All grain not so scary!

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Adam's Apples

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Just read Orfy's all grain tutorial and the all-grain section in John Palmers 'How to Brew'. I always thought that I would go all-grain eventually, but had done no research and just assumed it would cost a bomb and add about 4 hours to my brew day.

The tutorial really breaks down the process and it seems nothing like what I had built it up to be in my head. I'm convinced within 3-4 brews I will begin all-grain brewing.

I'm already thinking about making a mash/lauter tun, but am not the most practical of people. Wondering whether I should attempt this or just buy one ready made.

Saw an Igloo 48 quart cooler on ebay, which looks like it might be a good place to start if I go DIY, but I'm doing mainly 5 gallon batches, so not sure whether the head space in this would cause a temperature drop when mashing...

So many questions again, I am a n00b all over again, but excited about the possibilities. The good news is that brews should cost less since the grain costs less than DME - this is how I'm sellling things to my girlfriend, to convince her the initial outlay will be worthwhile!

:rockin:
 
Its really not that bad (me going AG just yesterday). I used FlyGuy's tutorial on how to build a MLT and it is very, very simple.

*One word of caution* I got everything from home depot and could've sworn i picked up a SS supply hose, but it was some polymer crap. Lowe's has SS supply hoses by default. Another thing to note that happened to me was that i over tightened my fittings on the MLT and it was a bit leaky, after loosening it up a bit it was good as new.

As far as temp drop, you could pre-heat your MLT and will hit your strike temps dead on.

Hope this helps,

Dave

BTW i brewed one AHS extract kit, 2 custom extract recipes before i went all grain :D. AG is closer than you think...
 
A 48 qt. cooler is not to large so don't worry about it. You can retrofit a cooler pretty easily with a few hand tools and a stainless steel braid. You will need a chiller and a large kettle/fryer for full boils.

Grain brewing is definitely cheaper if you buy bulk malt but it will take a bunch of batches to recoup the initial costs.
 
Adam's Apples said:
I'm already thinking about making a mash/lauter tun, but am not the most practical of people. Wondering whether I should attempt this or just buy one ready made.
Click to expand...

My 02 cents, build one yourself. It will be much cheaper. Some of the converted coolers on eBay and the web are nice, but the people selling them are trying to make a profit as well. With a little time and effort you could build one just like it yourself. And you'll be able to tweak things and tailor it exactly to your own needs/wants.
 
Cheers guys, thanks for all the advice.

Think I will give the DIY MLT a go. Is there a standard cooler that most people use as best, or is it a case of most will do?

Need to re-read the palmer section on building one of these. I know there are different versions out there, I was gonna try and get either copper or suitable plastic to build the manifold thing that goes at the bottom (told you I'm not very practical) and pick up the most suitable cooler for my brews, which will be mostly 5 gallon.

I already do full boils and have a wort chiller (immersion) chiller, so initially at least, I was hoping to only have to invest in the MLT and some bulk grain.
 
I went with a circular 10 gal rubbermaid cooler for my tun and bought all the parts from flyguy's conversion tutorial, it works flawlessly. One cost I didnt see myself hitting at first was a larger pot for boiling in. 7.5gals isnt enough for a 7gal batch of wort, I now have a 15gal pot to brew in.

All grain is SOO worth it. I only brewed one batch before I bought everything to go all grain, I still had one extract batch in the closet to brew so I brewed that and all grain went so well. Not as hard as my mind made it seem. I always saw all grain as for experts only. I messed up some minor details on my first all grain, but I just moved from primary to secondary and the hydro reading was SOO tasty, I want to put this 1 week old batch in a keg right now and drink it.

You wont be disapointed, at all, and your beer will taste better and have a lot more depth.
 
Like anything in brewing, the process itself is just a process: follow some steps, be careful about it, and there it is.

For a variety of work and travel reasons (and travel for work) I hadn't brewed for six months. But yesterday I just brewed a nice big doppelbock....like they say about riding a bike.

But like anything in brewing, it can get as complicated as you want it to get. I love open-ended hobbies like that. What got me about brewing syrup beer was that there was a ceiling, and it was low. AG is an endless world to explore, on your own terms and time.

