First All-Grain Batch

I finally decided to make the switch to all-grain brewing in 2012. After much deliberation on whether or not to go with an elaborate setup or a budget setup, I couldn't resist the $40 turkey fryer I saw at Home Depot. Chad the Lad came over several days ago to guide me through my first all-grain batch, an Irish red ale. I chose to brew an Irish red because of its simplicity and mass appeal. We picked up the ingredients at American Brewmaster in the morning and began brewing at around 1130.


My mash tun was really easy to make. I took the spigot out of a 10-gallon cooler and replaced it with a ball valve from Fifth Season, as well as a screen fro inside the mash tun. I then added a hose barb adapter to the outside of the ball valve and picked up a 3-foot length of high-temperature hosing from American Brewmaster. It worked well to drain from the mash tun to the brew kettle.


I was a little worried about how long it would take the turkey fryer burner to bring the wort to a boil, but it was actually pretty fast (and it was a cold day). It took about 25 minutes.


One problem with the aluminum kettle that comes with the turkey fryer system is that the capacity is 7.5 gallons, which makes it a close call when it comes to boilovers. I forgot to heed Chad the Lad's suggestion to have a water spray bottle
handy, so we had a minor boilover, but nothing too bad. Lesson learned.


I am wary about wort chillers because of the water they waste. Instead I picked up three bags of ice and made a water bath, and we got the water down to the low 60s in about 25 minutes.


We siphoned about half of the wort into the carboy using the steps off the deck.


We poured the other half of the wort into the carboy, which I like to do because it aerates the wort quite nicely.


I set up the blow off hose for this beer in case the fermentation proved to be vigorous.


Actually, fermentation did not take off as quickly as I anticipated because the wort was too cool. I moved it out of the closet and placed it next to a heating vent so that it would warm up a little bit. This helped the fermentation get going.


This first all-grain experience was great, and I can't wait to brew another batch. It was really nice to put all of the equipment into use and to learn things that will help me in the future.