Building a Semi-Automated All-Grain Brewing system - Brewing Process

Now that the system is built it's time to actually brew some beer. My first batch is a recreation of my Agnostic Amber, but with all grain. There are many things to consider when brewing in all grain which I'll go into in more detail. But first lets look at how to convert the recepie.

Step 1: Recepie Conversion

If you've been brewing extract beer in the past you will most likely want to recreate them in an all-grain fashion.

Step 2: Brewing the beer

Here's the step-by-step process I used in my first attempt. This will probably be subject to a lot of revision which I'll update as I learn more.

1. Preheat 4.5 Gal of water
2. Transfer to HTL
3. Heat HTL to 156F
4. While HTL is Heating Preheat another 4 Gal of water
5. After HTL reaches 156F - Transfer water to Mash Tun
6. Add grains to Mash Tun - Stirring while adding to avoid clumping
7. Transfer second batch of Preheated water to HLT
8. Heat HTL to 150F
9. When temp stabilizes start recirculating wort
10. Recirculate wort for about 60 - 80 min
11. Stir twice during recirculation
12. At about 60 mins stop recirculation and raise the HLT temp to about 170F
13. Once mashing is complete stop the recirculation and begin to slowly drain the Mash tun (this should take 10 - 15 mins)
14. After the draining stops, start the pump and begin sparging with water from the HLT
15. Stir the mash a few times during the sparge