I'm trying to figure out what I want to buy for an AG setup. I figure I need 3 containers, at least 10 gallons each. Prior to the boil, at any point, I might be mashing, heating water, and holding collected runnings.
1st question: I figure I should buy a good propane burner, a basic 10 gallon pot for heating water, a 10 gallon mash tun cooler, and a 10 gallon boil kettle fitted with a spigot (and probably a thermometer, because why not). So, does this sound like a basic beginner's setup, or am I missing anything?
2nd question: While trying to figure out what equipment I needed to get, I can't help but see a bit of a paradox between using the ideal amount of mash and sparge water and hitting your final volume, given that the amount of grain (OG) is going to vary from brew to brew. Is the convention here mash at a general volume of 1.25 qt/gal (or whatever you've determined for that particular brew) and then set your sparge volume based on what will get you to that preboil volume that will ultimately get you down to your final volume (say 5.25 gal) based on the boil-off rate of your particular setup? This seems like sometimes your sparge volume may be inefficiently small. So... the alternative would seem to be that you sparge at a larger volume (say the same 1.25 qt/gal) and end up with an oversized preboil volume. As a result, you boil for an additional set amount of time before your 60 minute hop schedule. The major problem I see with this is attaining strong brews. If you're planning on making a RIS over 1.1, with 20+ lbs of grain, youll end up with at least 20 gallons of pre-boil volume going this route. Is it reasonable to expect to boil off for hours before your actual hop schedule?
I think a lot of this has started to sound like ramblings. So, thanks in advance for your feedback.
Cheers
1st question: I figure I should buy a good propane burner, a basic 10 gallon pot for heating water, a 10 gallon mash tun cooler, and a 10 gallon boil kettle fitted with a spigot (and probably a thermometer, because why not). So, does this sound like a basic beginner's setup, or am I missing anything?
2nd question: While trying to figure out what equipment I needed to get, I can't help but see a bit of a paradox between using the ideal amount of mash and sparge water and hitting your final volume, given that the amount of grain (OG) is going to vary from brew to brew. Is the convention here mash at a general volume of 1.25 qt/gal (or whatever you've determined for that particular brew) and then set your sparge volume based on what will get you to that preboil volume that will ultimately get you down to your final volume (say 5.25 gal) based on the boil-off rate of your particular setup? This seems like sometimes your sparge volume may be inefficiently small. So... the alternative would seem to be that you sparge at a larger volume (say the same 1.25 qt/gal) and end up with an oversized preboil volume. As a result, you boil for an additional set amount of time before your 60 minute hop schedule. The major problem I see with this is attaining strong brews. If you're planning on making a RIS over 1.1, with 20+ lbs of grain, youll end up with at least 20 gallons of pre-boil volume going this route. Is it reasonable to expect to boil off for hours before your actual hop schedule?
I think a lot of this has started to sound like ramblings. So, thanks in advance for your feedback.
Cheers