Easy Stovetop All-Grain Brewing (with pics)

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pretzelb said:
I'm interested in trying this but still not sure I'm up for it. I collected my thoughts and had a few questions which I don't think were covered here (if so, apologies in advance):

  1. If you were to try this for the first time, what might be a good style to start with? Off the top of my head I thought a recipe kit with a low grain weight to make it physically easier. But would lighter brews be easier than darker ones?

    Try doing a partial mash first. Check the link in my signature.

  2. Should this only be attempted if you know the numbers or formulas? For example, I read the part about determining the amount of water and I think it was related to calcs found using ProMash. What if you're not using something like that or don't understand all the numbers yet. Should you just stay away for a while? Or can I just go with the approximate values and still be fine?

    My partial mash method uses 2 gallons of water for mash and 2 gallons for sparge. This is perfect for 5-6 lbs of grain, so you don't need to calculate any further. However, THIS CALCULATOR works great and is pretty easy to use.

    For temp, if you shoot for your mash water to be 162°F, you should fall right where you want to be @ 148-155°F.

  3. This was probably covered but where to the specialty grains fit in the process? I don't remember seeing that and many of the kits I look at include them.

    Count them as part of your grain bill. So for my PM method, you would want a TOTAL of 5-6 lbs of grains. You want a high portion of base malts so you get good conversion, of course.

  4. Any tips on pouring? One physical aspect that has me concerned is transferring a lot of hot liquid to / from other containers. I've seen too many incidents with hot liquids and I have a healthy concern about transfers.

I understand the concern...I've been burnt quite a few times :D Just pour carefully. When you pull the grain out, there should be plenty of headspace, so you shouldn't have to worry about difficult pouring after your mash&sparge. After your boil is done, you need to cool before you pour.
Click to expand...

Let me know if you have any more questions!
:mug:
 
corvax13 said:
This is great thread... Havent read through all of it, so not sure if this has already come up, but Im wandering why it hasn't been made a sticky already...
Click to expand...

It was stickied once. My Easy Partial Mash Brewing thread is stickied now, and is probably better for beginners. They link to each other, so it works fine.
 
First and foremost, many thanks for making this up. I slowly crept into PM and have been looking for an excuse to get strictly into AG brewing. Got a couple questions / thoughts so please bear with me here.

Currently my equipment consists of a 5-gallon drink cooler with a bulkhead and braided hose for a MLT, standard aluminum turkey fryer pot just to boil up hot water, and at full boiling capacity, my brewpot is about 3.5 gallons. I've been looking at getting a larger brew pot, so if I did that I should be pretty much good to go for 5-gallon batches correct?

For some damned reason I was convinced that a 5-gallon drink cooler would max out at 6 pounds of grain but it looks like some guys have been having luck with almost 12 pounds in theirs?!
 
MriswitH said:
First and foremost, many thanks for making this up. I slowly crept into PM and have been looking for an excuse to get strictly into AG brewing. Got a couple questions / thoughts so please bear with me here.
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polar-bear-tongue.jpeg


No problem. :D

MriswitH said:
Currently my equipment consists of a 5-gallon drink cooler with a bulkhead and braided hose for a MLT, standard aluminum turkey fryer pot just to boil up hot water, and at full boiling capacity, my brewpot is about 3.5 gallons. I've been looking at getting a larger brew pot, so if I did that I should be pretty much good to go for 5-gallon batches correct?
Click to expand...

If you got a 7.5 gallon brewpot, you would be "pretty much" good to go. Although you could start now with your turkey fryer pot, depending on the size. A lot of people boil with aluminum.

MriswitH said:
For some damned reason I was convinced that a 5-gallon drink cooler would max out at 6 pounds of grain but it looks like some guys have been having luck with almost 12 pounds in theirs?!
Click to expand...

I wouldn't go more than 10.5 lbs with a 1.25qt/lb ratio. You need a little headspace to stir.

Looks like this thread is seeing more action lately. Keep the questions coming!
:mug:
 
Sounds good to me!

The fryer is a 32qt. (or larger.. can't remember off hand) so i'll use that till I get a different brew pot.

Looks like there is quite a selection of recipes to start out with that'll accommodate the 5-gallon MLT I have, so needless to say, i'm pretty excited now.

Way to go DB, looks like I gotta brew again this weekend to try the process out. :rockin: Just brewed 2 batches last weekend, another can't hurt, right? :p
 
MriswitH said:
Way to go DB, looks like I gotta brew again this weekend to try the process out. :rockin: Just brewed 2 batches last weekend, another can't hurt, right? :p
Click to expand...

