Before you start brewing all grain, you need to have understand the homebrewing fundamentals.
Let’s quickly review the key concepts that will make a massive difference to your beer.
1. Cleaning and sanitizing
Cleaning and sanitizing are essential for great beer.
All grain beers aren’t any more likely to get infections and spoil.
However cleaning and sanitizing does become more important. As you will be investing more time and effort, you have more to lose if your beer spoils.
Always clean and sanitize
It’s a big one. Be pedantic and thorough. Before brewing, clean your brewing area and everything that comes near your beer.
Cleaners will remove any grime visible to the naked eye.
After cleaning, sanitize with a no-rinse sanitizer. The sanitizer will take care of remaining microbes.
A pump up spray bottle will make sanitizing a breeze.
After brewing, clean up immediately. Sanitise and dry your gear for storage.
Use cleaning products made for brewing
They are made for the job so will be much more effective. While there are cheaper products already in your bathroom cupboard, they have their limits.
I recommend Powdered Brewery Wash (PBW) and Star San as the homebrew standard for cleaning and sanitizing.
Use as per the manufacturer’s instructions.
Always soft. Never abrasive.
Buy soft cloths specifically for your homebrewery. Never use anything that will scratch your plastics.
Micro-scratches will give a place for brew-spoiling bacteria and wild yeast to hide.
Wear gloves
Cleaners and sanitizers won’t do wonders for your skin.
Likewise the microbes hiding under your nails won’t do your homebrew much good either.
Get a good pair of gloves. Whoever drinks your beer will thank you.
2. Yeast management
Great beer needs a strong fermentation and healthy yeast.
To achieve this you need yeast that is:
– fresh (ie within used by date)
– enough (over 11 grams for a 6 gallon/ 23 L brew)
– rehydrated (pitching dry yeast directly to the fermenter will destroy up to half of your yeast).
Rehydrating yeast can be done easily through mixing with warm water:
– ale yeasts – 95-104°F/ 35-40°C
– lager yeasts – 68-77°F/ 20-25°C for ale yeast.
When it develops a thick creamy head, you can safely pitch it.
Detailed instruction are in my basic kit brewing course and The Complete Kit ebook.
3. Temperature control
Too high and your beer will have some funky flavors.
Too low and your beer won’t ferment.
Use your yeast’s working temperature as the guide.
To master temperature:
– brew when the ambient temperature suits your yeast
– choose a yeast that suits the season
– invest in some tools that will help control the temperature.
4. Ingredients
Making beer from raw ingredients means you can now make a premium product.
However, your beer is still only going to be as good as what goes in. Low quality ingredients will still mean ordinary beer.
Spend a few extra dollars on ingredients and you will get a better beer.
5. Safety is paramount
Although all grain is exciting, there are also a few extra risks. Maybe that is why it is exciting…
You need to be conscious of these risks to avoid mishaps.
The main risk comes from burns and scalds.
Wear gloves and protective clothing.
Gloves are particularly important when using gas stoves. I’ve burnt my hands too many times trying to lift pots with super-hot handles. Unfortunately stainless steel looks the same whether cold or hot!
You are also managing relatively large volumes of scalding and boiling water. If you can’t safely lift a 44 pound (20 kg) pot, try downsizing the recipe to make it more manageable.
Make sure your pot is on a flat stable surface at all times.
The grain bag will be awkward to handle when draining out the sweet malt liquid. Again wear gloves.
There may be spills, so you may want to move outside for this step.
Be aware of the risks from and to children and animals when brewing.