Mini-Mash - Maybe

I'm thinking about getting the AHS Mini-Mash Holiday Ale kit. I'm a bit nervous, though. This will be my first venture out of the comfort that is the extract world. Has anyone every used AHS mini-mash kits? Are the instructions easy to follow? What extra equipment is needed?

I guess I should just bite the bullet and jump in, huh?

Blackhawkbrew said:

I'm thinking about getting the AHS Mini-Mash Holiday Ale kit. I'm a bit nervous, though. This will be my first venture out of the comfort that is the extract world. Has anyone every used AHS mini-mash kits? Are the instructions easy to follow? What extra equipment is needed?

I guess I should just bite the bullet and jump in, huh?

Click to expand...

I've done an AHS mini mash kit, and it was very easy. The instructions told me to use a very large grain bag, and mash in the kettle. I followed the instructions (including the boil size, about 2.5 gallons, if I remember correctly) and it came out great. The next time I ordered a mini-mash kit, I used my bottling bucket lined with that very large grain bag, and made that my MLT. That worked fine, too, but I had to wrap a sleeping blanket around it to keep the temperature from dropping too much.

I was very happy with those kits, and they didn't require anything I already didn't have (I have a ton of those large mesh bags, for wine making).

I just did my first AHS mini-mash kit about 2 weeks ago. Followed the instructions on the sheet and it couldn't have been simpler. I decided I'll only do mini-mash from here on out (until I go all-grain of course!) because it was so easy and only took about an extra 30 to 45 minutes. As long as you can boil 2.5 to 3 gallons of wort in your kettle, no extra equipment is needed other than a large reusable nylon mesh bag to hold the grains if you're interested in easier clean-up. Go for it!