In addition to the seven-gallon brew kettle the all-grain brewer will need a mash/lauter tun (used for the mash and the sparge) and a hot liquor tank or vessel (used to hold the sparge water.) Many home brewers use a mash tun that also doubles as a lauter tun and this quite convenient and practical especially if you're just getting started.

There are many variations on these pieces of equipment and they can be quite economical or rather expensive. Our website lists and describes all the equipment we carry as well as prices you can get an idea of what you want and what it will cost. It will require some money to expand your brewing equipment to make all-grain beer but once it is made the cost of ingredients is greatly reduced compared to extract brewing.

I recommend giving us a call if you are not sure what you're looking for so that we can help you construct a system that will be practical, effective, and economical as the case may be. There are many things to consider when purchasing this equipment but some of the things you should start thinking about are what kind of space you have, level of quality you are seeking (of course as quality increases so does cost), and amount you are prepared to spend. It does not necessarily stand to reason that one needs to have the most expensive equipment to be satisfied. What does stand to reason, though, is that you get what you pay for so I encourage anyone who is considering making the jump (and I fully encourage it) to ask questions, consider where in your house the brewing will be done, and try to balance economy with durability as well as practicality. It can be the difference between your ultimate satisfaction and an unpleasant first experience.

1. The first step is the infusion mash. This step entails taking a specific amount water, heating it to a specific temperature and then infusing it with the grain to form the mash. It is during this mash that enzymes in the grain convert the starches to fermentable and non-fermentable sugars. The ratio of water to grain for the mash, generally, is one quart of water for every pound of grain. For a single infusion mash, the general resting temperature is between 145-158 degrees F. Generally speaking, the lower you are in the range, the less body and the higher the alcohol. The higher you are in the range, the more body and the less the alcohol.
2. The water used for the mash is called the strike water. This water, in order, to reach the target mash temperature range of 145-158 F will actually need to be heated ABOVE this target temperature due to the thermal loss during mixing and absorption. The average temperature loss is between 16-18 degrees F. For example if my target mash temperature is 152 degrees F, I will want to heat my strike water up to about 170 degrees F. Once it's thoroughly mixed and allowed to stand for a few minutes, the resting temperature will be very close to, if not right at, 152 degrees F. The key is to mix the mash very thoroughly to avoid the formation of dough balls, which will lower your starch-to-sugar conversion efficiency and result in an unexpectedly low original gravity. Once the mash is thoroughly mixed and stabilized, it is allowed to rest for one hour.
3. Once the mash is allowed to rest the brewer will begin to heat the sparge water, a.k.a. the hot liquor. The water to grain ratio for sparging is a half-gallon (two quarts) of water per pound of grain used. Each pound of grain, during the mash, will absorb and retain approximately .1 (one-tenth) of a gallon of water. The sparge water is heated to 170-175 degrees F and then transferred to the hot liquor tank (i.e. a plastic bucket or better still a converted cooler) where it will be used to rinse the grains when the mash is complete.
4. Once the mash is complete a makeshift tier system is employed and advantage is taken of gravity to drive the sparging operation. It can work something like this: Your hot liquor tank can be sitting on top of your stove or counter, the mash tun can be on a chair or stool (as long as the level of the mash is lower than the bottom of the hot liquor tun gravity will take effect) and the brew kettle can be placed on the kitchen floor.
5. When the tier is in place you can begin the sparge. The valve on the hot liquor tun is opened and the hot liquor is allowed to flow out and on top of the grist (grain and strike water mixture) thereby "rinsing" the grain of its precious sugars. The water coming out of the hot liquor tun should not be allowed to fall as a single stream onto the grist. This will create a "pocket" and an improper and inefficient sparge will result. The water flow should be displaced and allowed to shower over a the entire surface area of the grist. This can be achieved in the simplest fashion by allowing the sparge water to pass through a spaghetti colander before hitting the grist. Once the sparge water has covered the grain bed by about an inch, the valve on the mash/lauter tun can be opened and the precious nectar, now called wort, can be collected in the brew kettle. The trick here is to achieve a flow rate, by adjusting the flow valves of the mash/lauter tun and the hot liquor tank, which maintains the inch of water over the grain bed in the mash/lauter tun. The sparging continues until all the sparge water has passed through the mash/lauter tun and into the brew kettle.
6. Once the wort has been collected in the brew kettle, you ready to bring it to a boil and at the bittering hops. In fact this is the point where the extract and the all-grain brewer converge and the rest of the process is carried out identically for either one. Boil times and hop additions are added appropriately as the beer style or the brewer's intuition demands. One thing to note is that boiling the wort will evaporate approximately ½-1 gallon of water in one hour. This depends on the vigor of the boil. The hot-break sediment will account for roughly ¼-½ gallon of losses in volume. If more water is needed, after the sparge, to compensate for these losses, they can be added to the brew kettle while heating to a boil.

