AG in an 8 quart pot/ Partial Brew Day

**IrregularPulse** · 10-21-2008, 03:38 PM

This is not a question about can it be done. This is a story about it being half done.

As of last night I had an AG ingredients kit for a Scottish 60 with 7 lbs of grain and an 11 week old baby boy.

Needless to say breaking away for an entire Saturday to brew is not a likely option. Nor do I really want to spend 1 of my 2 full days with him outside away from him. So I decided to split my brew into a two day affair.
Day 1 = Mash
Day 2 = Boil (today)

I knew (read: "thought") SWMBO had a 32Q SS Pot in the house that I surprisingly got permission to use!
So I got my Mash tun out and all cleaned up, Went to Kroger to pickup 10G Spring water (trying to narrow down an off flavor, city is lagging with my water report) and got out the pot. Crap, my 32 quart pot shrank to 8 quarts.)
Oh well, Big enough for strike volume. Beer smith then instructed a batch sparge of 6.xx Quarts and a 2nd of 12.xx quarts, then top off with water to achieve boil volume. well 12>8 so I did three equal sparges of 6.xx quarts at 168.
Went pretty well. Nailed my mash temp at 158 (want to compare this to my 154 mash temp of my English Mild to get a feel for mash temp adding/subtracting body). Similar low abv beers.
let me just say it was a very smooth mash night. Very relaxing indoors on the stove with a normal pot and not the keggle. I can see a blichman in my DISTANT future or something similar unless I get this pickup setup better in my keggle.
Only hiccup was that when I went to start the drain on my 3rd/final sparge, I realized, "hmm I never vorlauffed any runnings". I guess the unfamiliarity of brewing indoors with a different pot and redoing calculations, through me for a loop. oh well, I just plan on slapping a muslin bag on the transfer hose when I rack into my boil kettle tonight, Any foreseen issues with bits floating around in the wort all day? My unhopped wort is sitting in a freshly oxicleaned and rinsed carboy in my garage. I hope this works out because it's most likely how I will do most brews for now on.

Anyone know what the maximum time one should/could leave unhopped, unboiled wort before boiling it? In case I get hung up and don't get to it till Thursday or later?

Now off to TSC to get my propane tank filled, Don't wanna run out halfway through.
Also side question. How long, if at all, do you guys sit your hops out to warm before throwing into a boil/ I usually just get them out after I start heating my strike water and let them sit untill time to use them.

Zymurgrafi · 10-21-2008, 05:13 PM

I have done this method. I have 2 little ones and you have to do what you have to do. It is not ideal but it works. I would not leave it too long. The way you set it out works. Night before mash, next morning boil.

One thing to point out is be sure to "mash out" so that the enzymes are deactivated.

If you do leave it too long before boiling you could end up with a sour beer as it will stay warm for some time possibly in the range that make bacteria happy.

I now tend to get up wicked early to brew or stay up late.

**IrregularPulse** · 10-21-2008, 06:13 PM

Well I finished my mash and runnings at like 8:30pm and won't be boiling until like 6 this evening. I didn't mash out. Just did three sparges at 168. Mashing out means sparging with 170 to stop activity right?

shaggynuts24 · 10-21-2008, 06:20 PM

i am so glad you guys are discussing this

was getting ready to do my first all grain recipe and was trying to figure out how to do it without a mash/lauter tun (since i don't have one)

**IrregularPulse** · 10-22-2008, 08:32 PM

You will still need a mash Lauter tun, whether it's a cooler with spigot, or a muslin bag full of grain soaking in a pot on the stove.