Here we go. Time to try out my half-batch all-grain system. I decided to make a stout—I am a malt guy by nature, so it’s time to brew like one and stop playing with the hops.
So here we see my 7 pounds of base grains in the grain bag. The bag is actually a paint strainer I bought at the hardware store. I highly recommend them. They are strong, flexible, and elastic at the top—best of all, they are cheap. Once the grain is spent, just take the whole bag and toss it in the trash. For the superstitious among us, I assure you that those are not spirit orbs, but just grain dust that I was trying to spank out of the bag.
Here’s where things get a little stupid. They call this step a “dough-in” for a reason. I dipped the whole grain bag in the mash water, and I instantly got a huge dough ball. I had to stir like crazy to break it up, and of course I forgot to turn off the heat during this process, so the temperature went out of control, too. I had to stick the pot in the fridge for a few minutes, but I got things back under control. To the right you can see my sparge pot, where I am steeping the specialty grains separately.
Amazing but true: when I turned the heat off and just wrapped these towels around the lid of my pot, the mash held its target temperature (150-155F) for 60 minutes. I think I only had to turn low heat on once for a minute or two when it threatened to drop below 150F.
After the mash, I combined the specialty grains and base grains in the grain bag, and then I let them sit in the sparge pot (170F) for a few minutes. Then I lifted the bag out and used this cup to wash the grains for a few 
minutes. That metal strainer that fits over the top of my brew pot, I feel like it’s one of best pieces of equipment in my whole kit. Also, please take note of my super high-tech kitchen with all those fancy knobs. I brew beers for the atomic age! Duck and cover.
After the grains dripped dry, I combined the sparge water with the mash water and brewed as usual. Despite my slip-ups, in the end I was just a hair away from my target gravity. Not bad for a first try.
Tags: all-grain, brew in a bag, dough-in, grain bag, mashing, paint strainer, sparging