II. RECIPE / INGREDIENTS

A.     GRAIN

1.      TYPES

a.       Base Malts

b.      Specialty Malts

2.      COLOR

a.       Lovibond

b.      SRM

3.      ORIGINAL GRAVITY

·        Approx. weight compared to water

·        Ie.  OG: 1.042 weighs 1.042 times weight of water

·        Points per Pound per Gallon – 1.042 = 42 points

·        Base Malt = Approx. 35

·        Formula – OG = (Points x Weight) / Gal

·        (35 points x 6 lb.) / 5 gal = 210 / 5 = 1.042

4.      CRUSHING

B.     HOPS

1.      BITTERNESS – comes from early additions

2.      FLAVOR – comes from intermediate additions

3.      AROMA – comes from late additions

4.      TYPES

a.       Whole Hops

b.      Hop Plugs

c.       Pellets

5. INTERNATIONAL BITTERNESS UNITS (IBU)

·        Formula – IBU = ( AAU x U x 74.62 x S ) / G

·        AAU = Alpha Acid Units

·        U = Utilization

·        S = System

·        G = Gallons

C.     WATER

1.      STYLE OF BEER

2.      PH - “Power of Hydrogen”

3.      ALKALINITY

4.      HARDNESS (Calcium and Magnesium)

5.      WATER REPORT

D.     YEAST

1.      ALE vs. LAGER

2.      DRY vs. LIQUID

3.      ATTENUATION (70-80%)

4.      STARTER - 1 Pint Boiled Water and 1/3 cup Dry Malt Extract

III. MASHING – “To mix grist with hot water”

A.     STRIKE WATER – first water added to mix with the crushed malt

1.      1 to 1.25 quarts of strike water per pound of malt

2.      Goal: 155 F. Mash – heat to 173 F. (16-18 degree heat loss)

3.      Pre-heat mash tun (if separate vessel)

4.      Add 1 tsp. Gypsum to bring PH to about 7.0, if necessary

5.      Gradually mix equal parts malt and water to mash tun, mixing

6.      Add cold water or boiling water until mash is 155 F.

B.     MASH TIME – 60-90 minutes, stirring occasionally

C.     SPARGE WATER

1.      Use as much sparge water as you want to collect (about 6 gallons)

2.      Goal: 170 F. sparge – heat to 175 F. (will lose heat in transfer)

3.      Add 1 tsp. Phosphoric Acid to bring PH down to 5.5

D.     MASH-OUT

1.      Add boiling water 1 quart at a time to bring mash up to 168 F.

2.      Close mash tun and wait 15 minutes longer

IV. LAUTERING – The Runoff

A.     VORLAUF – Recirculating the wort

1.      Attach 4 foot hose to grant (valve) of mash tun

2.      Put boiling kettle beneath hose

3.      Open grant of mash tun and collect 1 quart of wort in measuring cup

4.      Gently pour wort over the top of the grain bed

5.      Repeat process for about 15 minutes until wort runs clear

B.     SPARGING – Rinsing the remaining sugars from the mash

1.      Put 5 gallons of sparge water in Hot Liquor Tun

2.      Attach 4 foot hose to spigot

3.      Attach other end of hose to rotating sparge arm

