Mini Mash System for Extract Brewers

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Wow...excellent thread everyone! Another no0b looking to go PM...will make a trip to Home Depot/Lowe's tonight and try to piece something together. I've been tossing around the idea for a few weeks now and I've decided now is the time!
 
I am the proud father of a 2 gallon, no ounce bouncing baby-blue colored mini-MLT!...although, he doesn't look a thing like me...?! I would post a picture but I can't figure out how to do it at the moment.

Basically, I used the general principles described by RichBrewer in his several posts with the SS Braid idea (picture on post #49) combined with the valve set up detailed by BootYtRappeR (picture on post #151). The ENTIRE project cost $30: The 2 gallon Rubbermaid Victory cooler was $9.99 at Target, and all the valve pieces, including the SS Braid, totaled $22.00 after tax at Home Depot! I literally brought the cooler into HD with me to make sure all the pieces fit together. All connections were 3/8 inch.

I completed my first PM IPA with the cooler as well. It worked perfectly.

For those people like me who are in between the extract-all grain situation (for various reasons) the 2 gallon cooler works great. I can mash up to 4 lbs of total grains, batch sparge and still boil on my stove with ~2.5 gallons of water.

(In cheesy Oscar-speech-acceptance fashion,) I would like to thank all the contributors to this post. I would not be here partial-mashing without your help, advice, and guidance. I know I'm forgetting someone but the music is playing....I love you mom!
 
I too took the plunge last night. Sucked it up, went down to Home Depot with my "How to Brew" clutched in my anxious little arms. I went with a 5 gal. Igloo for $19.99 and built the bulkhead assembly exactly as described in the book. Total price for the cooler and all parts for the bulkhead about $40. It seemed confusing at first, but once I realized FIP/MIP was female/male it all made sense.

I made a little excursion out of it, and it was quite a fun night. It only took about 30 min. in HD and I got everything I needed, assembly only took 5-10 min. I'm not a "handy" person by any stretch but it was easy! Any who wants to build one, I can send you a parts list/diagram from the "How to Brew" book if you wish. Just pm me.

I was planning to just buy a false bottom from my LHBS but I'm feeling the DIY attitude right now so I'm thinking I should make a SS braid contraption. I saw in an earlier post someone made a circular one by just crimping one end and looping it around the bottom of a cylindrical cooler. That seems pretty easy, will it work well? I'm planning on doing PM (batch sparge) for the forseeable future. Thanks again people!:mug:
 
I went ahead lastnight and purchased the 3 gallon cooler (6 pounds grain). Still trying to to decide if I want to try it like in the BYO article or spend the extra cash to make a false bottom or something. I am looking forward to up grading :)
 
Cregar said:
I went ahead lastnight and purchased the 3 gallon cooler (6 pounds grain). Still trying to to decide if I want to try it like in the BYO article or spend the extra cash to make a false bottom or something. I am looking forward to up grading :)
Keep us informed! :mug:
 
Ninkasi said:
I am the proud father of a 2 gallon, no ounce bouncing baby-blue colored mini-MLT!...although, he doesn't look a thing like me...?! I would post a picture but I can't figure out how to do it at the moment.

Basically, I used the general principles described by RichBrewer in his several posts with the SS Braid idea (picture on post #49) combined with the valve set up detailed by BootYtRappeR (picture on post #151). The ENTIRE project cost $30: The 2 gallon Rubbermaid Victory cooler was $9.99 at Target, and all the valve pieces, including the SS Braid, totaled $22.00 after tax at Home Depot! I literally brought the cooler into HD with me to make sure all the pieces fit together. All connections were 3/8 inch.

I completed my first PM IPA with the cooler as well. It worked perfectly.

For those people like me who are in between the extract-all grain situation (for various reasons) the 2 gallon cooler works great. I can mash up to 4 lbs of total grains, batch sparge and still boil on my stove with ~2.5 gallons of water.

(In cheesy Oscar-speech-acceptance fashion,) I would like to thank all the contributors to this post. I would not be here partial-mashing without your help, advice, and guidance. I know I'm forgetting someone but the music is playing....I love you mom!
Great job. I would love to see photos! :mug:
 
RichBrewer said:
Great job. I would love to see photos! :mug:

Here are some photos of my 2 gallon MLT...sorry they are so large...

