2 Gallon Cooler for 1 Gallon Batches

[drudini11]

I have been experimenting with different recipes by brewing 1 gallon batches. 1st few batches I simply mashed in 8 qt stock pot but difficult to maintain steady temperatures and literally had to stand at stove for 60 minutes adjusting the stove temp. Came across a 2 gallon igloo drink cooler I used for my daughters soccer games and thought this would make a great mini mash tun. Problem is the lid is really thin and in doing tests with just hot water lost 18 degrees in 60 minutes. Not sure if anyone else is doing mini mashes but looking for suggestions for good, inexpensive small mash vessel. Are there other 2 gallon coolers that may be better at holding temperature? I was going to add some Styrofoam to the inside of the igloo lid but because of the way it's designed this would prevent me from being able to screw it on correctly. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[cmybeer]

This may or may not help you but I just do BIAB on the stove top for my small experimental batches. I've found that I can get my temp reasonably steady by adding a little heat and stirring every 15 minutes.

 

[kwingert]

Put your pot in the oven. I've done this before and it works well. Set the temp to as close as possible to your mash temp, my oven only goes down to 170*f, and monitor the temp with a probe thermometer.

 

[14thstreet]

I use a 2 gallon cooler for 1 gallon batches and cut a styrofoam circle to rest on top of the mash inside the cooler. You could wrap the styrofoam in something to keep wort from getting in and spoiling later if you want to reuse it or to help get a snugger fit. From what I remember I still had a couple degrees lost during an hour but it did help stabilize temperatures. You may also have to play around with water:grist ratios too or consider wrapping the cooler in a towel/blanket. There's not a lot of thermal mass so heat dissipates quickly. Despite all that, I may just have to try BIAB to cut down on the hassle of setup and cleanup.