Before we start, please take the following into consideration: This article is NOT intended to take the place of a full primer on full mash brewing; It's sole purpose is to guide those who are already experienced in the art of either extract or partial mash brewing, and I assume you understand the basics of home brewing.  If  one or more of the following do NOT apply to your previous experience, then I would suggest you NOT  attempt to use these instructions to venture forward yet...  (But, that's just MY opinion, use your own judgment!

***  I have brewed at least 10 batches of beer successfully.
***  I  use liquid yeast for all brewing, except for specialty beers or experimental batches.
***  I am familiar with the creation and use of  liquid yeast starters.
***  I have the equipment, am willing/able to buy or build what's needed, or can somehow  get it.
***  I have read several articles on Full Mashing, and am willing to try a blend of differing philosophies.
***  I  am willing to keep notes for a time, at least until I can track my own system's performance,
      which in turn will give me useful information I need to advance my skills later on.
***  I realize that each and every system performs differently, and will make adjustments to
       compensate for my results along the way, using my notes as my guide.
***  I am a Mo-Ron, and love to make messes, and sometimes blow stuff up by accident.

... You've decided to go for it? Good!  First of all, let's look at  the equipment you need.

 
The Mash Tun

This  one's easy. Any  vessel that'll hold  at least  5 gallons will do, but I suggest a bigger one- 10  or more is better. Oh. it's nice if it's heat proof, to be able to go on the burner, too.   (A used keg works great!)    Much less complicated than its name suggests, the mash tun is merely a container that's big enough to hold your grains and mash water while they sit.  Even a plastic bucket can be used, but you won't be able to heat it as needed; you can insulate it with towels, blankets, or even an old coat to help maintain a steady temp. If you do use a metal one, you can even place it in a pre-heated oven to help keep it warm. Of course you'll have to be very cautious if you do that, as the oven is made for regulating much higher temperatures.
 

The Lauter Tun

 Quick and easy:  Purchase a large sparging bag from any homebrew supplier- it's designated "for 7.5 gallon fermenter", but it will even fit in a 10-gallon pot, with just enough material to keep it in place when wrapped over the rim.  Price: about $7.  Worth it's weight in gold though- stuck runoffs are the plague of most beginners, and will wreak havoc with what should have been a smooth session.  This method works damn good, while you play with other ideas and inventions.
 Use the sparging bag to line a bucket that's large enough to hold your grains-  5  to 6 gallons is a nice size for starters.

It's nice to  have a ball valve (or bottling spigot if the container is plastic)  added, but a thermometer is not required.  (it's also  nice to be heat proof, but not absolutely required; Plastic may be used,  but metal is  preferable if you want to be able to raise the grain temperature for sparging easily)

Of course, you can always use the double- bucket method with the inner one being drilled full of 1/8' holes through the bottom to allow it to drain through to the outer, undrilled one, and out a drain hole. (Full detailed descriptions are available for various lauter tuns in many articles- pick any one that you feel comfortable trying)

Another option: you can make/purchase a false bottom,  and add a sparge arm, and make use of an old bottling bucket! It's as simple or fancy as you decide it to be along the way.  (A false bottom is simply a perforated section of material that allows water to flow through the bottom, while holding back the grain; It sits above the drain hole, allowing only the sweet liquor to pass though and into the brew pot.)

The Sparge Water Vessel

Another easy one! Just grab a 5 gallon round Igloo cooler, the kind that's made to serve ice water out the side near the bottom. Remove the original spigot, open the hole to 1", and screw on a bottling spigot!  You now have a 5 gallon sparge vessel that will hold temp perfectly- and, if you brew larger batches, you can simply re-fill it as needed with sparge water. That helps you save your spine, by only lifting 5 gallons at a time!    Fashioning a shelf bracket (if need be)  strong enough to hold the 5 gallon pot up above the lauter tun allows you to gravity feed the sparge water onto the grains- Add a length of 3/8 tubing to reach your lauter tun, and it's done!

If you don't want to spend the cash for now, just use any container that will hold the water- heck, it doesn't even have to be all in one place all at once, you could use a smaller container, and simply refill it as needed.  Your bottling bucket could be used once again, it's got the spigot already attached!    It's best to keep the water insulated, as it takes time to sparge. And time means loss of heat.  If need be, wrap the vessel with some sort of a cover, and insulation around the outside walls.
 
