Switching to all grain and I have a few questions

Hi, First off I want to thank everyone here for all the useful information you guys provide. With that being said, this is my first post, but I have been reading your forums for about a year now. A little over a year ago I started extract brewing using the Mr. Beer system. Since then I have brewed at least one new beer a month, im up to 15 now. I dont drink store bought beer any more, unless someone offers me one. I feel that I have hit the limits of extract brewing and want to take homebrewing to the next level. Ok so the questions I have are:

1)I have very limited space to brew in. I want to use my Mr. Beer keg to ferment in, However most all grain recipes are for 5 gallon batches or larger. Can I cut these recipes down to 2.5 gallon batches without any major adverse effects?

2)I have researched all grain brew setups extensively. I plan on making a MLT soon out of a 10gal water cooler. I have a brew pot large enough to do any 2.5 gallon batches, my stove is efficient enough to boil that pot full of water in a reasonable amount of time. Can an all grain brew be done with just a MLT, brew pot, wort chiller, and a bucket to hold wort until the brew pot becomes empty? I have a hydrometer, thermometers and all the small equipment already.

Thanks in advance guys.

If you have been reading for a year, have you considered BIAB? Space is not an issue for me so I use an MLT, but if I was concerned about space and was looking at 2.5 gallons I would be doing BIAB.

+1 to biab. I built my cooler system just before reading about biab. While I don't regret my decision, I could have easily gone that direction and I'm sure I'd be quite satisfied.

Yes, i have considered BIAB. I just really want to use a MLT, and one day, space wont be an issue and then I'll definitely need one. However if doing 2.5 gallon batches with an MLT isnt possible, I will be BIAB.

If you buy beersmith you can scale your recipe, convert back and forth between grain and extract and several other things. It is supposed to keep the bitterness, color and other characteristics when it does it.
I just used it while brewing for the first time. The boil timer is nice. The recipe calls for an addition at 30 minutes, and the timer goes off at 30 minutes. Then it dings at the next addition.
Found it helpful since this is my first batch using my propane burner so I can't use the microwave timer.

You might have some problems holding your mash temp doing small batches in a ten gallon MLT?

" Can an all grain brew be done with just a MLT, brew pot, wort chiller, and a bucket to hold wort until the brew pot becomes empty? "

Yep. That is what I do.

You can certainly do half batches in a 10 gallon cooler. You will lose more temp with the smaller batch, but nothing that would prevent you from making good beer. The other "problem" is that it has dead space. As a percentage, you'll be leaving twice as much wort behind and taking twice as big a hit to efficiency in the process. You'll just need to account for that when you scale down the recipe.

I would BIAB until there is more space to use. Optionally, you can get a smaller cooler to mash in. They aren't that expensive. Partial mashes are also a good option.

How is your space limited?... I have a all grain 2 their that takes up two feet by 5 feet.. also if getting into all grain and doing 2.5gal I would just do biab method...

Thanks guys for the info. Is beersmith the only option for reducing recipes, or can I simply cut recipes in half? As far as space goes, I live in a very small city apartment, and I really dont have room for a 5 gallon carboy. I have a nice little spot on a shelf for Mr. Beer Keg to sit undisturbed, but finding room for a carboy will be a pain in the ass. As far as BIAB goes, How big of a brew kettle will I need to fit all the grain, I have a 30 quart kettle right now, is that big enough to do 2.5 gallon batches?

It's easy enough to use your current equipment for AG. You'll need a MLT, but you probably won't need one that's 10g. You can do the same conversion with a 5gal cooler. That said, you may be a little limited on grain space, so a big beer may be out of the question depending on the grain bill. All recipes are scalable, so no worries there. You won't be able to do a full boil with that small of a kettle. HOWEVER, I have done a couple of AG batches where I simply did 2 boils. It's not a problem unless you lose heat quickly in your MLT. It takes more time obviously, and you'll need another pot to hold the hot wort (post boil) while it's being cooled. But 2.5g is pretty quick to cool, so you may not even need another pot.

Funny how quickly the BIAB fanboys show up. IMO, BIAB isn't a stellar idea if you're brewing inside. The probability of wort being spilled/splashed and making a huge mess seems higher than traditional AG brewing.

I would go with a 5 gallon MLT. When you are ready you can take the same false bottom out of the 5 gallon and use it in the 10 gallon. I know a lot of folks swear by the braid but I don't the false bottom is the way to go for my money.

crazyirishman34 said:

I would go with a 5 gallon MLT. When you are ready you can take the same false bottom out of the 5 gallon and use it in the 10 gallon. I know a lot of folks swear by the braid but I don't the false bottom is the way to go for my money.

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I used the braid it's serving me well. It can be a pain not to knock it around too much while you're stirring like the grain owes you money.

If you use an MLT then a 30 qt pot is plenty large enough for 2.5 gallon batches. I've never done BIAB so I don't know what kind of room you need for the grain and suitable water for mashing, I would assume similar to an MLT so a 5 gallon MLT is actually smaller than a 30 qt pot. I guess the bottom line is that your equipment should not be an issue for BIAB and your grain bills should be pretty manageable given the 2.5 gal batch size.

crazyirishman34 said:

I would go with a 5 gallon MLT. When you are ready you can take the same false bottom out of the 5 gallon and use it in the 10 gallon. I know a lot of folks swear by the braid but I don't the false bottom is the way to go for my money.

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Who makes a good one?

I hope your house is cold, because if you don't have space for a carboy, and rely on using a mr beer fermenter on a shelf, you may as well hold off on all grain.. No sense in going all the way and not doing it right.

I know it's not the answer you want to hear, but a fermenter sitting on a shelf in the open will ferment hot, period..

As for cutting down recipes, you want to get the % of grain in the bill, keep the same ratios and lower it to get to your gravity & volume.

Its really cold, i dont pay for electricity, so I keep the ac set to 65. I have an IPA in the fermenter right now that I brewed 2 days ago and its at 68. I've never seen it higher than that.

dyerpunk said:

Who makes a good one?

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Rubbermaid, Coleman, and Igloo are the ones I know of off the top of my head. The Coleman "tea-cooler" is $25 at Wallyworld. You can also make a MLT out of a square/rectangle cooler if you already have one of those. If you go the route of the round cooler, the braid is your cheapest option. I think my entire MLT conversion was a whopping $37. The most expensive part was the ball valve.

It's beer. You can cut it in half, improvise, adjust as you see fit and learn.
Things like the hops might not be exactly right at half. Should be close.

Half would probably be a good start.

There may also be free resources for adjusting a recipe.

45_70sharps said:

It's beer. You can cut it in half, improvise, adjust as you see fit and learn.
Things like the hops might not be exactly right at half. Should be close.

Half would probably be a good start.

There may also be free resources for adjusting a recipe.

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That was my thoughts exactly, just wanted to make sure though. Ruining a batch of beer would be alcohol abuse, lol.