I did my first brew in a bag a couple of weeks ago (i've done kits previously), and it's turned out great - much better than I expected! The only issue with it was that it produced about 4 gallons of wort, which was slightly reduced when boiling, then reduced again when tapping into the fermenter, and reduced again when transferring it to a clearing container (both times leaving behinds the "dregs"), and reduced again when bottling (again leaving the …

Please, what are the major differences between brewing with all grain versus brewing with dry malt extract, besides the amount of time?

Hi typically use liquid and dried malt extracts and add hops. For the first time i am also going to steep some grains. I am making 23l english best bitter and have bought all the standard ingrdients for that style. My problem is i don't have an exact recipe and have no idea on typical ratio of grain to water when steeping (will use large stewing pot). I am just looking for rough guidance, this brew is experimental anyway. Kg/litre …

I'm looking for some input as to whether my planned recipe looks right. I have only just finished my first ever brew and wanted to try my hand at pulling together my own recipe (but I am not skilled enough, nor do I have all necessary equipment to do all grain or start partial mashes, so would be looking at extract with some steeped speciality grains). At the same time, I have been drinking a lot of Brooklyn Brewer's Sorachi …

I was advised by my LHBS that if I steep 500g of Carapils in 2L of water (for a 23-25L batch) at around 68°C, then use this as part of my boil, then I will have more body and head retention in my beer. Is this method correct? Do I use this 2L of water as part of the 11L to be boiled or do I add it to 9L of boiled water to reach the 11L boil size and …

Went to the brew shop and the owner helped me build a recipe for a brew in a bag. He said to steep the grains in 2.5 gallons, then heat up 4.5 gallons and add it to the 2.5 gallons for the boil. I only have a 4 gallon kettle. Can I just steep in the 2.5 gallons, then add more tap water to fill it up to 4 gallons, and then heat it up for the boil? Then add …

I'm making a late hopped extract beer later tonight. (Jamil's Evil Twin as posted http://www.mrmalty.com/late_hopping.htm) He suggests at 90 minute boil with the first hop addition coming 20 minutes before the end of boil. Since I'm doing the extract plus grains version of it, is boiling for that long necessary? Why or why not?

Although it's few years I'm into homebrewing I made only few batches, about 6-7, trying different styles, like pale ales, sweet stouts and weiss. As now I always used extracts plus speciality grains and I've never done mashing. I'm quite happy with the result but all the batches are quite heavy bodied. It's difficult for me to explain exactly what is it, but for sure I never made a refreshing, light bodied pale ale. Of course for some styles it's …

I am trying to figure out what I did wrong, when I measured my O.G. it came out to 1.060/1.062, what i calculated is, and what the recipe states it should be in the 1.070 to 1.080 range...... recipe: Brewers Best: Double IPA - Imperial IPA (14C) Boil Size: 4.00 gal Boil Time: 60.000 min Efficiency: 70% OG: 1.076 FG: 1.019 ABV: 7.4% Bitterness: 70.6 IBUs (Tinseth) Fermentables Name Type Amount Briess LME - Golden Light Extract 9.900 lb Corn …

I have the Unofficial Game of Thrones Cookbook and it has some beer recipes I'm currently trying to follow. However, I'm confused as to wether it has two sets of instructions or all the brews are a mix of grain and extract? The recipes look like this Malt/Grain/Sugar 6.0 pounds Wheat Malt 4.0 pounds Pilsner Malt Extract (for 6 pounds of Wheat Malt and 4 pounds of Pilsner Malt) 8.0 pounds Wheat Liquid Malt Extract (LME) Is that two different …

I have heard mention of late addition of extracts. I was under the impression that you need to boil the extract to kill off any possible nasties? When I brew, so far always from a prepackaged kit, after the steep, I get the boil going, add the steep/rinse water, bring back to boil, add liquid extract, bring back to boil, add hops, boil 60 min, add finishing hops... what would I gain or lose by waiting to add the extract? …

I enjoy IPA's and I think I've made the best one to my taste so far. The only thing that concerns me is the amount of grain that I used in this recipe, as it was only 1/2 lb of Belgian Aromatic Malt. It has 6.6 lbs of light LME, half at the beginning of the boil and then the rest at 30 minutes, no DME and uses Warrior hops for bittering up front during the boil and then Cascade …

I'm looking to put together a session saison & can't find much online to start from. I've got this so far, but would like some feedback. Malts 500g Munich I (steeped) 3kg x-light / pilsner extract Hops 20g Northern Brewer 9.6% (~25IBU) @ 60min 40g Hallertau at flame-out Yeast Wyeast 3711 - French Saison (I've already got this so would prefer to keep it in) Stats ~25-27 IBU ~1.041-1.043 OG ~1.008 FG, 4.5-4.7% ABV The beer is for a birthday …

For less than around 2 pounds of milled grain in a nylon bag, do you need an elaborate sparging process? Do you need much of the equipment for an all-grain setup, or can you basically just soak the grain in fresh water for a few minutes and then add that to the boil?

I'm brewing a saison from a recipe (extract+grains) that calls for Carabelge, which my LHBS doesn't stock. The bill is 50/50 wheat & light extract (2kg each) plus 500g of Vienna and Carabelge. What can I substitute? I've got some Munich I here but it seems a bit of a stretch. My LHBS stocks mainly Weyermann and some Bairds products as well as a big range of local (Australian) malts.

I've recently moved from extract-only to extract + steeping grains. I'm making a recipe now and wondering if there is a max limit for steeping grains as part of the total grain bill? For a double witbier, right now I have this profile for my total fermentables (steeping = 30%, non-malt sugar = 30%, malt extract = 40%): 2lb CaraPils (20%) 1lb 2Row (10%) 4lb Extra light DME (40%) 1lb Candi Sugar (10%) 2lb Honey (20%) Does anyone have any …

In an effort to spread brew day out across a few weeknights, I was wondering if there is any harm in steeping grains ahead of time? I don't plan on leaving the "tea" for more than a day or two, covered, after the steep and before the boil, but would it make a difference how long it was between steps? What would the effect be?

I'm wondering if I need to be mindful of how well my grains are crushed if I'm just using them for steeping. Do I need to get my LHBS to crush my grains or use the rolling pin / bag method? Or can I just whiz them in my coffee grinder? Does it matter how crushed they are? What harm could I cause if I end up with a fine powder? In this question, Denny mentioned a couple of things: …

I have a digital thermometer with a probe. The probe is stainless steel but the cable and probe housing are apparently made of PVC. In my last brew I just submerged the whole probe in the boiler before the grain steep and left it there until I had cooled the wort. It was a 75m boil. It's occurred to me now that this was a really stupid idea. The thermometer still seems to be working ok but I'm worried that …

Still back on extract brews due to time/equipment constraints, but I am making a cream ale this week. Have one lb of flaked maize for a 5 gallon batch (along with 6 lbs of DME), and I understand that maize doesn't contain the enzymes to convert starches in mashing. I picked up 2lbs of crushed 6-row to do a mini-mash with my flaked maize. Most 'speciality grain steeping' procedures call for a half hour steep/mini mash @ 150-160. Given the …