I don't really keep track of cost of AG brewing v. syrup brewing v. retail. If you go by costs of ingredients, no brainer! But I am always slowly upgrading something, so the equipment cost is always there. But....it's fun!
 
Well I guess I am plugging for Basic Brewing Radio today.

January 24, 2008 - Mash Tun Efficiency
I found this one really helpful. John Palmer is on the show, and he goes over all the different configurations of cooler MLTs.


As far as the cooler choice, that's a whole new can of worms.
A lot of people use the 10 gallon round water coolers. Personally, I'm going to use the Igloo 50qt Ice Cube. It has had mixed reviews as a MLT.

It really depends on your budget, and the capacity you're looking for.
 
Blender said:
A 48 qt. cooler is not to large so don't worry about it. You can retrofit a cooler pretty easily with a few hand tools and a stainless steel braid. You will need a chiller and a large kettle/fryer for full boils.

Grain brewing is definitely cheaper if you buy bulk malt but it will take a bunch of batches to recoup the initial costs.
Click to expand...

I was just concerned that if the cooler I bought was too big I wouldn't get the depth of grain needed to sparge properly. I have been reading everything about the process and have seen a coupl of times that the grain must be at least 4 inches deep to allow proper run off. Also I was worried that loads of space on top of the grain would make temerature control difficult. I will be doing 5 gallon batches mostly, so what do you think would be the ideal cooler size, 36 quart or so?
 
Ecnerwal said:
I'm guessing this one.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cheap-easy-10-gallon-rubbermaid-mlt-conversion-23008/

More generally, try here:

Converting a cooler to a mash tun - Home Brewing Wiki
Click to expand...

Cheers for that.

Just looking at the different builds I have seen. This one didn'y have the maniold system at the bottom. I had assumed I would need to make the copper or plastic manifold, but this design uses just a length if steel braid.

Anybody know what the best method is?
 
Adam's Apples said:
I was just concerned that if the cooler I bought was too big I wouldn't get the depth of grain needed to sparge properly. I have been reading everything about the process and have seen a coupl of times that the grain must be at least 4 inches deep to allow proper run off. Also I was worried that loads of space on top of the grain would make temerature control difficult. I will be doing 5 gallon batches mostly, so what do you think would be the ideal cooler size, 36 quart or so?
Click to expand...
If you are batch sparging grain depth is not that big of an issue. I have a 52 qt. and with a 10-12 lb. grain bill it works just fine, plus I use the cooler to keep the fermenter cool during fermentation.
 
I think I will be batch sparging and see how that turns out, seems less labour intensive. Orfy's tutorial shows a manifold and in it he says he batch sparges, so I thought that is what I'd be doing.

Braid does seem easier to construct and I'm sure would work fine, but in Palmer's how to brew, where he discusses liquid finding the easiest route through the grain, it seems to show the manifold, or at least something that covers a large surface area at the bottim of the MLT to be the best method.

Sorry if this proves to be a 'can of worms'. I'm gonna use the search facility a bot more today as I realise that there may be some answers to my questions there already.

Cheers for the advice guys.
 
Adam's Apples said:
I think I will be batch sparging and see how that turns out, seems less labour intensive. Orfy's tutorial shows a manifold and in it he says he batch sparges, so I thought that is what I'd be doing.

Braid does seem easier to construct and I'm sure would work fine, but in Palmer's how to brew, where he discusses liquid finding the easiest route through the grain, it seems to show the manifold, or at least something that covers a large surface area at the bottim of the MLT to be the best method.

Sorry if this proves to be a 'can of worms'. I'm gonna use the search facility a bot more today as I realise that there may be some answers to my questions there already.

Cheers for the advice guys.
Click to expand...

You'll probably find most brewers advocate the method they use.
I know the manifold works. I've never used braid.
I've heard of some people having a little trouble with braid but plenty are happy with it.

I'd say go for what ever you can manage and don't worry too much about it.

I'd go with a manifold if I were to do it again.​
 

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