The Brew Pot

 Don't have enough pots? Hey, that mash tun will be empty, use that if it's metal! (See why a nice big  metal mash vessel comes in handy?)  Any metal pot will do, but it should be at least a gallon or two bigger than your batch size, even more as the size increases.  (For instance, an 8 gallon pot is ok for a 5 gallon boil, but 13 or more is best for a 10 gallon boil, you'll be glad you have the extra space!)
 

Wort Chiller

Yeah, you really should have one- remember, the whole batch is gonna boil, no more "cheating" by adding cold water afterward to help hasten the cooling process!  A rapid cooling is critical to create a sufficient cold break, resulting in the crystal clear beer you hope to create!   Building one is cheap and easy. (For detailed instructions  on building a wort chiller, refer to the Gadgets Page)

Heat Source

Sure, you can use the stove. But, you'll be there a long time, especially with electric ones- However, most homes have one, and it saves another startup expense.  Later you can consider a Cajun-style cooker.  170K burners are nice, and can be had for as low as $50.
You'll need 2 burners minimum, 3 is much better.  (One to heat the sparge water, one for your mash water/main boil, the third to maintain your sparge temp while sparging)  You don't need them all right away, but in time, you'll appreciate it if you can manage all three.
 

  

 The grains used in a recipe are quite varied, and there are certainly many volumes of information on how to treat each type with the utmost respect for brewing purposes.  But for now, we just want to make some beer. (hey, you took my test above, remember?)
 To condense a lot of brewing science into a short list of chores to perform, we're going to start with a protein rest. While many malts are highly modified these days, negating the need for one, I have come to the conclusion that a protein rest is beneficial in enough ways to still make it worth the short time it adds to the process; Sometimes I skip it, but for now we won't.
 
 How do we set up for it? First we need an actual recipe, so we can use some actual numbers, and learn where they come from.   For your first batch, I highly recommend brewing a stout. Why? They are much more forgiving than a lighter, more delicate beer, and any errors you make will be masked better-therefore increasing your chances of a drinkable beer on your first attempt.  The only down side is if you DO screw up, you lost a bit more malt- but that's ok, I didn't pay for it! This first brew is going to teach you the very basic routine, much like your first batch taught you the very basics of brewing- there's plenty of time to make the styles you prefer later, once you get the hang of it!  (And, of course, to add some of that scientific stuff you're just itching to put to use!)
 
 

 Gather these ingredients for your test batch:
 

 All Grain, No Pain Stout 

2 oz. Fuggles hops (full boil)
1 oz. Willamette (2 minute finish)

1084 Yeast starter (or substitute your favorite)
 
 

The first thing to do is start a batch of sparge water to heat- this is the largest amount to be heated other than the main boil itself, and takes the longest.   Being a 5 gallon batch, we need 5 gallons of sparge water.   Keeping an eye on this pot while performing your other tasks, transfer the water to the cooler when it reaches 170F (yes, 165 is ideal, but  it's gonna cool a bit, and end up just right as you'll see later)

Next, start about 1 quart/pound of water to begin the protein rest.   We want to bring the grains and water to a target temp. of 122F, but close  to that will work, too.  Ignoring all that scientific stuff that tells you the grain temp matters... blah blah blah, I have found that designating ALL grains as 70F works just fine, even when it's down around 30F in my brewery when I head out there! It's the water that makes the big changes the fastest.  So, no matter what the starting temp of your grain, call it "70 degrees."
 Doing some simple math tells us that for the 11-1/4# of grains, we will need 2.8 gallons of water, at 135F to begin our protein rest. ( How did  I get that? Simple- I used my Suds program, the one that's got a link to it right from my main page!)

Ok, if you don't want to use a program to track this stuff (though I highly recommend it), you can use this basic estimation:   For each pound of grains, add 1 quart of water at 135F.
Always heat extra, then pour the proper volume into the mash tun, and add the grist.   STIR WELL, and wait about 3 or 4 minutes, then check the temp.  Any range from about 118 to 128 is fine- you don't need to do a thing!  If your temperature is a little low, WAIT a couple more minutes, then check it again, before adding any hot water. If you are CERTAIN the temp is  low, try adding a little more of your pre-heated water to raise it a few degrees. I should be fine however, so just be patient  and recheck later. If by chance it comes out too hot:  Stir some more, to make certain you mixed the grist well, and check it again.  Maybe your water was a little hotter than you thought; Not a problem- add a little cold water, about a quart at a time, stir well, wait, and check; Repeat until it's right.

