alepale101
Active Member
Five Mr. Beers and five unhoped extract beers, that were all drinkable, but none of them delicious, had left me discouraged and about ready to throw in the towel. I figured that I just could not make an extract beer that didn't taste "homemade." I was not making another LME beer. Lacking all confidence and very disappointed, I was not going to spend the money for an all grain set up. Still, I really wanted to make just one good beer that I could proudly share. I should have titled this post, "All Grain for $5.50". I bought a five gal. rubber made cooler for $3.00 at a garage sale and lined it with a $2.50 paint strainer bag to create a mashtun. I mashed ten pounds of grain and poured the resulting four gal. of wort in the fermenter. I cooled with a gal. block of distilled ice. Six weeks later I had family members asking for seconds even though the fridge was stocked with craft beer. The beer, an alt, was so much better than my LME efforts. I can hardly wait for my all grain cream ale to finish. That there are much better setups is no doubt, but the point is that all grain can be made cheaply. I used our electric range and a 4 gal. pot and a 3 gal. pot. No trouble boiling when two burners can be utilized. Since the cost of the grain is cheaper than extract and one doesn't have to lift a heavy leaking bag out of a pot, this method of brewing can be easily done in nearly any kitchen. That said, I know that it is not the best method; but it will do me for now.