4.      Slightly open mash tun grant to begin lauter

5.      Goal is to collect about 2 quarts per 5 minutes – S L O W !

6.      Just before grain bed is exposed, open grant to Hot Liquor Tun

7.      Goal is to match flow – keep liquid 1 inch above grain bed

8.      Sparging process should take about 20-30 minutes

9.      Begin Boil when at least 1 gallon is collected

V. THE BOIL

A.     SAME AS EXTRACT, BUT WITH FULL WORT VOLUME

B.     ADD WATER TO BRING VOLUME TO ABOUT 6-1/2 TO 7 GAL TO ACCOUNT FOR EVAPORATION

C.     TIME = ABOUT 60 MINUTES

D.     HOP ADDITIONS AT 60, 20, 2  - Depending on style

E.      INSERT WORT CHILLER DURING LAST 15 MIN. TO STERILIZE

F.      ADD IRISH MOSS DURING LAST 15 MIN. TO AID HOT BREAK

VI. CHILL

A.     ATTACH GARDEN HOSE TO WORT CHILLER

B.     SLOWLY RUN COLD WATER THROUGH CHILLER

C.     WHEN OUTPUT WATER RUNS COOL, RUN WATER INTO TUB

D.     PUT POT INTO TUB

E.      PUT FROZEN WATER BOTTLES IN TUB

F.      CHILL to 70 F

VII. WHIRLPOOL

A.     USE SANITIZED STAINLESS STEEL SPOON TO WHIRLPOOL WORT

B.     COVER AND LET SETTLE FOR 15 MINUTES

VIII. RACK

A.     USE SANITIZED RACKING CANE AND HOSE TO RACK WORT INTO SANITIZED CARBOY

B.     STOP WHEN 5-1/2 GALLONS COLLECTED

C.     TAKE HYDROMETER READING AND RECORD IN BREW LOG

IX. AERATE

A.     SANITIZE AERATION TUBING IN IODOPHOR

B.     STERILIZE AERATION STONE IN BOILING WATER

C.     ATTACH REGULATOR TO OXYGEN CYLINDER

D.     ATTACH TUBING TO REGULATOR AND STONE

E.      DROP AERATION STONE INTO WORT

F.      OPEN REGULATOR FOR 20 SECONDS.  REPEAT.

X. PITCH YEAST

A.     SWIRL YEAST STARTER UNTIL YEAST IS SUSPENDED IN LIQUID

B.     PITCH YEAST

C.     AGITATE CARBOY TO MIX YEAST INTO WORT

D.     AFFIX CORK IN CARBOY

E.      HALF-FILL AIRLOCK WITH WATER

F.      WRAP TOWEL/T-SHIRT AROUND CARBOY (AGAINST LIGHT)

G.     FERMENT AT 68 F. (FOR ALES)

XI. SECONDARY FERMENTATION

A.     AFTER 1 WEEK, RACK BEER INTO SANITIZED CARBOY

B.     ALLOW 2-3 WEEKS TO CLEAR

C.     TAKE HYDROMETER READINGS TWO DAYS IN A ROW.  IF THE SAME, FERMENTATION IS COMPLETE

XII. BOTTLING

A.     SANITIZE APPROXIMATELY 54 12 OZ. BROWN BOTTLES

B.     SANITIZE BOTTLING BUCKET, BEER THIEF, RACKING CANE AND HOSE, BOTTLING WAND, BOTTLE CAPS

C.     TAKE SAMPLE OF BEER WITH BEER THIEF

D.     MEASURE FINAL GRAVITY WITH HYDROMETER – RECORD IN BEER LOG

E.      DISSOLVE 3/4 CUP OF CORN SUGAR IN 1 CUP BOILED WATER

F.      ADD SUGAR SOLUTION TO BOTTLING BUCKET

G.     SIPHON BEER INTO BOTTLING BUCKET – MIX WELL

H.     FILL BOTTLES WITH RACKING CANE, HOSE, BOTTLING WAND

I.        CAP BOTTLES WITH BOTTLE CAPPER

XIII. AGING – Allow beer to develop carbonation: 2-4 weeks

XIV. RELAX!  DON’T WORRY!  HAVE A HOMEBREW!