Have a go at simple AG

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You take a risk buying hops on eBay. If you buy from the right places 2013 hops will be fine, 2012 even should be decent and very usable. Worth buying at reduced prices. Method of storage makes a huge difference.
 
i know this might be a stupid question but i have just does a all grain like your recipe clibit and just throught no sugar, why is it not needed.
 
i know this might be a stupid question but i have just does a all grain like your recipe clibit and just throught no sugar, why is it not needed.

I thought that too when I done my first AG but you would be surprised at the amount of sugar is actually in a grain. You extract most of the sugars in the mash, that's why it's important to hit the right temperature and stay there. If its too cool then you won't maximise the extraction but above a certain temperature then you also extract tanins or bad flavours.

Don't worry if your a few degrees out, the beer will taste just fine and you will improve with every beer you make. If you read my thread you'll see how I've progressed but I still made a few basic errors and I'm in to my 6th AG.

Give it a go, I would never have until I read this thread.
 
No beer needs sugar. It's added to kits to keep the cost down. You can use malt extract with kits instead of sugar. But grain is the best source of sugar for beer... Mashing gets the sugars out of the grain.
 
You take a risk buying hops on eBay. If you buy from the right places 2013 hops will be fine, 2012 even should be decent and very usable. Worth buying at reduced prices. Method of storage makes a huge difference.

That pleases me. Just used some first gold hops from 'Copper kettle brewing ' dated 2014. Squeezed all the air out of the vacuum packed packet and resealed with tape. Should I freeze them ? How long will they last as is ?
 
ahh ok guys thanks for the advice how much sediment would there roughly be as i have put it in my 5 gallon FV and for how much is there that's normally hitting the sediment
 
I've started skimming the foamy scum of the top of the boil (just before it starts to get to a full rolling boil) and I'm convinced it reduces how much sediment (trub) I get. I lose about 1L-1.5L to trub, nowadays
 
ahh ok guys thanks for the advice how much sediment would there roughly be as i have put it in my 5 gallon FV and for how much is there that's normally hitting the sediment

My first AG had loads of trub even in the Demijohn (possibly 1-2L wasted), I cold crashed in my fridge for a week which really helped and while my beer still had a bit of haze, it cleared greatly and tasted better than any kit I've ever made.

Don't worry if yours is similar. It's a steep learning curve but one you will fix quickly.
 
You can use any hops for any type of hopping. For bittering, the lower the AA% the more you need. Which is why high AA hops are generally used to bitter, but not always by any means. EKG and Fuggles are both used a lot for bittering English ales, for example.

Thanks it finally makes sense now when you say it like that :drink:
 
One of the best brews i have done so far not surprisingly is the SMASH single malt and single hops.

1kg Pale malt
5g summit @60mins
5g summit @5
cool in sink


I didnt know about IBU's when i did this and just put them into the calc and comes to 60. There is an aftertaste to this i am not really keen on so my question is do i ditch the 2nd addition and add less for the bittering?
If i ditch the 2nd addition it comes done to 50 but still seems a lot.
Is the aftertaste down to the bittering hops or the 2nd addition?
 
I think that's summit hops. Try a different hop, you won't get that aftertaste.
 
I've not posted much on this forum, and I've not done an 'introduce yourself' post, but I just want to say thank you for this thread to show how easy it is doing all grain. And it is easy: it's not really any more complicated than extract, it just takes more time. In fact it's less hassle than extract, you don't have to deal with extract clumping up around the edges of the bag, and all that. And it's loads cheaper. I did my first AG yesterday, just 4.5 litres, using pilsner malt, crystal malt, and crystal rye (running before I can walk?), with centennial, cascade, and East Kent Goldings hops. I'll post how it turns out.
 
I did my first AG yesterday, just 4.5 litres, using pilsner malt, crystal malt, and crystal rye (running before I can walk?), with centennial, cascade, and East Kent Goldings hops. I'll post how it turns out.

I bet you're onto a winner there, sounds like a great blend of hops and malts. :thumb:
 

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