IMG_1146.jpg


IMG_1149.jpg


RichBrewer, I was thinking about using a rubber stopper, racking cane and plastic flow valve (as you show in post #49) instead of the brass valve set up and saved another ~$10...but the brass valve looks REALLY cool!
 
Ninkasi said:
RichBrewer, I was thinking about using a rubber stopper, racking cane and plastic flow valve (as you show in post #49) instead of the brass valve set up and saved another ~$10...but the brass valve looks REALLY cool!
I think it was well worth the extra 10 dollars. Yours will be much more sturdy. The one I made has the potential for the stopper to pull out making a big mess. Yours looks awesome! :mug:
 
Plus, *if* you decide to go AG in the future (like I did), you'll be able to use a lot of those parts over again, just attach them to a bigger cooler. Easy to upgrade.
 
Ninkasi said:
Here are some photos of my 2 gallon MLT...sorry they are so large...
That looks AWESOME!!! Do you have a parts list that you wouldn't mind sharing? I think I will do that to the 3 gallon cooler I bought lastnight.
 
Cregar said:
That looks AWESOME!!! Do you have a parts list that you wouldn't mind sharing? I think I will do that to the 3 gallon cooler I bought lastnight.
Don't mind at all! I will PM you the parts list (with description). If anyone else would like the parts list let me know...I could just post it here but it's a bit long winded.
 
I think it is so amazing that afriend of mine who has 30+ years experience is my mentor and he has me steeping 1lb of crystal malt and then adding the extract and then the hops of course. I have only done 8 sessions and everyone has been amazing because of his expert help. i did not know you can or many people just use the extract from a can or bag plus the hops and no grain. i guess i am doing a kind of mini partial mash? already and didn't know it?

My mentor says next we will do a true partial mash with the sparging so I can learn the next steps with ease so All grain will not be any big deal either and the beer will be killer. in Lincoln where we live we are blessed with awesome water right out of the tap. I let the water set for 24H before use to let the clorine dissapate. Mentor filters his H20.
 
Jim Karr said:
I posted a few days ago on the idea of taking a small 3 gallon ice cream bucket, placing it inside a five gallon, and insulating with spray-in foam.

I made a circle of styrofoam insulation which fit tightly inside the bigger bucket, placed the 3 gallon in the middle. I filled the inner bucket with water and snapped on the lid so it wouldn't distort. I then took a can of expanding foam insulation (Great Stuff) and carefully filled the cavity between the two walls.

After letting it set a day or so, I filled it with 130* water right from the tap. Even with a non-insulated lid, it held temps so it only went down six degrees in two hours!

I have since fashioned a slide-in lid for the inner bucket out of rigid foam insulation, wrapped in plastic.

I will soon use my drill with the right angle drive to cut a hole for the outlet. I will use a bimetal hole saw for a clean cut, and then epoxy a plastic fitting (like a bathroom drain fitting from the gooseneck) into the opening.

It will cost approximately $9 when I'm finished!
Any updates on this???:mug:
 
I've been trying to put this into words but I think John Palmer does a much better job.
A 2 or 3 gallon mini Mash/Lauter tun is better suited for partial mash brewing than a 5 gallon or larger tun. The deeper grain bed will lead to better clarification.
Chapter 17 - Getting the Wort Out (Lautering)
17.2 Getting the Most From the Grainbed
The grainbed can be a few inches to a couple feet deep, but the optimum depth depends on the overall tun geometry as well as the total amount of grain being mashed. A good rule of thumb is: "The depth of the grainbed should be no less than one half the shortest dimension of the floor area, nor greater than twice the longest." In other words, the grainbed aspect ratio can vary between 1:2 and 2:1. If the grainbed gets too shallow, i.e., from lautering too little grain in too large a tun, then an adequate filter bed won't form, the wort will not clear, and you will probably get hazy beer. A minimum useful depth is probably about 4 inches but a depth of between 8-18 inches is preferable. In general, deeper is better, but if it is too deep, then the grainbed is more easily compacted and may not let any wort through, making lautering nearly impossible.
 
Count me in - another convert ready to dive right in to AG.

I'd been thinking about trying a PM but after I read through this thread, I'm going straight to AG. I bottled my first batch in ten years today (extract) and was disappointed in that is very thin and watery. I'm hoping that by going to AG I can get a better beer.

