Extract brewer looking to up my game.

[Majja13]

Hello all,
I am currently and extract brewer and I am looking to step up to all grain. With all hobbies if I had unlimited funds this would be easy but, alas it is not. I currently have a 9 Gallon Bayou Classics Boil pot. I am assuming that this is just not quite big enough for a full 5 gallon batch. What are the best options, Should I start with slightly smaller batches ie 4 gallons? Or can you run sparge water over the bag to come up to the proper boil volume?

If you know of any other resources that I should be looking at please let me know.

Thank you

 

[DBhomebrew]

It is absolutely possible to output 5 gallons out of a 9 gallon kettle.

I get 4 gallons, up to 1.090 or so, out of a 5 gallon kettle with the following process items...

Reserve 1/2 pre-boil volume for a single dunk sparge.

Dunk sparge in a spare bucket.

Use a very gentle boil to reduce boil off.

 

[jpitz31]

Start out with full volume BIAB technique, no sparging required, You can squeeze the bag or rinse and squeeze
the bag. Extraction efficiency is very good. Just mill your grain a bit finer. You can then just use your 9 gallon kettle and not need ice chests or mash tun. As @DBhomebrew indicated, a 9 gallon kettle is good for 5 gallon batch of beer. Just keep an eye out of boil over or if you have a huge grain bill. But for most batch size you should be fine.

 

[Jloewe]

I’m still a beginner myself but I’ll say this but got a good 10+ brews done and a couple years brewing. I’ve learned a lot. The best way to improve your homebrew game is temp control or using yeast and styles that don’t really need it. The second best way is if you’re using any grain nail mash temps. I’ve made beers of a variety of quality over the last 2 years and the best ones come not from a fancy recipe or expensive ingredients but by nailing fundamentals.

 

[wsmith1625]

You can use this calculator to figure out mash volume (grain & water).
https://brewgr.com/calculators/mash-tun-capacity
If it's close, don't worry because the volume will drop when you remove the grain bag. If you're over, add a sparge.

 

[CascadesBrewer]

Or can you run sparge water over the bag to come up to the proper boil volume?

That is what I would suggest. I have been brewing batches where I target 5.5 gallons into the fermenter with full volume mashing in a 10 gallon kettle. I can get up to around 1.070 with this process. If I want higher gravity or a little more volume I can work in a dunk sparge (but a pour over sparge should work okay as well). I can also just lower my target volume for high gravity beers.

 

[lumpher]

9 gallons will be plenty. My Mash'n'Boil is 7 gallons, and I do 5.5 gallons in it all the time. Keep in mind that, if you want a strong beer, you can always add DME or LME to make up the difference if you can't mash enough grain.