Have my equipment for AG - now to brew

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

AlreadyXDead

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2013
Messages
50
Reaction score
4
Location
Hamilton
Hello All,

So i have gathered most of the equipment necessary to brew all grain beer. I have made a mash tun from a rectangular Coleman Cooler. I have a 9 Gallon brew kettle with thermomter and 3 piece ball valve, 6 gallon plastic bucket and 6 gallon glass carboy. I also have a bunch of misc. items like fermcap, digital thermometer, etc...

I have a few questions before I get started. My mash tun you can see in the picture provided has a about an inch opening and about half-inch wide where the ball valve is. Now when i turn the valve on/off it bends because of this gap. Now im pretty sure this won't be an issue as everything is sealed nicely, but i was wondering if anybody has ran into this, and has a remedy for this issue?

Also, i have calculated a recipe i would like to use if i could get some criticism on.

Strike Water 155F
Mash in at 149F

Target 6gal
Boil: 7gal
OG: 1.061
FG: 1.015
ABV: 6%

Belgian Blonde
-----------------
6lb 2-Row malt
6lb Pils malt
1lb Munich Malt
13oz Victory malt

1.5oz Fuggles hops (60mins)
0.7oz Saaz hops (30mins)

Safbrew S-33 yeast

Sorry its such a long post. I thank you all in advance.

DSC_0138.jpg
 
I usually hold the valve body while I open/close the valve to keep it from flexing excessively. Also, get yourself a 1/2" NPT to Barb fitting and put some high temp hose on that thing if you haven't already done so. Otherwise you'll have a tough time directing that golden shower when you drain the mashtun.
 
Thanks for the reply. I actually do have one, just haven't connected yet! Thats what i have been doing while testing it, just holding the valve body so it doesn't bend to much. Everything is secured and airtight so im thinking it will be good to go!
 
Recipe comments...it's unlikely you'll hit 149 with a 155 water temp. Also, there's is nothing vaguely Belgian in flavor about S-33 IMO.

Thanks for the reply Denny,
What do you think i should strike with to have a mash temp of 149? Do you have an opinion on the type of yeast i should use?
Thanks.
 
Thanks for the reply Denny,
What do you think i should strike with to have a mash temp of 149? Do you have an opinion on the type of yeast i should use?
Thanks.

Since it's your first brew with that equipment, temp is kinda a crapshoot. I'd do some research and see what the typical thermal mass for that cooler is and base my guess on that.

For yeast for a Belgian blonde, you can't go wrong with WY3787.
 
This is how I rigged up my cooler mash tun. The stainless steel fenders were a little pricey, but worth the added cost for the stability, and they should last forever. Have fun with your first brew.

image-3738772684.jpg


image-3110744889.jpg
 
Your water addition should be boiling and you should add enough to raise the temp tot eh required temp. As long as you use boiling water you will add several liters and then test. Once you have alittle experience you may use less mash water and use more strike to achieve better efficiency. It is dependant on the tun and how well it holds temp and whether you preheated it or not too. So a couple of batches will show you which way you need to go.

Wheelchair Bob
 
John Palmer has a series of calculations in his book which help me calculate my strike water temp in order to hit my target. I also half-heartedly preheat my mash tun (10 gal Igloo cooler) with hot tap water, which seems to help with accuracy.

I'm a math geek so I made a spreadsheet into which I can plug my variables an get the results.

I've also heard 15 degree loss thrown around as a general guesstimate.
 
Thanks again for the replys everyone. This will definitely help out a lot.
Can't wait to get brewing. I'm going to test my equipment this weekend with hot water and check how temperatures hold.

Happy brewings!
 
Thanks again for the replys everyone. This will definitely help out a lot.
Can't wait to get brewing. I'm going to test my equipment this weekend with hot water and check how temperatures hold.

Happy brewings!

Temp won't hold as well with water as it will with grain. The grain mass provides a buffer to thermal swings and helps hold the temp.
 
Back
Top