crazyseany

Recipes 

trying to plan for my first brew... Have read alot of simillar posts but didn't see/remember the answers!

#1 what thermometer are you guys using? I used the stainless dial one that cam with my fryer for doing extract... Will this one work?

#2 are American & Canadian 2 row interchangeable?
#2a. Does it matter what "vienna" to use if recipe doesn't specify?

#3 mash tun: braided line or copper manifold? (also I can get the bigger 3/4" braid really cheap... Can this be used?)

#4 which cooler to use? I have a 5 gallon beverage cooler(round)... I also have the blue (i know blue is best) big "cube" roller cooler I see on some peoples rigs... (if I use this one I think the hole is above bottom... How does that work? False bottom?)

#5 check back please... Having posting anxiety and sure I forgot something!

atchinator

Recipes 

#1 It may not work. I've used an oven/fryer thermometer before and it didn't seem to be calibrated correctly. You really want exact temperatures - especially when mashing.

#2 From a beginners standpoint, yes.

#2a Probably not. If the recipe calls for Vienna malt, that means...Vienna malt. I haven't heard of specific "types" of Vienna malt to be honest.

#3 Not sure. I use neither. I just mash it in a plastic bucket at a specified temperature and then strain it through a false bottom when the mash is done.

#4 Are you referring to what you should use for a mash tun? Again, I just use a plastic bucket that can hold up to 6 gallons of liquid. I only notice about a degree (Celsius) in temp drop over an hour.

Pappers_

Recipes 

Yes, your thermometer will work. Many also use an electronic, instant read thermometer. I use a floating thermometer - I find it works well for my system and the way I brew.

Yes

No

I use a braided line, but both work well

I use a round cooler, but both work fine. A five gallon cooler will be fine for five gallon batches of average gravity. If you anticipate brewing higher gravity batches, like barleywines, the five gallon cooler may not be large enough. If you only anticipate doing occasional big beers, you could always supplement the wort by adding DME to raise the gravity.

Good luck!

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KuntzBrewing

Recipes 

That cube cooler does have a lower drain which means I would probly set it in a chair or on a table and hang it over, the braid will still work. id imagine you have close to 0 dead space, id just watch the ball valve since those coolers have angled drains. As far as vienna that's a technique of kilning and therefore all brands should be the same, I use braided mesh tube in my tun and its fine

KuntzBrewing

Recipes 

Also 2 row is a type of barley and should be the same

asterix404

Recipes 

Go out and get an instant read thermometer between 0 and 220 at your local sears for like, 10$. It's worth it.

2 Row is a type of barley and not all two rows are made alike. It depends on which grain is being used to make the "2 Row" malt, however, for all intents and purposes, treat all two row the same since the Maltster is doing their best to make it equal across batches.

Vienna malt is a style of malt, for authentic make sure it's is Weyermann malt though, to be honest, I can't quite tell the difference unless it's made with 6row barley. Muntons and Weyermann only use 2row malt for their specialty grains, Breiss uses 6, be very careful of this... typically 6row doesn't matter for dark roasted adjuncts, but if Briss decided that vienna malt is now a specialty malt, you don't want that.

I 100% agree on the braided vs copper. I used a torpedo mesh tube and I love the braided SS. If you can make a copper manifold and want to... go for it. I don't weld, so I am sort of stuck in that regard.

I LOVE my round cooler, but I love my round cooler for fairly advanced reasons. For single infusion mash, as long as the top of the rectangular cooler is insulated, use either. Otherwise stick with the round one. It removes the work of wrapping your cooler in all of the blankets in your house. I would also go and pick up the 10G cooler. This is a great size for all 5g batches.

crazyseany

Recipes 

well I think I'm going to splurge a little this month!

thanks for the info on the 2 row... I'm planning on trying a couple of american pale ales and maybe a red to start with.

I think on the vienna I meant brand... But good to know about the breiss...

do most people us a 1/2 inch braided? I've seen a larger diameter one and was wondering if that would be better to use or stick with the smaller D one..??

and you are right about the anfled drain on the cooler... Why watch out for the ball valve? So it doesn't get jammed on anything? I think they are well insulated coolers and we have 3 of them we bought a few years ago when we were camping alot... So I imagine I could do any size 5 gallon batch in those...

thanks for the quick answers and I know I have more questions... Will probably come back as I'm reading the recipes!!

oh yeah... If a recipe calls for 1/2 lb of this or that do you just randomly mix those grains in with all the "2 row/base" grain or do you keep those out and steep them like you do in a extract?

thanks again,
sean

KuntzBrewing

Recipes 

Not like extract, u mix all the grains together

crazyseany

Recipes 

if I'm going to spend some money on some bulk grain... Should I just start out with a bag of 2 row? And fill in the extras from the LHBS? 1or 2 bags? Or should I add a bag of vienna or C60? Or....?

thanks

phenry

Recipes 

Depends on what you brew a lot and how often you brew. Right now I only buy 2 row in bulk, but I could probably do with buying Vienna in 50 lb bags since I use it so much in my recipes. Everything else I couldn't really justify having that much grain on hand at one time since I only use a 1/2# or so at a time of crystal and other roasted malts.