How big of a MLT do I need for this AG bill?

8.5LB 2 row
1 LB 80L
1 LB Muhich
1/2 LB Dextine

11LB total grain bill.

So how big of a pot do I need? is a 3 gal enough for the Protien rest and Steep? I have a 7.5 gal boil... but don't want to use it for anything but the boil as it isn't suitable for anything but that purpose.

Cheers

I'd say 10 gal minimum unless you want to splt the Mash

Wait now I'm confused are you asking about a boil pot or MLT

The Green Bay Rackers says you need 4.32 gallon capacity to mash 11lbs with a grain water ratio of 1.25qt/lb.

Buy a 5 gallon cooler. This should be fine more most 5G batch mashes. Or just play it safe and buy a 10G. I paid a whopping $19.99 for my 50Qt (12.5G) Igloo Cube.

I would use 5.5gal of water for that grain bill. Combined with the grain, that means about 7.5gal MLT.

A more standard water use would be 3.437gal of water, which uses the 4.32gal capacity mentioned below.

You can use less water than that, but your efficiency will be affected negatively. I would just buy a little more grain to make up for it if you dont want to buy a cooler.

IrregularPulse said:

Buy a 5 gallon cooler. This should be fine more most 5G batch mashes. Or just play it safe and buy a 10G. I paid a whopping $19.99 for my 50Qt (12.5G) Igloo Cube.

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That is a sweet deal. How is that working out for you? What size batches do you typically brew? Do you think this would be too big and have too much heat loss for someone just starting out with AG and probably going to have 9-13 lb grain bills?

opteek said:

That is a sweet deal. How is that working out for you? What size batches do you typically brew? Do you think this would be too big and have too much heat loss for someone just starting out with AG and probably going to have 9-13 lb grain bills?

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Nope just pre-heat the cooler by adding hotter water than you plan to Mash at to. Close the lid and let the cooler heat up for 20-30 minutes. I generally dump 180*F water then add the grain if it's too hot it's easy to add cool or cold water to bring the temp down. It's very difficult to add hot water trying to bring a too cold temp up

You might want to make the water a little hotter than what I use experience will help

Thanks guys! I figured my 3 gal pot wouldn't do it....

I have a 5 gal cooler... and I have a 64Qt rectangular cooler.... but neither are set up with any drain/filter system...

I use the 5 gal to hold my hot water for my PM batches.

Guess I'm going to have to figure something out, before I buy the grains to do my first AG batch.

Either a 10 gal pot or figure out a way to implement a filter system in my 64 qt cooler.

Thanks for the quick replies! Happy T-day to all.

look in the DIY area, search for mash tun, there are several simple methods for making a braid for filtering or making a manifold out of copper or cpvc tube

Yup, been there... I just have to decide "How" I want to do it. Dang decisions decisions decisions....

I'm one of thouse... decide... undecide....decide type that Frustrate the heck out of sales people....

Cheers

I've have great success with my cpvc manifold. The trick is cut on a diagonal to eliminate stuck sparges.

Here is the one I made:
http://www.homebrew.com/articles/article09130301.shtml

Although a bunch of people rave about the round, I prefer free!

Thanks for the link, Nice build!

Well I guess it all depends on how traffic goes on the way home today... heck I normaly take today OFF, as traffic is a nightmare usually. So if it goes like last time.... I'll still be on the road come 9pm....

You won't regret going AG! It is awesome!!

Oh and side note, use a dremel unless you care to spend HOURS with a hacksaw. hahahaha just a word of warning.

I cannot wait until Friday, I'm brewing a Hoegaarden clone.

If you wanna brew NOW with the coolers you have you can do a BIAB (brew in a bag) batch just make sure you have a hefty bag.

I've brewed a batch with 19.5 lbs of grain in a 39L cooler (10.3 gallons).