). Gas needs to be fed into the keg as well at equal pressure.
The bottle is slid over the bottom and wedged on the cork.
The gas valve is opened and the bottle is filled to the same pressure as the beer keg.
Turn off the gas and turn on the beer. because its all equal pressure nothing should happen. To get beer in the bottle you need to lower the pressure in the bottle.
Open the valve just above the cork a crack and it vents the gas slowly. the beer should pour in, under pressure to equalise the bottle. Once full shut off the beer flow.
This allows the bottle to equalise to room pressure.
1 bottle filled and none lost to froth
Sounds good?
I'm going to (hopefully) make my own using scraps and ebay bits.
Now the twist....
I'm got bottling beer for the 1st go, i didn't even know this existed till a few weeks back. I'm building it because I'm making prosecco style wine!
This will be under a load more pressure than the beer so fingers crossed mine doesn't explode.
Will bottle the 1st batch outside
Not sure how i've managed to miss the last 6 months worth of posts on here! Got some catching up to do
I came on to look is anyone had used or built a counter pressure bottle filler.. Nothing came up on the search.
The worst part of bottling at home is the priming sediment, pour it all at once or cloud up in a mist of back washed yeast, travelling, is a no no. This kills my dreams of camping with homebrew. I now carry the pub gas cylinder and corni keg everywhere.
Not my actual setup but very close!
This can be cured buy force carbonating in a keg the filling bottles with sediment free beer. Like you'd buy from the shops.
Using one of these:-
Cost +/- £60
How it works:-
The top 'T' is hooked to the keg and the gas supply (pub gas in my case). Gas needs to be fed into the keg as well at equal pressure.
The bottle is slid over the bottom and wedged on the cork.
The gas valve is opened and the bottle is filled to the same pressure as the beer keg.
Turn off the gas and turn on the beer. because its all equal pressure nothing should happen. To get beer in the bottle you need to lower the pressure in the bottle.
Open the valve just above the cork a crack and it vents the gas slowly. the beer should pour in, under pressure to equalise the bottle. Once full shut off the beer flow.
This allows the bottle to equalise to room pressure.
1 bottle filled and none lost to froth
Sounds good?
I'm going to (hopefully) make my own using scraps and ebay bits.
Now the twist....
I'm got bottling beer for the 1st go, i didn't even know this existed till a few weeks back. I'm building it because I'm making prosecco style wine!
This will be under a load more pressure than the beer so fingers crossed mine doesn't explode.
Will bottle the 1st batch outside
Soldato
OMG THE_BLUEEEEEEEEEEEE where HAVE you been? We in the last 6 months have really got into our bottling as well as kegging so at one point earlier this year we had 120 bottles of homebrew.
Like your setup. Thought you were a MoH?
where HAVE you been? We in the last 6 months have really got into our bottling as well as kegging so at one point earlier this year we had 120 bottles of homebrew. Like your setup. Thought you were a MoH?
Soldato
Not me! 
Just a lurker.
Just a lurker.you could also look at one of these, (not my video).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bBh4AvlkDM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bBh4AvlkDM
Associate
So we've got a flask of yeast settling in the fridge that we've cultured up from a couple of bottles of Thwaites Nutty Black, but not sure what to brew with it this afternoon. I've bought some mild ale malt, and some brown malt, so tempted to try a mild, dark mild or brown ale.
So long as the starter doesn't smell off.
So long as the starter doesn't smell off.
Soldato
Well i made my first brew on Sunday, and i thought it might be a disaster. My brand new buffalo boiler would not maintain a rolling boil, it would boil for maybe 10 minutes than flick to 'keep warm' for 5 minutes or so. So i stood there agitating the water while it wasn't boiling, but i increased the boil to 1 1/2 hrs to try and compensate. I somehow managed to put my aroma hops in at the beginning of the boil instead of the bittering hops, i scooped them out though straight away and reintroduced them 10 minutes before the end. The sparge semed to take forever (about 1 hr 45). I think i may need to drill bigger holes in my sparge bucket. (I'm using a fermenting bin with holes in the bottom inside another fermenting bin with a tap.)
Anyway, i took a sample to show the head brewer at work yesterday for some advice and he seems to think it's fine, so it's fermenting away in my boiler cupboard upstairs atm so i'll see what it's like in a few days.
It's a Belgian tripel btw. It tastes rather sweet atm, so it's going to be a strong one!
Already looking forward to my next brew day, i've ordered the bits to adapt my boiler so it will maintain a rolling boil, but won't burn the element out. I think i'm going to brew a New Zealand style beer next so i can take one over to my father in law to be to try. He's a Maori.
Anyway, i took a sample to show the head brewer at work yesterday for some advice and he seems to think it's fine, so it's fermenting away in my boiler cupboard upstairs atm so i'll see what it's like in a few days.
It's a Belgian tripel btw. It tastes rather sweet atm, so it's going to be a strong one!
Already looking forward to my next brew day, i've ordered the bits to adapt my boiler so it will maintain a rolling boil, but won't burn the element out. I think i'm going to brew a New Zealand style beer next so i can take one over to my father in law to be to try. He's a Maori.
Associate
Yeah, we BIAB and find that if things burn onto the element, particularly with a stronger or darker brew, it will keep cutting out. I keep thinking about replacing the thermal fuse and switch with something slightly higher rated, but keep getting nervouse I'll kill the boiler or electrocute me and MrsSeabiscuit.
Anyway, we did a stout using the cultured yeast in the end. And the boiler did keep cutting out later in the brew a bit, but it had enough of a boil anyway. It's got a good layer of yeast floating on the top, so all seems good.
Anyway, we did a stout using the cultured yeast in the end. And the boiler did keep cutting out later in the brew a bit, but it had enough of a boil anyway. It's got a good layer of yeast floating on the top, so all seems good.
Man of Honour
You guys need to invest in a nice cheap home made boiler with rubbish thermal cut-out capabilities 
Soldato
HeheYou guys need to invest in a nice cheap home made boiler with rubbish thermal cut-out capabilities
Soldato
So my beer has been bottled for almost three weeks now and it's cleared nicely, and tastes very much like Duvel tripel hop, which is certainly not a bad thing! Still planning my next brew, i'm considering a NZ IPA.
Soldato
It works
I have sparkling wine of a drinkable qualityPressurised the corny to a nice 4bar/ 60psi and promptly blew the counter pressure filler to bits
. Lost a couple of bottles to that and a couple more to froth. Chilled it down in the fridge till partly frozen and that helped .
So looking more into all grain, and was looking around for making it as cheap as possible and found this guide
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-Your-Own-Brewery-for-Under-100-STEP-2-/?ALLSTEPS
Does this look like it be spot on for doing all grain?
Cheers
http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-Your-Own-Brewery-for-Under-100-STEP-2-/?ALLSTEPS
Does this look like it be spot on for doing all grain?
Cheers
Associate
Looks pretty good, but I remember reading that newer versions of the Tesco (and other supermarket) kettles are not so easy to remove the element/internals now. Probably worth scouring peoples build logs over at Jims from the past 6 months or so to find what has worked for people recently. Also, make sure that the bucket you use is a suitable plastic that it doesn't lose it's structural strength when it's filled with boiling liquid.