Hey all, first time poster here. I’m getting ready to make my first all grain brew. I understand the basics and I’m sure I can make it work. Any advice on things I can do or warnings for things I may run into? Is there any recipe that is best to start out with? Thanks!
if you know nothing about your water I’d start with something in the amber(12-15) color range. it seems to me that it’s more likely to work with most types of water. unless of course you know what your water is like in which case you can do whatever and adjust for it with salts and acid additions.
Thanks, I’m a fan of ambers anyways. But for the future I don’t know anything about my water. Is there any easy way to test it?
if it’s municipal water you can usually find out via that local gov’t agency. this is what I did.
if that’s not an option you can send a sample to ward labs (someone else can fill in which test to have them run) and they’ll do it for you. I think it’s something like $10-15 to do this.
ward’s has a special homebrewers test that is more expensive. I think there is a cheaper option that will work through them but I’m not sure which one:
another option if you want to brew before you get a test is to mash in, check the pH and adjust as needed. most people need to acidify their mash so if you had some lactic on hand that would make it pretty easy.
KISS to start with.
-temp and PH of mash important, so get yourself reliable meter and thermometer.
- water; yes very good to know where you are starting from. if city water you want to throw campden tablet in to remove chlorine.
- pick a two malt recipe…base and some specialty maybe.
- yeast; perhaps go with a dry yeast like US-05 first time. forgiving strain, and focus on pitch temp and maintaining fermentation temps in 60’s. just trying to get yourself familiar with the process at this point.
- sanitation; that’s important with any brew
- some point consider water profile software like bru’nwater, and recipe software like beersmith…invaluable.
- relax, take good notes, and just go through the process. it may seem overwhelming at first, but it will get easier and routine after time.
all good advice. I forgot about the campden tablet. Once I found out about this my life got much easier (f you filters! I used to filter all my water through a brita pitcher.)
I use colorpHast strips but I would hate to rely on these if I wasn’t expecting a certain result based on water report and malt used. meters are a little pricey though if you want a decent one - that’s a trade to be made.
Ok awesome, great starting points thanks for the advice!
i’m sure i’ve over simplified- so come on back with questions…great forum willing to assist as needed.
good luck
No offense intended to anyone, but for now just forget about worrying about water unless your water is really bad. I brewed and won ribbons for 10 tears or so before I ever did anything other add some gypsum for hoppy beers. If you’re just starting AG there are far more important things to worry about. after you dial in your system, your crush and your process, then start thinking about your water. And trhy batch sparging…www.dennybrew.com
I was going to channel Denny on this one but he got her first.
The process is involved enough to start out with. Don’t worry about water until you know the process and your system. Unless your water is undrinkable the old adage “if your water tastes good it will make good beer” really is true for your initial brew sessions.
Paul
no offense taken by me…just water can be a source of headache and bad beer. it was in my case. bicarb so high i couldn’t make a beer worth drinking as PH was through the roof in the mash…all kind of issues.
i’m all for jumping in and seeing what happens-just know from experience bad water can make bad beer that gets dumped.
I would mostly agree with one major exception: chlorine. pH isn’t far behind, but making sure that you neutralize chloramines is pretty important. That’s easy though with the addition of campden tablets (1/4 tablet per 5 gallons of hot liquor). After that, I’d say yes, get your process down first and then start looking into more advanced water topics later. So in summary:
- Chloramine neutralization - Pretty important
- pH/Alkalinity adjustment - A really good next step
- Brewing salt/mineral adjustments - icing on the cake once you have all the basics well handled
I agree that a new brewer doesn’t need to jump right into fine tuning water, but (as said) using acceptable, chlorine free water is important. The water in big parts of the Midwest is crap for most styles, so starting out using RO water around here is at least a step in the right direction. Nothing extra to learn, just a trip to the store.
i just remember how wicked frustrated I was in the beginning…and a lot of it was because I had crap water for most beer styles, and I didn’t know it. I finally got my water tested and figured out RO water was my best option.
im torn between how much to tackle, and not tackling enough …but that’s just me.
Yeah, I had the same experience. Refined my process and the beer would only get so good, some styles better than others. Once I got serious about learning enough about water, beer got a lot better. RO definitely helps around here.
there is a balance I guess-depending on your personality. taking on more than you can deal with could be overwhelming and increase risk of not continuing with learning the craft. not taking on enough, and getting frustrated with the results of your beer increases risk of not continuing with the craft.
just have to decide what type you are, and the approach the works best for you.
I was an “all in” personality and wanted to know and do all i could right away so I could learn best practices and brew good beer.
I’m definitely not saying to never worry about water. I agree with the campden tablets. I didn’t even think about that since chlorine is a no brainer for me after 12 or 13 years. I didn’t even consider it since it usually gets done in my brewery the night before the brew. :-\
I just don’t think hitting my exact PH with decent water is something I would worry about on my first brew. Heck, most days I still worry about it too much. Most brew sessions i look at the pH meter box and think “I probably should have taken a PH reading when I started the mash”. That’s usually as I’m putting my kettles and tools away. :
I have really good water though so it works for everything I normally brew.
Paul
agreed- exact/tweaking the mash PH will come. somewhere in the acceptable (5.2-5.6) ball park in the beginning is just fine.