Gillman2's All Grain Steps and Tips

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I'm going to use the recipe i won second place with.
I assume you have some knowledge of all grain brewing or have read the books i mentioned on the beer page.
  1. Open a home brew and don't worry (if you dont yet have any a good microbrew will do)
  2. Mix 1 tsp. of gypsum with 1 1/2 gal. of brewing water and bring to a boil.as soon as it boils turn off heat and let set.
  3. Place Grain in a stainless steel 20 qt. pot or bigger, at room temp.add about a gallon of water and slowly mix in water untill the grain absorbs no more. Only a small amount of water should be in the bottom of the mash
  4. Add the boiling water and mix in well. Turn on burner stiring and raise temp to a Acid rest strike for 100 deg.F and cover for 20 minn. mixing about every 5 minn. Keeping the temp above 95 deg.F
  5. Turn on burner and stir as not to let grain scorch on bottom of pot, raise temp to 122 deg.F and hold for 30 minn.this I call the protien rest.
  6. Open another beer to replace the one you just finished and dont worry
  7. I start heating 5 gal.of sparge water to 175to 180 deg. about now adding 2 tsp.of gypsum, and put hot tap water in my construction cooler that I use to keep my sparge water hot during the sparge
  8. Turn back on the burner stiring as not to scorch grain and raise temp. to the first saccharification rest strike for 151 deg.F but try to keep the temp. between 149 to 153 deg.F hold for 20 minn.
  9. Turn the burner back on stir so the grain wont scorch and raise to 158 deg.F,hold for 30 minn then check for conversion of starches, I use the idoine method.
  10. When conversion is complete i mash out by raising temp to 167 deg.F and hold for 15 minn.
  11. Now it's time to sparge the sugars out the grain. I first empty the cooler i use and set it beside my lautertun, I add sparge water to cover the bottom screen in my lautertun and pour the rest of the water in the cooler and put the lid on it.
  12. I then add the grain mash slowly as not to trap air in the lautertun.then i draw off a qt. or so slowly not letting the liquid level below the top of the grains. This will look very cloudy I return it to the top of the lautertun pouring it in to a spoon so it disperses outward as not to make a crater in the grain bed. I repeat this till i get a clear wort running. ( This creates a natural filter out of the grain husks cracked before mashing )
  13. Then the lid with the spray arm goes on and is hooked to the cooler containing the 170 deg.F water and match the in flow with the out flow by the valves on top and bottom. adjust so it takes 30 to 60 minn. to run 5 gal of water thru the grains.
  14. This is a excelent time to open another beer and sterilize the fermenter, and any other things used after the boil.
  15. Now half way thru I pour the wort i have in to the pot and start heating for the boil. I add the rest as soon as its done so I have 6 to 7 gal of wort in the pot and bring it to a rolling boil.
  16. about 15 minn in to the boil i add half the bittering hops to the boil, and add the rest 15 minn. later, and boil for another 30 minn. ( a total boil of 60 minn. ) 10 minn. before the end of the boil I add 1 tsp. of Irish Moss. for a clairfier.
  17. Now turn off heat and add the aroma hops, cover and let sit for 10 to 15 minn. then pour in to a buckett thru a strainer like a nylon bag sold at brew shops straining out the hops ( I use compressed hop plugs the pellets clog the strainer quickly )
  18. I built a copper coil I hook to my sink( soaked in sterilizer solution and rinsed ) so cold water runs in and cools the wort (becarful as the water comming out of the coil will be hot!!) put coil in the wort and thermometer and cool to 75deg.F
  19. I like to remove some of the trub but this is optional. Pour the cooled wort in a sterilized buckett with a spigotcover and let stand for 30 minn.then hook tube to spigot and open splashing wort into the fermenter to add as much oxygen to the wort as i can leaving some of the trub in the botom of the buckett. You may want to tilt it back some with a shim under buckett. then pitch the yeast in to the fermenter and add the air lock.
  20. Ferment to completeion and rack, bottle, or keg.
  21. drop me a line and let me know how it came out!!!
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