indigo
Well-Known Member
Hey, all:
So, I'm planning to do my first all-grain batch this weekend, and frankly I was unprepared with how much grain is involved. This is going to be a much more voluminous batch than my 3-gallon kettle can handle. SO, I'm going to pick up a 5-gallon kettle this week so at least I can do that.
The question I have, really, is about the rest of my process. I'll describe what I'm thinking of, and ask you all to show me where it will fail miserably.
I'm thinking of striking the mash in my new 5-gallon kettle, using about 3.5 gallons of water (or so). Then sparging the grain bag into my 3-gallon kettle.
While I boil the wort in the 5-gal kettle, adding my hops and additives when appropriate, I'll put the 3-gal kettle into the fridge to cool. I don't have a cooling coil, so I normally do a cold-water bath in my kitchen sink, but I don't think a 5-gal kettle will cool as effectively this way. I'm hoping that I can use the refrigerated water in the 3-gal kettle (probably only 1.5-2 gallons of actual weak wort) to cool the wort down after it's boiled.
So, that's the plan. It seems too simple to me, and I know a single-kettle setup is generally a bad plan for an AG brew, but I don't have any other alternatives at this point.
So, I'm planning to do my first all-grain batch this weekend, and frankly I was unprepared with how much grain is involved. This is going to be a much more voluminous batch than my 3-gallon kettle can handle. SO, I'm going to pick up a 5-gallon kettle this week so at least I can do that.
The question I have, really, is about the rest of my process. I'll describe what I'm thinking of, and ask you all to show me where it will fail miserably.
I'm thinking of striking the mash in my new 5-gallon kettle, using about 3.5 gallons of water (or so). Then sparging the grain bag into my 3-gallon kettle.
While I boil the wort in the 5-gal kettle, adding my hops and additives when appropriate, I'll put the 3-gal kettle into the fridge to cool. I don't have a cooling coil, so I normally do a cold-water bath in my kitchen sink, but I don't think a 5-gal kettle will cool as effectively this way. I'm hoping that I can use the refrigerated water in the 3-gal kettle (probably only 1.5-2 gallons of actual weak wort) to cool the wort down after it's boiled.
So, that's the plan. It seems too simple to me, and I know a single-kettle setup is generally a bad plan for an AG brew, but I don't have any other alternatives at this point.