Now count 30 minutes, and you're ready for the second infusion- your protein rest is complete!
 
What you have just done is create a larger base of enzymes that will help convert the complex starches in your malt into simple sugars which the yeast will use as food. Also, some other good stuff happened- but go back to your other sources for that- these are the simple instructions, remember?
 

 
While your protein rest was sitting, and you had nothing better to do but get excited, what you should have been doing is to  put 3 gallons of water to boil, so it would be ready now. Why didn't you? Because I forgot to tell you to! But it's ok, I'm a Mo-Ron, it's my job to forget.   In reality, you should only need about 2-1/3 gallons, but again, we make extra just in case our numbers are off a bit. So, toss in about 1-3/4 gallons of boiling water, stir it very well, and take a reading a couple minutes later. If it's about 158-162, that's great! If it's low, add some more water, stir, and check again.  You can repeat this with all the water you made, it won't damage the batch- but, if you still haven't reached the target temp, you either took a bad reading somewhere, or I'm really a Mo-Ron.  Heat the pot, stirring constantly to prevent the grain from scorching- but be sure to stop a few degrees BELOW the target- it's going to continue to rise after you remove the heat, and you don't want to overshoot  too badly.   If the temp was too high, then simply add a little cold water- careful, this drastically reduces the temp, and FAST!    Again, this small addition won't hurt.

Once you've hit the target temp,  cover the pot, and wrap it with towels, put it in your insulated container, or whatever- just try to keep it pretty stable if you can.  This is where a metal mash tun is helpful- you can heat it if required to maintain the mash temperature. If you do, be certain to constantly stir the mash, both to distribute the heat evenly, and to prevent scorching.
 
There's plenty of debate on how long the mash should last; I'm not going to set a limit, but one hour minimum has always worked well for me- if I'm doing something that takes a few minutes and the temp is still in range, fine- I finish what I'm doing, and let it sit.  Up to 90 minutes is ok, if you can wait that long. Longer mash times than this can begin to spark other problems, but there should be no need anyway.

How can you be sure when it's done? 
A simple test will show you that conversion has taken place: Using tincture of iodine (available at drug stores everywhere) to check for starch is a quick way, but remember, it is NOT 100% reliable, so don't get nervous if you don't see perfect results.

 Scoop a small amount of liquid from your mash -about a teaspoon full- into a cup, and add a drop or two of the iodine. Since starches cause iodine to turn black when they are mixed, you want no change in the color to occur in your test sample- this will indicate full conversion has taken place.
Always remember, however, there may be tiny bits of grain in your sample that contain carbohydrates which will also turn the iodine black, giving you a false sense of failure.
 The bottom line:  as long as you did what you were supposed to, most likely the grain did, too.
Grab a cold one, and thank  the Beer Gods for being so lenient!
 

During that rest period, you can check the sparge water, add it to the sparge vessel, and set up the lauter tun; This keeps you busy so the time goes a little faster, and also cuts down the overall session length.
 
 

The sparge is simple, it  just takes a little getting used to.
 You can buy or fashion all kinds of fancy gizmos that will rotate and spread the water equally over the tops of the grains, OR- you can relax, have another brew, and realize that by keeping the whole grain bed under the sparge water, you're not missing any of your potential yield!
 Having lined your lauter tun with the sparging bag or false bottom setup, and shut off the ball valve  or drain plug, etc., simply scoop the mash into this container.
(Why not have the bag in the mash tun to begin with, saving time you ask? Simple- it would melt if you had to put the pot on a burner during the mash- Please, gimme a little credit here!)

