Good morning my fellow beer geeks. I have some good news about my equipment situation. Currently, I am using a 5 gal brew kettle and doing partial mash recipes where I'm using some speciality grains. I am now in the process of saving up for an all-grain set up known as a Kewler Kit. It is somewhat of a MacGuyver looking contraption, but the idea is to get the experience making beer the way it is done on the commercial scale.
The Kewler Kit that I have my eyes set on will cost about $250, but it is whole lot better than the price tag of the Ruby Street setup I see in my dreams at roughly $3,000. It is a pair of retrofitted coolers you would see on the sidelines of a sporting event, but a gasket has been added to the each cooler.
The process of using the Kewler Kit is pretty simple, because you only add 2 additional steps compared to extract or partial mash brewing. The first is the mashing process, where you fill up the mash tun with roughly half of the grains and some hot water (about 150 - 168 F) and let it steep, just like a tea, for about an hour (less is also an option, but more does come with the risk of tannins leaching in from the grain hulls) and then top it off with the remaining grain and water. Once the hour is up, you move on to the other new step, sparging, where you use more hot water (170 - 175 F) to rinse the grains and get the last drop of sugar off of the mash. You should do what is known as a vorlauf during the sparging, which just means the first quart or two may be full of particles so you discard that before adding your newly mashed wort to the kettle to prep for the boil.
That's it. Nothing special or scary, but the benefits are such a trade off for the extra 2 hours of work. Those benefits to all-grain brewing are pretty serious, aside from the chance to get a hands-on perspective of commercial brewing. First of all, I can control the beer even more, because LME & DME (liquid & dry malt extract) are great for getting fermentable sugars, but they do not give you the body and complexities that all-grain brewing will. This will result total control over the clarity, color, and even more control over the flavor (squeal of delight). The other serious benefit is the undesired flavors that are unavoidable from extract become a memory because I'm not using the extract for sugars any more, and if for any reason I want to add more sugar for the yeast to eat, I can add adjuncts like wheat or rice, or some additives like beat sugar or molasses.
Ultimately, this is going to be a serious step forward in my brewing, and I'm excited to take it. I will be taking it one step at a time, like I have with everything else, but so far I'm pretty pumped. If I want to be a brewer professionally, this is the next phase in my evolution.
That is all this post has to it, but stay tuned for some more exciting news!
As always, drink well and be merry. Slainte!
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