Topic: All Grain Brewing
Theory and Practice of Lautering
Digital and Plus Members OnlyLautering is the act of separating sweet wort from spent grains. The act of lautering wort is physically very similar to filtration. The flow of wort through a grain bed can be thought of physically as a type of filtration (liquid flowing through a “filter bed” of grain). The basic principles of filtration were established
Milling — Theory and Practical Consideration
Digital and Plus Members OnlyAn all-grain brew day starts with heating the water and milling the grain. Learn the best ways to mill your malt.
Build a Mash Temperature Controller
Digital and Plus Members OnlyI spent a lot of time controlling temperatures on the cold side of the brewing process in my early homebrew days, including temperature control during grain, hop and yeast storage, yeast propagation and maturation, fermentation, homebrew aging and serving. Adding controls to these areas definitely made a huge impact on the quality of my brew,
All-Grain Brewing in a Bag
Digital and Plus Members OnlyYour first thought on this term might be that this is the simplest form of brewing possible. Perhaps something like open the bag, sprinkle in fairy dust and drink the beer? But what the title of this issue’s column really refers to is a simple, equipment-light method for brewing all-grain beers. In essence you simply
Speeding Up Your All-Grain Brew Day
Digital and Plus Members OnlyA key aspect of improving your beers is to brew more often. Unfortunately, since homebrewing is just a hobby, many brewers struggle to fit additional brewing sessions into their busy lives. Of course, the shorter the brew session, the easier it is to find the time for. If you can crank out a beer in
Storing Grains
Digital and Plus Members OnlyThis is a good question, Ray. The most important thing to prevent when storing malt is an increase in the moisture content. When malt is kilned, the moisture content is normally reduced to less than 5%. Since most parts of the world are not nearly this dry, it is important to prevent moisture pick-up over time.
Mash Temperatures
FREEUnfortunately, enzymes do not “renature” once they have been heated to the point of thermal inactivation and later cooled. Enzyme denaturation can be likened to cooking an egg, since egg whites and
No-Sparge Brewing
Digital and Plus Members OnlyI am definitely a subscriber to the idea that keeping things simple is a benefit to many things that brewers do in the pursuit of great beer. Simplifying things can have a very positive effect on consistency, ease of brewing, and quality, in addition to generally making the whole process of brewing more enjoyable. Some
Mash Hopping
FREEThe direct answer to this question is no. Hops do not need to be figured into the water-to-malt calculus. This ratio is used to determine strike water temperature and has a real
Hot Liquor Tank Temperatures
FREEPaul, the direct answer to your question is “no”; using 200 °F (93 °F) water to heat wort with a copper coil heat exchanger is not going to hurt your efficiency. The important
Decoction Mashing
Digital and Plus Members OnlyI really like this approach! This is the first time I have heard of your method and cannot think of any huge problems. It is certainly similar to decoction mashing, except that you are heating the wort phase of the mash, as opposed to the grain phase of the mash. The significance of this difference
Step Mashing Techniques
Digital and Plus Members OnlyLearn the steps of step mashing, and when (or if) they are necessary.