If you are using the sparging bag, there's no need to worry about a stuck runoff- the bag will allow the runoff to flow nicely, without a hitch- therefore, you can simply scoop your mash into it, start a slow flow of sparge water  over the grain, then open the liquor flow out the bottom to begin the process.
Having placed the sparge water container above the lauter tun, gravity is your pump; (Do the same for the brew pot, which is set below the lauter tun; Draining the liquor through a length of tubing to prevent splashing is a good idea)
 The goal is to cover the mash with sparge water by about a half-inch to an inch, and maintain this amount as it flows into the brew pot below. It's easy to adjust with a little practice.   I set my lauter tun right on a burner set on low, which helps maintain the 165-168F target temp; If you can't duplicate that, be sure to heat the mash for a few minutes, stirring constantly, to raise it to temp before beginning the sparge process.  The cooler setup keeps the sparge water almost exactly where it started; A regular pot will cool more rapidly, so it's good to double check that temp before commencing; Adjust it as needed, to 165-170F.
 
 A few points to keep in mind:
 
*  At the beginning, your runoff will be full of excess proteins, etc.- simply return this liquid back to the lauter tun a few times, until you notice it running much more clear.

*  A rapid sparge is not desirable- the longer it takes, the more sweet liquor you will extract from the grains. A five gallon sparge should run approximately 30 minutes or more.

* As your runoff progresses, take occasional readings using your hydrometer. Stop the sparging process when one or the other occurs:  you run out of sparge water (5 gallons max.) OR  your reading drops below 1.008 on your hydrometer. (Although it may appear that there is plenty more goodness left in your grain, you'll now begin to extract the tannins and undesirable byproducts of your mash, resulting in a bad batch- don't do it!)    I have successfully ran batches down to 1.004, but for now keep it higher, until you do more testing later on. While this check is not absolutely required, you should always be aware of what you are extracting from your mash- it's pretty critical when you attempt more delicate styles later on. It only takes a moment, and beside, you'll a little more like a scientist!

* As your sparge progresses, you may see a grayish film of scum rise to the top of the mash; this contains some of the protein  that  has separated from the grain. If you see any like this in the boil, you can scrape it off the top, which will help  improve your beer.
 
* You may add some sort of strainer-type device to raise the bottom of the sparging bag off the bottom of the lauter tun to help it drain better; I use a sieve that fits the bottom of my 10 gallon sparge vessel perfectly. It also helps prevent the sparging bag from sinking into the pot, as the pot is at the limit for this size bag. I simply wrap the edges of the bag over the rim, and
carefully scoop the mash into it until it settles out across the bottom. (But you already knew that!)

* You need at least 8 or 9 inches of grain bed to help filter properly during the sparge; A taller, narrower container is preferable to a short, wide one.

* Even though you stopped the sparge long ago, sweet liquor will continue to drain down from the grain bed for up to an hour-  This is good stuff, don't waste it- toss it in with the rest of the boil, even if it's near the end.

 
...The sparge is complete- it's time for the boil!

  As I normally brew between 12 and 20 gallons at a time, I have adapted a method of collecting my liquor from the sparge into a smaller pot, then adding it to the 20 gallon brew pot, which I immediately set to boil upon commencing my sparging routine.
In the case of a smaller batch, you may be able to simply collect it right to your brew pot, and set that on the stove. However, once you get a gallon or so, why not start heating it- this is another real time saver, and works fine.

  During the mashing process, you will have collected not only the liquor from the sparge water, but also that which was extracted from the water you used to mash. Therefore, you now have somewhere around 6.5 to 7 gallons for your boil!
 Now that big brew pot makes a lot more sense, eh?   You'll be boiling your whole batch now, and during that time, you'll be losing close to  a  gallon per hour to evaporation!  So, in the end, you'll  end up with your 5 gallon batch, or somewhere close.  Depending on how the mash went, you may end up with more or less, it doesn't matter that much. Keep all this in your notes, and adjust for it next time.

 From here, it's the same ole brewing- with a few differences:

*  There may be some proteins that coagulate on the top as the pot comes to a boil; Scrape it off, improve the beer!

*  Your boil will normally only "climb" upon the addition of hops- it won't always jump out of the pot when you turn around, the
     way extract boils will.

*  It's good to let the pot boil for about 15 minutes, before adding your boiling hops and starting the countdown- there are many
    proteins that haven't settled out until then, and they'll rob precious hop utilization until then.
 
 
 

 ... 15 minutes into the boil, add your boiling hops. 2 minutes before shutdown, add the finishing hops.  Process as with any other batch, and enjoy-   BTW, congratulations- by now you're most likely an all-grain home brewing fanatic like the rest of us!
 

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