Started My First AG Batch

Here it is:


My first AG batch and my first time using that MLT.

Wish me luck, hopefully I get decent conversion and end up with wort when I'm done...

Edit: I just started the mash and hit my target temp Holy crap that chocolate smells great!

Good luck with it! I'm hoping to do my first AG in the next few weeks.

congrats! tell us how it turns out

When do you add the Tostitos?

speter said:

When do you add the Tostitos?

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Mmmmm...

Ok, so I was shooting for a pre boil gravity of around 1.046, instead I ended up with 1.032. Fortunately I thought to buy some DME while I was buying my ingredients so I can adjust but....

Why so low?? I hit my target mash temp, although the temperature had dropped about 9 degrees by the end of the mash. Could that be the cause or is 52% efficiency hat I can expect to get from the setup I'm using?

9 degree drop sounds like an awful lot for that gatorade cooler. I have the 10 gallon round gatorade cooler and I usually drop 1/2 to 1 degree over an hour.

I also used to use that thermometer that you are using in the picture, but found out after my first AG that if that cord gets any condensation on it, it throws off the temp readings. You should use two thermometers to make sure that one is not off.

You should also make sure that you are getting a good crush on the grain. Did you crush yourself? or did you buy it crushed? where did you buy it? next time, take a picture of the crush before you brew and post the picture here.

we can let you know if it is a good or bad crush. That is another common problem to low efficiency.

Did you pour boiling water into the cooler prior to mashing to get its thermal mass warmed up to your mash temp? A cold cooler can suck the heat out of your mash.

What was your water grist ratio? Did you stir it in REALLY well? How long did you mash for? Did you test for conversion at the end of the mash? What temp did you sparge at?

Before we get all complicated.

Did you adjust the gravity for your wort temp. If your wort was 120* which mine typically is then your corrected reading is 1.042 which is nearly exactly what your were shooting for.

After the simplist explanation we can move to other things like crush and sparge methods.

If in doubt mash longer no down side really. It will make up for a bad crush. Even unmilled grains will convert if left long enough.

Ok, as far as crush, it looked pretty good to me... not that I have much experience with it, but it seemed to be cracked open well (say a little smaller than steel cut oats, if that helps).

I did pre-heat the MLT; I heated my strike water to about 10 deg. above the strike temp Beersmith gave me and waited until it came down to strike temp inside the MLT. After I added the grain and stirred everything up I measured the temp and it was right on.

The only issue I see with this cooler is that the lid has no insulation, it's just a single layer of plastic that screws on... that may be where all my heat went. Unfortunately with the 2 gallon cooler I filled it just about to the top with 5 lbs of grain plus water, so there's no room to throw some insulation on top. Could I use a 5 gallon igloo cooler for 2.5 gallon batches? Would that give me enough grain bed?

I mashed for an hour and batch sparged at 168 deg.

I did adjust my hydrometer readings, and after adjusting with DME my OG was right where I wanted it. (at least I have math skills if not brewing skills yet)

Thanks for all the replies.

Gfei said:

The only issue I see with this cooler is that the lid has no insulation, it's just a single layer of plastic that screws on... that may be where all my heat went.

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Yeap, that's probably where it went. Hot air goes up, so if there's no insulation on the top it'll escape pretty quickly.

On my first AG I had the same issue. Going for 1.046 or so ended up with 1.035. Obviously there were many variables at play, but I had the same thermometer too. Coincidence? I think probably, but ditto Phatuna anyway.
On that note, friend of mine showed me: I'm using a 6" waterproof digital Taylor cheapo. I stick it through a small chunk of styrofoam. It floats.

I'll have to try floating a piece of Styrofoam cut to fit next time. I'll be able to poke a thermometer through and monitor my mash better that way too...

At least I had the DME to make the correction.

Gfei said:

Could I use a 5 gallon igloo cooler for 2.5 gallon batches? Would that give me enough grain bed?