I certainly hope not :D. I am brewing another this weekend (I wish 2, but I dont have time). Now I just have to decide which one to do. Best Bitter or India Brown Ale?
 
So I just completed my second batch using this technique. My first one was a Belgian Tripel and this one was an IPA. I guess I jumped right in with both feet using 14lbs of grain in each beer but I have altered this technique a little to use 2 boiling kettles, 2 grain bags and basically make 2 2.5 gallon batches and combine them.
I got to thinking today while watching one of bags drain after the sparge. I know that you aren't supposed to wring too much water out of the grains or else you will get off flavors from the husks, but if you have 7 lbs of grain soaking wet in a bag the grain toward the bottom of the bag has a lot of pressure on it. Does this squeeze some of the off flavors out of the husk? I guess I should say my first batch isn't quite ready to drink yet so I have yet to taste a beer made this way.
 
I would run more water through it before I squeezed it...it will be just as effective. Squeezing COULD extract tannins, but I've heard from toher people that they don't experience off-flavors. I just think it's uneccessary. Just heat up some additional water and run it through the bag.
 
Question for you Deathbrewer...I love you method here but I am having trouble controlling temps in my mash pot. It keep get 8 to 10 degrees hotter when I put the lid on and I consequently have to stir a lot to get the temp back down...is that constant stirring going to impart bad flavors or tannins or something into my beer?? Thanks!
 
Based on your grain temp, grain-water ratio and infusion temp, you should be able to hit the numbers just where you want them using this calculator:

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

I don't see how it is getting 8 to 10 degress HOTTER. Are you using the burner after you've mashed in? You should remove this from heat once you get your water to temp. If you want to help maintain heat, wrap it in some towels or blankets; never use the burner.

Remember, also, that there are hot and cold spots in the mash. Once you mash in, stir well and throw your thermometer in there, and leave it closed for 10 minutes before you check your temp. This will allow the temperature to regulate throughout the mash.

Keeping a pot of boiling water and a pot of cold water will help with quick adjustments, but always remember to let the pot sit and the temp regulate before checking. I have not had to adjust my temperature since I started using the calculator and insulation.

Hope that helps.
 
Alright, I am having some problems keeping my temperature steady. My first attempt at this I got my temps to hold steady at 154 for the 60 minute mash. However, my last beer and the one I am doing right now have dropped anywhere from 3-5 degrees during the mash. Is there anything that I can do to reduce the amount of heat loss I have during mash?
 
Wrap it in blankets or towels. Sometimes I use folded towels and bungie cords to secure them, with a pillow on the top.

If you start at 154°F and it drops 5 degrees, you are still at a great mash temp. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
 
DeathBrewer said:
Wrap it in blankets or towels. Sometimes I use folded towels and bungie cords to secure them, with a pillow on the top.

If you start at 154°F and it drops 5 degrees, you are still at a great mash temp. I wouldn't worry about it too much.
Click to expand...

Actually I had been aiming for 156 so it only dropped to 151. I havnt been worried, I'm just trying to dial in my procedures and get better consistency. I am definitely going to try that. Right now I am preheating an oven to just under 150 to try to reduce the amount of heat lost. Apparently that hast been working though.

I opened my first bottle from the first batch I did with this method and it was phenomenal. Finally got the pipeline started. :D
 
It was an India Brown Ale. I was hoping to have it finish a bit sweeter to counter the bitterness of the hops.

Recipe:
Type: All Grain
Batch Size: 3.00 gal
Boil Size: 3.43 gal
Boil Time: 60 min
Brewhouse Efficiency: 75.00

Ingredients

Amount Item Type % or IBU
4.50 lb Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 76.53 %
0.50 lb Brown Malt (65.0 SRM) Grain 8.50 %
0.25 lb Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 4.25 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 4.25 %
0.25 lb Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4.25 %
0.13 lb Pale Chocolate (250.0 SRM) Grain 2.21 %
1.00 oz Challenger [7.00 %] (Dry Hop 7 days) Hops -
0.25 oz Pilgrim [11.00 %] (60 min) Hops 16.2 IBU
0.25 oz Pilgrim [11.00 %] (30 min) Hops 12.4 IBU
0.25 oz Pilgrim [11.00 %] (30 min) Hops 12.4 IBU
0.25 oz Pilgrim [11.00 %] (10 min) Hops 5.9 IBU
1.00 oz Challenger [7.00 %] (1 min) Hops 1.8 IBU
1 Pkgs British Ale (White Labs #WLP005) Yeast-Ale
 
I find that higher mash temps give more a "dextrinous" quality than a sweetness. A good way to add some sweetness is with a few ounces of honey malt, which would go great in a brown ale. Just a suggestion...I mash most of my beers at ~150°F...I like a good, dry beer and simply use the grains to add sweetness, fullness, etc.
 