I want to brew in 2.5 gallon lots, I like the idea of having lots of different brews available. I think the the 5 gal cooler will be more than big enough. I could go 5 gallon as I have a propane burner and 32 quart SS brew pot - and I might when I get a good recipe.

Now that I'm done "researching" AG and ready to jump in, it's time to start researching kegging.
 
This thread is great. Thanks to all who have contributed. I'm going to get a 3 gallon cooler and modify it. The only place I can find it is directly from rubbermaid for 17.50 + shipping + tax. I had to explain to swmbo that the 5 gallon was too big for my needs. This 3 gallon pm mlt is perfect as I won't be messing with ag for a while. Thanks again everyone and here is the link for the one I'll get. :mug:

btw how are all these pm setups working these days? Are the beers killer?

http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/ecommerce/product.jhtml?prodId=HpdProd160027&catId=HpdCat160023:rockin:
 
doubleb said:
This thread is great. Thanks to all who have contributed. I'm going to get a 3 gallon cooler and modify it. The only place I can find it is directly from rubbermaid for 17.50 + shipping + tax. I had to explain to swmbo that the 5 gallon was too big for my needs. This 3 gallon pm mlt is perfect as I won't be messing with ag for a while. Thanks again everyone and here is the link for the one I'll get. :mug:

btw how are all these pm setups working these days? Are the beers killer?

http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/ecommerce/product.jhtml?prodId=HpdProd160027&catId=HpdCat160023:rockin:
You will be happy with the 3 gallon cooler. It will give you a nice deep grain bed and enough room to mash up to five or six pounds of grain.
I made the 3 gallon cooler as an experiment for this thread. It uses a braided hose for wort straining and it worked exceptionally well. I even used it once to make wort for a starter. :mug:
 
SORRY, LATE CHIMING IN BUT.....

I wonder if a bag (muslin, cheesecloth, whatever they are) placed over the spigot inside the cooler by way of tying it up tight with a brick sized object in it, poking a small hole in the bag, putting the post of the spigot through the hole with the washer and nut actually inside the bag. Damn I need a picture.
So the bag would be held in place by the washer and nut inside the cooler. It would be kept out of the intake for the spigot by the brick(or whatever) and would create a seamless filter around the spigot. It would have to be replaced each time, but they are 60 cents at the brew store.

Any thoughts? did I describe it well enough?
 
cheezydemon said:
SORRY, LATE CHIMING IN BUT.....

I wonder if a bag (muslin, cheesecloth, whatever they are) placed over the spigot inside the cooler by way of tying it up tight with a brick sized object in it, poking a small hole in the bag, putting the post of the spigot through the hole with the washer and nut actually inside the bag. Damn I need a picture.
So the bag would be held in place by the washer and nut inside the cooler. It would be kept out of the intake for the spigot by the brick(or whatever) and would create a seamless filter around the spigot. It would have to be replaced each time, but they are 60 cents at the brew store.

Any thoughts? did I describe it well enough?
A photo would be helpful! :mug:
 
So after reading all 27 pages of this excellent thread, I ordered the three gallon water cooler from Rubbermaid. I'm slightly irritated at how they are taking their sweet-a$$ time to "process" the order I placed last week, but I'm staying positive and looking forward to my first partial mash brew. I am going to try the cooler and grain bag method that was highlighted in a previous post and is well detailed at the following URL

http://byo.com/feature/1536.html

I like the idea of minimal modification, at least for the first batch, but am curious how much that method lacks compared to the other methods that have been mentioned....

I'm shooting for a nice subtle ESB, very similar to the one listed at the bottom of that link. Depending on the arrival of my new equipment, I hope to get it going in about 1.5 weeks.
 
Cool man, good luck. PM brewing is fun. I've done 1 so far. I got a 5 gallon round cooler though and put a stainless steel braid in it. I mashed 6.5lbs of grain in it with PLENTY of room to spare. I think about 6.5 lbs would be your MAX that you could mash in there with a 1.25 qt/lb mash....I think. My math is a bit fuzzy this morning.
 
