Blichmann All-Grain

Been searching through archives and not really finding what I'm looking for. I've been strictly brewing extracts. So, I just understand the basic needs of all grain, but thinking about picking up the equipment. When I bought my kettle I went ahead and upgraded with the thought of all-grain brewing some day. I currently have a 15 gallon Blichmann and Blichmann burner. My question.... going into all grain is it better to go with coolers or drop the money and purchase more Blichmann kettles with the equipment needed? What size would the other kettles or coolers need to be for 10 gallon batches? Eventually I like the idea of the Top Tier for space saving issues in my garage. Personally I would rather do it the right way from the start than going back and buying different equipment as I outgrow it. Thanks!

If you have the cash and think youll stick around hobby for a while, get the top tier and get another kettle. I was going to get a top tier mash tun, decided against it as cooler batch sparging is easy and I dobt like beers that require step mashes, therefore no need for rims/herms. To me a direct fire mashtin without recirculation is a recipe for scorched wort

Yeah, Blichmann is making all of their new products so that they are modular and integrate into the top tier. Sound like with two 15 gallon Blichmanns and a Blichmann burner already, you have a bit of expendable income to put into the hobby. If I were you, I'd go with another 15 gallon Blichmann, then the Blichmann top tier, and start saving up for the Blichmann Tower of Power (with pump and Thermonator) and another burner to have a nice nice controlled, recirculating, direct fire RIMS system. BLING!!!

For 10 gallon batches I would recommend the 20 gallon boilermaker. For all grain you will have more than 10 gallons in the boil. Often when I do 10 gallon batches I have 12.5 gallons to start and then boil down. It'll be easy to boil over with that much wort in a 15 gallon kettle. You should be good with a 15 gallon mash tun and false bottom and 20 gallon boil kettle for 10 gallon batches. If you go the cooler route, get one at least 60 quarts for 10 gallon batches. The one thing I like about coolers, aside from them being inexpensive, is that that hold temps great. Over the course of a 60 minute mash I might lose 1F. With a stainless steel mash tun you'll have to find a way to insulate it or direct fire it, which will require recirculation of the mash.

Save yourself a ton of money and search for BIAB (Brew in a bag).
You dont need any additional equipment other than a fine mesh nylon bag, like a wilserbag.

You can do 10 gallon BIAB batches in 15 gallon kettles, but you have to watch the boilover.
Worst case scenario is you pour in a gallon of chilled water after cooling , to get to your final volume, and lower the wort temperature a few more degrees.

I am going to chime in here. If you have the cash the Top tier system is great. I have a three burner set up. I direct fire my mash and have never enjoyed the process more. I have a ton of control and love it. There will be a ton of people who tell you to save your cash. IMO it is the best money I have spent. I have been brewing for over three years and bought the top tier about six weeks ago. Have brewed four batches on it and cannot wait to brew more.

ArcLight said:

Save yourself a ton of money and search for BIAB (Brew in a bag).
You dont need any additional equipment other than a fine mesh nylon bag, like a wilserbag.

You can do 10 gallon BIAB batches in 15 gallon kettles, but you have to watch the boilover.
Worst case scenario is you pour in a gallon of chilled water after cooling , to get to your final volume, and lower the wort temperature a few more degrees.

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I thought about doing just this. But decided it was just an intermediary step to full on AG and didnt want to spend the time getting good at BIAB to switch to batch or fly sparging in a cooler.

To the OP, unless you really plan to stick around in the hobby, go the keggle and or cooler route.

>>I thought about doing just this. But decided it was just an intermediary step to full on AG and didnt want to spend the time getting good at BIAB to switch to batch or fly sparging in a cooler.

There are quite a few of us BIABers who do not consider this an intermediate step.
We consider it a final destination, with no intention of using a separate mash tun and liquor tank.

Xpertskir said:

I thought about doing just this. But decided it was just an intermediary step to full on AG and didnt want to spend the time getting good at BIAB to switch to batch or fly sparging in a cooler.

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BIAB IS all grain brewing.

barleyboy said:

BIAB IS all grain brewing.

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For lots of us BIAB is not an intermediary step, but just another simple alternative way to make beer. I have several cooler MT's and brew BIAB as well as using a MT and batch sparging w/ a braid.

If one starts BIAB, there is no difficulty switching to a cooler or vise versa.

I have a cooler mash tun and do the batch sparge method. I use two 10 gallon pots, one for my HLT and the other for the Boil kettle. I only do 5 gallon batches.

I have also done BIAB and limit myself to about 3 gallon batches. IMO it is a PITA. I don't like messing with the hot, heavy, sticky bag of grain. I will still be doing more, as experimental batches.

I have also done BIAB and limit myself to about 3 gallon batches. IMO it is a PITA.

