Gonna answer all of this at once...kinda busy at werk today...
You can do any amount with a grain bag, as long as it's strong enough to hold the grain and you're strong enough to pull it out. People do huge all-grain batches with bags using a no-sparge technique. Google it and you could probably find it.
This method is better than using a mash tun in the following ways:
1 - Faster (this is the fastest method I use)
2 - Easier to clean (less equipment, no scrubbing, no taking apart, etc.)
3 - Use any grain (draining can be difficult with mash tun when using, for example, rye
Mash tuns still work better for holding heat, doing larger batches, not dealing with lifting a bag, cleaner wort (vorlaufing), etc. It's a preference thing and I made this thread to get people into using grain, not to replace other systems.
Method and equipment definitely affects efficiency and other factors. Using a bag that is too fine could be a problem for efficiency just like using a bag that is too coarse could allow grain to pass through.
Mashing and steeping differs in temperature, amount of water, and grains used. Mainly the difference is that steeping grains only gives you color and flavor whereas mashing gives you fermentable sugars. I've discussed this many times...you may wish to search the thread.
Check the all-grain thread in my sig for further details.
Thanks for the reply, DB. I actually did read it, but it gets confusing sometimes with all the confllicting information and opinions everyone has. I want to go with your method all the way, so I took all your posts from this thread and your stovetop all grain and copy and pasted them into a word file. It seems like your way works well for you, so instead of mixing up different techniques, I'd like to try your exact methods. After I posted my questions, I read your stovetop AG thread and it cleared up most of what I was wondering. I gotta stop opening links in new tabs and then forgetting I opened them. I didn't even realize I had about 8 tabs open when I posted.
Anyway, thanks for all your info. I'm gonna put together an order for a partial mash, and see how things go this weekend. I'll probably ask a million questions between now and brew day, so feel free to tell me to STFU. Thanks again.
Question away! That's what I'm here for...I usually will answer in full, but am pretty busy at the moment. I'm going out to the desert from Thur-Mon, and will not have internet access, but there are plenty of people who can help you around here. Hope all goes well!
I just got my Williams Brewing catalog (great timing! ). Excellent equipment for a guy that has zero mechanical skills. Read, I can't cut metal or weld anything and I really have no desire to learn.
I'm think going to buy their 32 QT brew kettle with ball valve and their kettle screen for my brew pot. I have a great gas kitchen range with one pretty big burner with which I think I can heat up quite a bit of water . Maybe some all grain batches are in my future! I'm also going to start fermenting in their plastic siphonless fermenters. I can get gravity readings a lot easier and more accurately, they are cheaper so I can get more beers fermenting, and I don't have to siphon and get all that sediment into my kegs like I seem to be so good at doing.
They also sell carbonation sugar drops for bottling. I am a kegger but it sure would be nice to bottle a few bottles for gifts, etc. I'm going to give these a try. Has anyone used these before? With the siphonless fermenters it seems like it would be easy enough to bottle half a dozen or a dozen bottles and then keg the rest.
This has truly been a great thread for me. Before I bought kits and threw them together without really thinking about the process. Which is a fine a way to brew by the way. But now I'm starting to think more about the process and the finished product. I think my beers are going to really take off.
I just can't imagine doing things any other way now. Maybe I'll get more advanced someday but with a 2 year old running around and a 13 year old playing lots of sports I don't have Saturdays or Sundays to spend all day brewing.
I just got Wiliams' catalog too. I ordered their Belgian quad, and I'm actually gonna bottle it in about ten minutes. I'd say you could get fermenting buckets with spigots cheaper elsewhere. I bought one from Northern, lid and all for around 22 bucks, and I think they're even cheaper at morebeer. I just threw my first batch into one the other day. As I was looking through the catalog, I thought to myself how expensive they were compared to other online vendors. I haven't checked their websiste in awhile, but the catalog didn't have too much grains or hops, but I don't know if their website is any different. I'm thinking of trying a stovetop all grain batch, and I'm probably going to order everything from rebel. They seem to have the cheapest grains and hops. I usually put together the same list on three different sites and order from the cheapest.
Death Brewer, I was just wondering how long you go before you replace your nylon bag strainer? I've been using mine for a few months now, and was thinking about replacing it.
As a side note, I'm getting a 10 gallon cooler so I can start doing all-grain. It seems much easier because I already have a good understanding of how the mash works, thanks to your method!
I've never replaced my bags, but I have quite a few of them. A couple of them are starting to tear a bit at the top, so they're about due. I've been using them for years.
It really depends on the quality of the bag...there are so many different types.
DB great thread. It got me thinking about doing a PM on my next brew.
It also got me thinking about how to do this with what I have around the house. Trying to maintain a constant temp during the mash process. I thought about using a crock pot for the mash tun since these are designed to hold/maintain temps. Just preheat it with hot water, mix the grains with the right amount of water and then cover the lid for a hour. Only problem the crock pot is only 7 quarts. To small for a five gallon batch. So off to plan B. Buy another stock pot.
Yea, I looked up crock pots on the internet to see if they made any larger than that and 7 quarts was the biggest size I found.
I have a receipe in mind with a total grain bill of 4lb 13oz. I could decrease the grains a little and just add more extract. I'll have to look at the receipe and see if that will work.
Maybe an excuse to buy more beer brew ware.
Last edited by LiquidGold; 11-20-2009 at 08:37 PM.
). Excellent equipment for a guy that has zero mechanical skills. Read, I can't cut metal or weld anything and I really have no desire to learn.
But now I'm starting to think more about the process and the finished product. I think my beers are going to really take off.
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