This is my first post and I have been brewing for about a year now and ill be brewing for the rest of my life. I will consider my self a brewer after my first AG, I had been doing extract brews and liked them, My second brew was a lager and was and still is one one the very best beers Ive ever had,I always add spec grains and used a grain bag, I knew I was getting flavor but not very efective, I made a minimash tun out of a rubbermaid 5 gallon cooler and have another for the sparge water,I put a fitting toward the top and made a vent tube that runs under my mash screen which happens to be a plastic corander from the dollar store and i got a section of quater inch clear hose and after I took a pair of snips and trimed the corander to fit,I cut the hose the whole length and wraped it around the corander so it fits snugly in the cooler I made my own sparge arm as well have less than a hundred bucks in it and I couldn't be happier with it, on my first mash I did a decoction mash and had fun doing it at the end of the process I did my sparge and when my wort ran clear I was impressed, I figure my ifficiency went from 35 to 40 % to 85 to 90% which over the long haul will be well worth the investment in grain saveings and I made a high gravity porter a while back and i did the grain bag thing with 5 pounds of differant types of grain and that was A pain, have a great day and keep on brewing, :mug:
 
I just bought the stuff at HD and am wondering how to take apart the hose w/ the SS braid. I have limited tools. Please post how you did this. Thanks

Doog_Si_Reeb....

I got my rubbermaid cooler on the 8th business day after ordering and figure the shipping took 3 days. Rubbermaid never sent a email confermentation or a tracking number. I noticed that they took my payment on the 3rd business day but I got it now and all is good again.
 
I cut the ends of mine off with a tubing cutter. To get the vinyl tubing out of the stainless braid it works best to push the braid off. If you try pulling it tightens the braid and it won't budge. If you push the braid it actually loosens it.
2967-Pullingtubingoutofstainlessbraid.jpg
 
bigben said:
Cool man, good luck. PM brewing is fun. I've done 1 so far. I got a 5 gallon round cooler though and put a stainless steel braid in it. I mashed 6.5lbs of grain in it with PLENTY of room to spare. I think about 6.5 lbs would be your MAX that you could mash in there with a 1.25 qt/lb mash....I think. My math is a bit fuzzy this morning.

You just said you had plenty of room to spare but it would be your max? Fuzzy, indeed :tank: :drunk:

I just mashed 9 lbs at 1.25 qts/lb yesterday without a hitch. I think I could even go to 10 or 11, but then I wouldn't be able to mash-out, which may or may not be a big deal, I dunno.
 
PseudoChef said:
You just said you had plenty of room to spare but it would be your max? Fuzzy, indeed :tank: :drunk:

I just mashed 9 lbs at 1.25 qts/lb yesterday without a hitch. I think I could even go to 10 or 11, but then I wouldn't be able to mash-out, which may or may not be a big deal, I dunno.
not me ya dingbat. I was referring to the 3 gallon cooler.
:)
 
I was quite pleased to receive my 3 gal cooler from Rubbermaid last Friday. Their website still said processing and their call center people said it would take 3 weeks to deliver. I was pleasantly surprised to receive it in 1 week.

I ran to my LHBS and bought the ingredients to brew an ESB using the partial mash method with a grain bag that was described in a BYO article (link above). I followed the procedure that was listed in the BYO article but had a lower OG than expected. I measured 1036 at 66 degrees F, as opposed to the 1044 that the recipe stated. Not trusting the original method, I stirred the wort in the primary for a few minutes (with a sanitized spoon) and took another sample out. It was the same gravity.

My guess is that the grain bag method isn't real efficient. I wasn't planning on brewing a low alcohol session beer this time around, but I wanted to make one eventually. I am going to let the fermentation go and see how it ends up.

Before my next batch, I am going to do the mods and add the braided hose and valve. It gets to be a pain in the arse holding the spout open while collecting the liquid from the cooler. A ball valve would be much nicer.

Thanks again to everyone who has been contributing info on this thread and inspiring extract brewers, like myself, to take the next step in brewing. :mug:
 
Doog_Si_Reeb said:
I was quite pleased to receive my 3 gal cooler from Rubbermaid last Friday. Their website still said processing and their call center people said it would take 3 weeks to deliver. I was pleasantly surprised to receive it in 1 week.

I ran to my LHBS and bought the ingredients to brew an ESB using the partial mash method with a grain bag that was described in a BYO article (link above). I followed the procedure that was listed in the BYO article but had a lower OG than expected. I measured 1036 at 66 degrees F, as opposed to the 1044 that the recipe stated. Not trusting the original method, I stirred the wort in the primary for a few minutes (with a sanitized spoon) and took another sample out. It was the same gravity.

