New All-Grain Brewer
Hi everyone!
I have been brewing 5 gallon extract beers periodically over the last couple of years. I am interested in transitioning to all-grain brewing and increasing the frquency of my brewing so I want to ask you experts for tips and your opinions.
I have been doing a lot of research on the internet but I think all-in-all this has just raised more questions for me.
I don't have an endless supply of money to just go out and buy a complete top of the line brewing system so I'm looking for inexpensive yet quality ways to upgrade my brewing operation.
Some of my basic questions are:
What does everyone use as a hot liquor tank?
What does everyone use as a mash tun?
How big of a hot liquor tank do I need?
How big of a brew pot do I need?
I should add that I am also considering doing batches bigger than 5 gallons.
Any input that you guys might have would be greatly appreciated.
Replies to This Discussion
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Competition CommitteePermalink Reply by David Schollmeyer on -
Your best bet is to come to the brewout this Saturday at Brewers Connection. You'll get a good chance to see the all-grain process up close and talk to other brewers. There should be a good assortment of people with different systems so you can get a feel for which way you want to go. Personally, I think the cheapest way to go all-grain is with a Rubbermaind/Gott cooler and a stainless steel hose braid for the false bottom. See the appendix of Palmer's How To Brew for a description of how to get the hose braid off of a water supply line.
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2012 BoardPermalink Reply by Rob Fullmer on -
I agree with David.
I have this very cooler set-up.
David Schollmeyer said:
Your best bet is to come to the brewout this Saturday at Brewers Connection. You'll get a good chance to see the all-grain process up close and talk to other brewers. There should be a good assortment of people with different systems so you can get a feel for which way you want to go. Personally, I think the cheapest way to go all-grain is with a Rubbermaind/Gott cooler and a stainless steel hose braid for the false bottom. See the appendix of Palmer's How To Brew for a description of how to get the hose braid off of a water supply line.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Dodge on -
Thanks for the input guys. Unfortunately I have to work Saturday and will not be able to attend the brewout.
I agree the cooler method seems to be the most cost effective entry into all grain brewing. Do you guys use the cooler for a mash tun only or do you have another for your hot liquor tank?
Can you brew 10 gallon batches with a 10 gallon cooler?
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Permalink Reply by Jeremy Jones on -
Try here http://howtobrew.com/appendices/appendixD.html
Robert Dodge said:Thanks for the input guys. Unfortunately I have to work Saturday and will not be able to attend the brewout.
I agree the cooler method seems to be the most cost effective entry into all grain brewing. Do you guys use the cooler for a mash tun only or do you have another for your hot liquor tank?
Can you brew 10 gallon batches with a 10 gallon cooler?
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2012 BoardPermalink Reply by Rob Fullmer on -
We'll also be having a brewout to closeout AZ Beer Week on Sunday Feb 27th.
I use 2 converted kegs and the cooler.
You can get by with a 10 gallon cooler as a mash tun and get ~12 in the BK and make most beers.
Use the quick and dirty : Can I mash it calculator. http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml
A 10 gallon cooler can mash ~26# of grain with some efficiency loss.
I wouldn't go less that a 10g tun.
You could get by with less. Google Zap Pap which would be as low budget as you could go. Just bear in mind less money generally means more labor/hassle. Finding the balance is key.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Dodge on
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Rob,
Your 2 converted kegs and the cooler as a mash tun sounds like a common and popular setup. That was the direction I am leaning on going right now. It looks to me like a step up would be to add a third converted keg as the mash tun. Then another step up from that would be to go to all stainless steel pots does that sound correct?
Do you use a pump to transfer or just gravity?
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2012 BoardPermalink Reply by Rob Fullmer on -
That sounds about right.
I started with gravity and went to a March pump. Relatedly, I started with immersion chiller and went to a plate chiller, but might go back to an immersion. This decision has nothing to do with any chilling efficiency issues. It has everything to do with managing cold break /wirlpooling/running out of the BK. No wrong answer, just a different approach.