DeathBrewer said:
Based on your grain temp, grain-water ratio and infusion temp, you should be able to hit the numbers just where you want them using this calculator:

http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml

I don't see how it is getting 8 to 10 degress HOTTER. Are you using the burner after you've mashed in? You should remove this from heat once you get your water to temp. If you want to help maintain heat, wrap it in some towels or blankets; never use the burner.

Remember, also, that there are hot and cold spots in the mash. Once you mash in, stir well and throw your thermometer in there, and leave it closed for 10 minutes before you check your temp. This will allow the temperature to regulate throughout the mash.

Keeping a pot of boiling water and a pot of cold water will help with quick adjustments, but always remember to let the pot sit and the temp regulate before checking. I have not had to adjust my temperature since I started using the calculator and insulation.

Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! I am probably doing another brew this weekend and I will give that a try! :rockin:
 
Death Brewer,

Thanks for the awesome tutorial. It has helped take some fears out of jumping into all grain. I started using your partial mash method with my last 2 beers and have found that i can use a better variety of grain and get a better tasting end product. Also getting sick of paying for extract as it can get quite expensive.

you mentioned using a 24x24 grain bag. i have a 18x24 grain bag. this still should be ok if i keep the grains under 12 pounds?
 
I'd shoot low at first and see how it works. I generally only use about 10 lbs of grain or less for this method anyway...otherwise the bag can get quite heavy after absorbing the water.
 
OK. After a few partial mash attempts, I'm stepping up to AG. I've got about 12 lbs of grain and a 6 gallon pot. My plan is to heat 15 qts to 158 (aiming for a 150 degree mash), dough in. I think this puts my total volume at around 19 quarts. The grain should absorb just under 5 qts and I'm targeting 22 qt for my boil so I'll need to add almost 8 quarts to get to my 22 qt boil. If I boil off about a gallon that puts me at 18 qts (4.5 gallons).

Does this make sense? Am I way off on anything?
Appreciate it!
 
I'd shoot for 1.5 gallons absorption (6 quarts.) It varies, but the general rule is 0.125gal/lb of grain.

So:

15 qt = 1.5 = 13.5 quarts
Sparge = 8 quarts
Total volume before boil = 21.5 quarts (5.375 gallons)
Boil-off is usually about 1.25gal/hr (depending on your system), so expect a little over 4 gallons.

How big is your second pot and how good is your burner? Can you increase the sparge to 12 quarts? It will increase your efficiency. You can also split between the two pots if it helps.

If you have a colander, I would recommend pouring some of your sparge water over the grains before you dunk them in your sparge. It will also increase efficiency.

It will work fine as you have it, you just might be a little low on gravity, depending on what efficiency you are shootin for.

Have fun!
:mug:
 
My 2nd pot is pretty small - hence the smaller sparge. I do have a big strainer than I can use so I'll try that. Put the recipe together assuming pretty low efficiency (~60%) so hopefully this works out OK. That said, maybe I'll have two "sparge" pots going to try and get the efficiency up. This is a Belgian IPA hybrid and I'm aiming for OG at 1.080. BrewSmith thinks I'll get there with 60% efficiency. If I come out higher than that... well, that's fine with me, I've got a decent size starter going...

Thanks DeathBrewer - your partial mash tutorial was a huge help and I'm looking forward to going all grain.
 
I cant do a bigger boil than 5 gallons and figure i boil off about a gallon give or take, can i top off with tap water to get 5 gallons or would i be better off just doing 3 gallon batches until i could get a bigger brew pot?
 
With all-grain, it's a little tough because you will get low efficiency. The partial boil is not really the problem, more of the fact that you won't be able to properly sparge your grains. With a little bit of extract to get the gravity up, it's easy...I used to do that all the time.

I used to top off with tap water. Sometimes it's ok, depending on the water (I ruined a few batches with crap water), but now I always keep a bunch of unopened gallon water containers for top-off. It's nice to keep them in the fridge, too, so you can top off with cold water and further help cool your wort.
 
Death,
Cool tutorial. I got to find me that grain bag!
I would use it to take out the hops, while going into primary, before pitching.
Even comming out of a Mash tun that bag would sure keep things clear!

Really is cool you took time to do this last year, I sure could have used it when I started.
 