My guess is that the grain bag method isn't real efficient. I wasn't planning on brewing a low alcohol session beer this time around, but I wanted to make one eventually. I am going to let the fermentation go and see how it ends up.

Before my next batch, I am going to do the mods and add the braided hose and valve. It gets to be a pain in the arse holding the spout open while collecting the liquid from the cooler. A ball valve would be much nicer.

Thanks again to everyone who has been contributing info on this thread and inspiring extract brewers, like myself, to take the next step in brewing. :mug:
Cool beans man.

You will definitely see an increase in efficiency with the SS Braid vs the Bag. I did. First time I use the bag I missed my target OG by about 12 points. My first PM with my cooler and braid I only missed it by 3 points.

Enjoy your beer!
 
I know this thread is pretty dated, but I would love a more thorough exploration of the pros/cons and general experiences with a mini mash system. Yesterday I purchased a 2 gallon Rubbermaid cooler at a Big 5 for $14 and will spend the weekend trying to find the right hardware and fittings to turn it into a mash tun. When it's all said and done, I can't imagine spending more than $30 on the project.
This is my first step into having more control over grain selection and sugar/color extraction, and I would like to hear from any other extract brewers making the step into PM and AG brewing. I will definitely share my experiences. Cheers!
 
I use a little mini lauter Tun, "Phil's mini Lauter Tun" goes for about 25$ Basically just a 2 gallon bucket, a false bottom, and tube with hose adjustable clamp, mine came with a lid. Works great for 5 pounds of grain. I have done the dousing the grains in the water, but this is the next step I suppose. My first wheat partial mash in which I used this system, should be bottling next weekend. Basically steeped at 150-160* I forget exact #s, and then sparged with 180* which only brought the temp up to ~165* at best. Then boiled, and I boiled the malt, although they say you don't have to, I thought it prudent to at least sterilize the extract for the last 15 minutes or so of an hour boil. Then filled it up with 5 gallons of cool water at the end.


Mini-mash-sm.jpg


I got mine from Annapolis home brew, a local home brew shop (LHBS?),

http://www.annapolishomebrew.com/shopmashing.asp

they have great instructions as well as I think some great partial mash recipes. I forget precisely, but it was like 4 pounds pale malt extract/wheat malt extract, and then 5 lbs wheat/malt don't know precisely their recipe... But all their premade recipes have an option for all extract with steeping grains, partial mash, or all grain. The Partial mash is based on the Phil's mini lauter tun.


Has anyone seen this Phil's mini lauter tun for sale anymore, cheapest I can find a mini Lauter Tun is 230 bucks.
 
Tons of info here! This is a great thread and i would really like to build a mini masher out of a small cooler, but there are a few aspects of this process that i just cannot wrap my brain around and i was wondering if anyone who has built or uses this woudnt mind me calling them up to go over some details before i brew my first mini mash kit, no clubs/brew shops around here so got noone to just talk to about this lol
 
I know this thread is pretty dated, but I would love a more thorough exploration of the pros/cons and general experiences with a mini mash system. Yesterday I purchased a 2 gallon Rubbermaid cooler at a Big 5 for $14 and will spend the weekend trying to find the right hardware and fittings to turn it into a mash tun. When it's all said and done, I can't imagine spending more than $30 on the project.
This is my first step into having more control over grain selection and sugar/color extraction, and I would like to hear from any other extract brewers making the step into PM and AG brewing. I will definitely share my experiences. Cheers!

I just started PM and will be trying my first AG in a month or so. For the PM I've been using deathbrewers method and plan on doing the same with his AG method. Its honestly the best thing I've seen for brewers who want make the jump for cheap.
 
I've been using Deathbrewers PM method for my last two batches. I got 80 and 85% efficiency with them. For my next batch I'll be brewing my first AG, Biermuncher's Centennial Blond, being that it has a small grain bill it should be an easy first go. The way I look at it, the BIAB (Brew In A bag) method is the best for next to no extra investment if you are allready doing full boils.
 
I am primarily interested in Octoberfest type of beer and I want to use build it yourself equipment for small batches but of two different types. Now that we have the mix and the yeast right we should be able to use the minimum store bought vessels? Robbie
 

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