Robert Dodge said:Rob,
Your 2 converted kegs and the cooler as a mash tun sounds like a common and popular setup. That was the direction I am leaning on going right now. It looks to me like a step up would be to add a third converted keg as the mash tun. Then another step up from that would be to go to all stainless steel pots does that sound correct?
Do you use a pump to transfer or just gravity?
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Permalink Reply by Darren Sucato on -
Robert,
<~~ in my experience , plan for the future. I saved up and bought a new 60 qt HLT tank and Im kicking myself for not buying the 80 qt. So when you are planning on making a purchase remember that in the home brew world, think about where you want to end up, not where you are right this second.
With that being said,
What does everyone use as a hot liquor tank?A: I use a 15 Gallon (60 Qt) PolarWare SS Stock Pot with installed Sight-Glass and Weldless Ball Valve and thermo. Bought it on Ebay done and delivered for like 250 bucks. Cheaper than most nice looking keggles.
What does everyone use as a mash tun?
A: Same pot as my HLT but without Sight Glass (for cleaning reasons) and with the addition of a Full False Bottom because I have a direct fired mash tun. Again , bought on Ebay for relatively cheap
How big of a hot liquor tank do I need?
A: It's never big enough, no matter what you decide to brew, so that ones up to you. I use a 15 gallon and squeak by with 10 gallon batches. Sometimes I need to add a gallon or two but it works.
How big of a brew pot do I need?A: Again, it's never big enough. Keggles work great and again I use a 15 Gallon polar ware pretty much with only ball valve and thermometer because my system used resistive temperature detectors (RTD Probes) to measure heat in the kettle. Again bought from that guy on Ebay
And yes, you should try to work out Saturday, there will probably be a few systems out there to look at, including mine which does only 10 gallon batches.
Do you use a pump to transfer or just gravity?
A: I prefer to use a pump. Because my big fermenters are on leg extensions, and my brew kettle is only about waist height, gravity wouldn't do much for me. I could syphon, but I prefer the ease of use of a pump method. Again, this is totally preference, but again it goes back to the idea of plan on where you want to be. I know that I needed pumps with my final plans in my head therefore, building a gravity system was never even an option for me.
Darren Sucato
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Permalink Reply by Robert Dodge on
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Great information Darren!
I noticed that you said your mash tun was direct fired. Are there advantages to being able to heat the mash tun? Obviously you couldn't do that using a cooler as the mash tun.
What time is the brewout? I would love to come by if I can work it out.
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Permalink Reply by Ken "Triple Hopped" Forrey on -
The advantage of a direct fire mash tun is you can maintain temps and do step mashes. You can do that with a HERMS set up too.
Time: January 8, 2011 from 9am to 2pm
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Robert Dodge said:Great information Darren!
I noticed that you said your mash tun was direct fired. Are there advantages to being able to heat the mash tun? Obviously you couldn't do that using a cooler as the mash tun.
What time is the brewout? I would love to come by if I can work it out.
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Permalink Reply by Robert Dodge on
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I currently have a 20.5 quart or 5-1/2 gallon brewpot for my extract brewing. If I wanted to start off trying to brew a 5 gallon batch of all-grain I would still need to get a larger brewpot correct?
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Permalink Reply by Ken "Triple Hopped" Forrey on
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You will if you want to boil all of your wort at one time. Until then you could still boil in the 5 1/2 gallon brewpot and topoff with boiled and then cooled water into your fermentor. You may already do that with your extract brewing. The same thing would apply with your hop additions. The higher the gravity reading at boiling the more hops you will need to use to reach the same IBU levels.
Robert Dodge said:
I currently have a 20.5 quart or 5-1/2 gallon brewpot for my extract brewing. If I wanted to start off trying to brew a 5 gallon batch of all-grain I would still need to get a larger brewpot correct?
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