All Grain with a French Press Coffee maker

BuffaloSabresBrewer · 10-30-2008, 05:23 AM

So I just recently bought a new French Press coffee maker. I love it! While I was making a pot I thought, as Im sure most brewers have already thought, making coffee is just sparging. So I decided to try to brew a small batch of beer with a coffee maker.

1. Crush grains as usual.
2. Heat mash water.
3. Pour crushed grain into coffee maker.
4. Pour mash water over grains.
5. Stir and put the top on the pot and wait.
6. Depress plunger and pour off wort.
7. Fill with water and stir and repeat step 6 until volume of wort is achieved.

I remembered the camera half way though but it is pretty basic. I should have used a bit less grains, but this was more of a proof of concept and to see if the group thinks it is worth putting the whole process to pictures.
Some benefits are:
1. Those who have a french press can try a small AG batch with no investment.
2. Very little work and less clean up. No baby sitting for boil overs, after hot break.
Downfalls:
1. Small amounts amplify mistakes.
2.You would need a scale for hop measurements if you were trying to go by an exact recipe.

A few things that I would modify.
Insulate the coffee maker.
Use a coffee filter during the "spare". I was too lazy to dig one out.
Pictures to come shortly.
So what do you guys think?

scinerd3000 · 10-30-2008, 06:03 AM

if they have a gallon french press this could acutally be kinda plausable. Amusing at the least. So what did you brew and how much?

FlyGuy · 10-30-2008, 06:47 AM

I have been using one to make up wort for starters. They work great. (I wrap mine in a towel and pop it into in a pre-heated oven to keep the temps up while mashing.)

**BigKahuna** · 10-30-2008, 06:50 AM

WOW MAN!
That is innovative.
You should get 8 or 10 bottles out of that.

I'd try it.

scinerd3000 · 10-30-2008, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlyGuy

I have been using one to make up wort for starters. They work great. (I wrap mine in a towel and pop it into in a pre-heated oven to keep the temps up while mashing.)

i never considered that. How much liquid do they hold? And how much grain would it take for that to work. It would be convinient

**Orfy** · 10-30-2008, 08:35 AM

One of the things on my want to do list is to make counter top AG brewery for 1 - 2.5 gallon batches.

I'm going to look at the viability of using a cheese or fruit press type thingy.

Bigpete9000 · 10-30-2008, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scinerd3000

i never considered that. How much liquid do they hold? And how much grain would it take for that to work. It would be convinient

The large $60 ones hold 12 cups of liquid. so if you wanted to make a 1 gallon small batch i think you would have to mash 1.5 times to get the right volume ??

TeleTwanger · 10-30-2008, 03:06 PM

does this mean I can make 10 gallons of coffee in my mash/lauter tun?

BuffaloSabresBrewer · 10-30-2008, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeleTwanger

does this mean I can make 10 gallons of coffee in my mash/lauter tun?

Well if A=B and B=C...

This is the one that I have. Im toying with the idea of getting a larger one. Id have to say I got maybe 3/4 of a pound in and I have the smallest one as Im the only one that drinks coffee. I didnt actually brew the recipe I just had a few pounds of grains the ferrets go to, shakes hand angrily in the air, so I decided to try this. Got a good conversion, lost a bit of heat but I didnt insulate at all, learned not to compact the grain bed too much. Im going to go for another try tonight with full pictures hopefully.

**944play** · 10-30-2008, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TeleTwanger

does this mean I can make 10 gallons of coffee in my mash/lauter tun?

OMG that's hilarious.

I like this idea, for starters especially, so much I just went and ordered this:

Bodum "Young." It's borosilicate glass inside, polycarbonate outside, supposed to hold some heat. 34oz capacity - figure 12oz of grain, ~1.1 qt/lb strike and two batch sparges ought to yield a half gallon of 1.040ish wort...