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I also BIAB for partial mash 5 gal and AG 2.5 gal batches. I find it easy and convenient...however, If I go over 6lbs of grain in the bag, it becomes a big, sticky mess! I'll have to get a mash tun set up to do AG 5 gal or bigger batches.

>.I have also done BIAB and limit myself to about 3 gallon batches. IMO it is a PITA. I don't like messing with the hot, heavy, sticky bag of grain. I will still be doing more, as experimental batches.

You can get a ratchet for $10 at Lowes. But for a 10# bag of grain, how much will it weigh - 20 pounds?
I also use $6 chemical and heat resistant gloves from Home Depot.
I don't think the raising the bag is in any way a PITA.

Squeezing the bag without gloves would be unpleasant.

Again, I am amazed at how simple BIAB is.
Get a decent bag and maybe a way to lift it and you are there.

I started out with a 15 gallon Blichmann Boilermaker and got great use out of it starting out with 5 gallon extract batches then moved onto 10 gallon all grain batches is my boil kettle. Doing 10 gallon boils is possible but you have to be extremely careful with 12.5 gallons in the pot, especially during the hot break.

I upgraded and bought the 20 gallon Boilermaker as my Boil Kettle and moved my 15 gallon up on top a 3-Tier Brewstand my friend welded together, and now use as my HLT. Lifting dangerous hot heavy sparge water is a thing of the past! 20 gallons is the way to go with boiling! No chance of a boil-over. Another bonus with this system is on brewday, I do 2 10 gallon batches. While I'm boiling the first batch, I'll mash the 2nd. By the time the first batch cools with the Therminator (highly recommend), I can start sparging the second batch after a quick hose out of the boil kettle. I save so much time not having to detail clean everything as I'm using it again right away.

As far as the mash tun goes, I've only done single infusion mashes around 152 with a 10 gallon Igloo beverage cooler with stainless false bottom and stainless plumbing. The cooler holds temperatures very steady and it's big enough for a grain bill that will yield your gravity as high as 85 points. I've always gotten great results with this mash tun.

One thing I've considered is possibly buying a false bottom for my 15 gallon Boilermaker and mashing for larger beers and/or step mashing on my bottom burner with my cooler up top for sparge water (more lifting). So having 2 Blichmanns and a Cooler can be very versatile and save you money over having 3 Blichmanns.

Me personally, I like my gravity feed system vs. single tier with pumps, as it's just more stuff to buy and clean. I try to use all stainless steel hardware and silicone high temp tubing. I also prefer fly-sparging over batch-sparging, as it's fun doing and you get much better efficiency. So get yourself a sparge-arm. I average around 85% efficiency.

instinct2, I'm in the same boat. I have a Blichmann burner and a 15 gal BoilerMaker. I currently use a 8 gal pot for my sparge water and a 36qt. cooler for a mash tun. I plan on saving some money and building a sort of HERMS (but in my case it's a MARK (haven't quite figured out the acronym yet)) system. I'm pretty happy using the cooler for a MT. The only thing I think about is how to build a sculpture. The real question is single tier, two-tier, or three-tier?

If you have the cash why go top tier at all? Get some pumps and have a single tier. Less lifting!

instinct2 said:

Been searching through archives and not really finding what I'm looking for. I've been strictly brewing extracts. So, I just understand the basic needs of all grain, but thinking about picking up the equipment. When I bought my kettle I went ahead and upgraded with the thought of all-grain brewing some day. I currently have a 15 gallon Blichmann and Blichmann burner. My question.... going into all grain is it better to go with coolers or drop the money and purchase more Blichmann kettles with the equipment needed? What size would the other kettles or coolers need to be for 10 gallon batches? Eventually I like the idea of the Top Tier for space saving issues in my garage. Personally I would rather do it the right way from the start than going back and buying different equipment as I outgrow it. Thanks!

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A 15G Boilermaker with stainless fitting and false bottom is $489.97 from NorthernBrewer.

A 10G Rubbermaid cooler online goes for $50 - $80 and will need a weldless valve kit and bazooka screen ($50) for a cost of $100 - $180.

I use a 10G rubbermaid cooler with the weldessvalve kit and screen and I'm pleased with it. It requires very little maintenance to maintain mash temperatures and I lose very little temperature over the course of the mash.

Do you need a stainless steel mash tun that doubles as a kettle? Could you spend that money on other items that would increase the quality and consistency of your beer (chiller, stir plate/flask for yeast starters, and temperature control)?

i have a blichmann top tier stand and just sold my 10 gallon blichmann kettle w/false bottom, going to stick with the 3 keggles i have. knowing what i know now i would have started out with keggles they are cheap, sturdy and configurable. i am going to buy the blichmann tower of power mash module which i see as a better value for me than $3-500+ kettles.