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Also, though I haven't done all grain yet (first time tomorrow), I've done some partial mashes. I usually have about 3 pounds of grain in a 5 gallon cooler, and my grain bed seems to be fine. You will probably have more than 3 pounds for your 2.5 gallon batch, so I think you're all good!

Yep, I had 5 pounds in this batch and I could easily go to 6 or a little more. I guess I may be making a trip to walmart to pick up a 5 gallon cooler... and some styrofoam

2 things. One put blankets over your cooler I didnt buy the best cooler so I find a bunch of blankets help. Also, I have had trouble with my mash temp ( I have about 10 AG batches done) so I heat my water to about 180, pour into cooler, then wait until it hits about 172. Then I add grain and stir until I'm at my temp. Heats up the cooler before the grain is in. Also I usually Mash 75-90 mins.

Also I sparge 1 extra time and boil extra time to get down to my batch size. So if I was going for 5 gals and would usually put 6.25 into the boil i may go with 6.75 and just boil an extra 30 mins or so. It all helps with efficiency. Just make a dipstick and boil to your batch size, dont worry as much about getting the perfect amount for a 60 min boil. At least at first.

I just recently did my first AG, also with a newly converted cooler. +1 on preheating mash tun. Also +1 on the blankets! I did both, and only lost a degree or two in the hours time.

My MLT is built from a 50-quart Igloo cooler. I had the same problem with heat loss. The first modification I made was to take a piece of foam insulation, about 1 1/2 inches thick, and cut it so it fit into to top of the cooler, like a plug. I put a handle on the top of this foam plug. This helped, but I still didn't like how much heat loss I was having. The problem was that the handle on the top of the foam plug kept the lid from closing completely. I modified the handle on the plug so the Igloo lid can close completely airtight, and now I am finding temperature drops of only about two degrees over an hour. So, yes, add more insulation to the lid, but be sure the lid still fits tightly when you are done.

I'll probably be looking for a new cooler for my next batch. The 2 gallon is a bit small, I think I will have an easier time with a larger and better insulated cooler.

An easy way to build a very well insulated box: Get a sheet of rigid foam insulation from a builders supply shop (get 2" or 1.5", should be available in 2'x8' or 4'x8'). There is (what is locally called, varies regionally) Super-Tuff R, which is foil faced on both sides. It cuts with any type of hand saw (or a serated longish knife) very easily, making nasty, itchy, fiberglassy, respiratory damage causing dust. So cut outside, long sleeves, dust mask (a must) and gloves if you're tender (most nastiness can be avoided by cutting with a long sharp knife, but it's less easy). Anyway, cut to size 5 pieces, pin them together with some 16d nails and duct tape the whole mess together ( make sure to tape/seal the cut edges so no nasty dust is gonna get scraped off.

Using styrofoam board is much less nasty, just as easy the little foam crumbs are super staticky though. The final result by itself will be better insualtion than most any coolers are I think.
Oh and check the prices, might be cheaper to buy a new cooler.

Go for at least ten gallons on the new cooler. That is what I was looking for when I came across the 50-quart (12 1/2 gallon) Igloo cube. It works great.

speter said:

When do you add the Tostitos?

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Rinse the salt off, crush, and throw 'em in the mash...they're mostly corn anyway aren't they? Bump up your gravity a couple of points.

VABeerSnob said:

Go for at least ten gallons on the new cooler. That is what I was looking for when I came across the 50-quart (12 1/2 gallon) Igloo cube. It works great.

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How well is a ten gallon cooler going to to work for only 5-6 lbs of grain?? I'm only doing 2.5 gallon AG batches for now.

Gfei said:

How well is a ten gallon cooler going to to work for only 5-6 lbs of grain?? I'm only doing 2.5 gallon AG batches for now.

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Probably have a lot of heat loss.


Those 5g Igloo round coolers are usually in the $10-15 range at most hardware stores.