So I have a 7.5 and a 5 gallon pot. If I wanted to do a full volume boil without topping my fermenter off would I simply sparge with more water?

I'm thinking, using your method, I'll mash with the 3 gallons (in the 5G pot) and sparge with 4 or 5 gallons (in the 7.5G pot)... and cook her down until I get my five gallons... WOuld this increase my effeciency?
 
You'll probably need more than 5 gallons of water for a "full" boil. You'll want 6.25 gallons or so total and you should figure ~0.125 lbs gallons per pound of grain.
 
Right, so I figure 4 or 5 gallons to sparge with and then the 3 gallons form the mash (more like 2gallons figuring in the absorbtion). So I guess what I am asking is is it kosher to sparge with the 4 or five gallons?(benefits?) I would then add the mash water(is this called liquor?) to the sparge water to make 6 or 7 gallons for the boil....
 
yes, that will increase your efficiency. If you have a colander, pouring some of the sparge water over the bag before transferring will help further. The mash water is called "wort".
 
Well... boiling as we speak. Definitely think the method works but had some speedbumps. Spilled about 1/2 gallon when I was draining the bag. Only hit a little above 50% efficiency. I think 12 lbs of grain might be a bit much for my equipment. Gonna stick to lower gravs or smaller batches until I step up my equipment or at least buy a bigger kettle (currently have a 6 gallon stock pot). Still, the wort smells good so far and I'm looking forward to the results. Thanks all.
 
I can't do this method -only got a 4G stock pot and a few smaller pots. I would like to as I have done there partials this way and it works great, so thanks man! Tutorial really helped. For all those who don't have have a pot big enough, use your bottling bucket and just add the strike water there and then your grain. I got almost 14 lbs of grain in there without any problems. It could definitely hold more too, but I dont think anything with a very high gravity. Use a grain bag though! I didn't do this and waited a really long time for the bucket to empty. Just boiled in separate pots after.
 
Another question for all you out there: do you chill 4-5 gal. of hot wort in an ice bath? And if so, how long does it take for you to get down to pitching temp. It seems to take me a good 40 mins to get down to a temp that I'm comfortable pitching at and I worry that during that time my hops utilization is effected. My beers always seem to be more bitter than planned. Could slow cooling be the culprit?
 
No, your beers shouldn't be too bitter from late addition hops. I used to take an hour to cool with my ice bath method, before I started changing out ice.

How are you calculating bittering? Be sure to calculate alpha acids...if you are just going by quantity then there is no way to be sure.
 
I just read the last couple pages of posts and wanted to add my experiences to the thread.

I've used this basic method on two batches now, both big beers and IPA and a Tripel. I have two 5 gal pots so I basically made 2 2.5gal batches and combined them in the fermenter. I mashed in the two pots, sparged each bag in and Ale Pail and then split the sparge water between the two pots to bring them to about 3.5 gals and boiled them down to 2.5 in about 60-75 mins. The biggest problem with this method was keeping the sparge water up to temp in an ale pail. I found the best best was to put it in a cooler that was filled with 190 degree water then shoot a little high on the sparge water and start sparging when it hit the right temp. Still lost a few degrees over the 10 min sparge but I've hit 64 or 65% efficiency both batches so I can't complain. I've detailed my Tripel a few pages back.
 
DeathBrewer said:
No, your beers shouldn't be too bitter from late addition hops. I used to take an hour to cool with my ice bath method, before I started changing out ice.

How are you calculating bittering? Be sure to calculate alpha acids...if you are just going by quantity then there is no way to be sure.
Click to expand...

Another good one Death. I am brewing tomorrow after work, after reading this post, you reminded me, so I am going right now to get some water bottles out of the recycle bin and freeze some water in them. Sure makes cooling faster when you have plenty of ice. I also have a coiled copper chiller I hook up to the garden hose. Just over fifteen minutes, if I have enough ice, I can usually pitch. Lot of stirring (considerable drinking).
 
What are you using to cool Ur fermentation chamber? I haven't seen the cooling chamber done vertically in any of the plans I've seen so far.
 
Azharen said:
What are you using to cool Ur fermentation chamber? I haven't seen the cooling chamber done vertically in any of the plans I've seen so far.
Click to expand...

Not sure who you are asking about what? Are you talking about this?

16.jpg


If you google "son-of-fermentation chiller" you will find the instructions I based this model on. It uses two jugs of ice and a computer fan.

HomelessWook said:
i would love for this to be sticky'd with its brother.
Click to expand...

It once was! :D They reference each other and they are in my sig, so I think people can find them just fine, tho.
 

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