Stepping it up!

[whiteboy87]

First post here.
Been extract brewing for 3 years but finally going to make the jump to all grain.
Picked up a complete set up on Craigslist today (just stumbled on to it and had it in my car a few hours later!)
I have all the extract basics but here is the list of new additions from today:
Converted igloo with false bottom, 2 keggles with false bottoms,Blichmann Therminator, 5 gallon corny with c02 tank and regulator, 6 gal carboy, 2- 5 gal carboys, 2 extra kettles (5 gal, 7.5 gal), 2-bottling/fermenting buckets, bottle tree, +random extras (spoons, strainers, silicone tubing, etc). Do I sound ready for battle?!?!

 

[user 103238]

The biggest things that come to mind are a grain mill if you don't have the ability to mill your grain at a LHBS, and I'm not sure if any of your kettles have built-in thermometers, but of not a reliable means of controlling and monitoring the temperature of your strike water, mash temps, and sparge water. I'm nor sure on the batch size you intend on brewing, but I'll also throw out some means of properly cooling the wort (immersion, counterflow chiller, etc).

Congrats on the find, and best of luck as you branch out into all-grain. It's not quite as scary as it originally seems!

 

[jett78]

He said he got a Therminator, I think he's ready to chill.

As far as milling goes, you will have to order your grains milled, (most likely at a slight more cost per/lb), mill at the local shop or buy yourself a grain mill and start buying 50# bags. That will pay itself off pretty quick.

I'm assuming you have burners... so, what are you waiting for? Get to brewing!

 

[user 103238]

And that's what happens when I post while I'm brushing my teeth, 2 minutes before hitting the sack!

He said he got a Therminator, I think he's ready to chill./QUOTE]

 

[jett78]

And that's what happens when I post while I'm brushing my teeth, 2 minutes before hitting the sack!

I suspected you must have skipped right over that part. I did not suspect that you were brushing your teeth.

 

[whiteboy87]

I pumped to try the therminator! Time to retire the old copper coil. I have a couple burners for my keggles, but I am curious about using a grill as another option. Anyone heard of trying this? I have a giant gas grill that never gets used (I like charcoal for flavor) and I thought I might throw a keggle on it and see what happens 😁

 

[user 103238]

I actually would have been a little concerned if you had!!

I suspected you must have skipped right over that part. I did not suspect that you were brushing your teeth.

 

[user 103238]

I would say give it a shot using just water to see what type of heat control and boil you can achieve. It would seem to me that the heat wouldn't quite be focused enough, but you never know until you try!

The Thermonator sounds pretty pimp - my CFC can chill down to 58°, so I haven't been too motivated to try anything else.

What do you intend to brew for the inaugural AG batch?

I pumped to try the therminator! Time to retire the old copper coil. I have a couple burners for my keggles, but I am curious about using a grill as another option. Anyone heard of trying this? I have a giant gas grill that never gets used (I like charcoal for flavor) and I thought I might throw a keggle on it and see what happens dde01

 

[jett78]

Therminator is awesome, a buddy has one. I have a 60 plate DudaDiesel which knocks down 5 gallons to below 80 in about 8 minutes.. love it... If you still have a copper coil, you can get some adapters and use it to pre-chill your water before sending it through the plate chiller. I saw a video on YouTube, knocked it down to 76 in 4 minutes with prechilling a 60 plate

 

[jett78]

Do an easy brew for the first one, (after doing a test run with water, of course), something small in ABV. And make sure you let us know how it went!

 

[whiteboy87]

I will probably do a cheap pale or something similar for the first batch. I want to keep the price down until I get the hang of things. I'll keep everyone updated on how the grill turns out.

 

[whiteboy87]

He said he got a Therminator, I think he's ready to chill.

As far as milling goes, you will have to order your grains milled, (most likely at a slight more cost per/lb), mill at the local shop or buy yourself a grain mill and start buying 50# bags. That will pay itself off pretty quick.

I'm assuming you have burners... so, what are you waiting for? Get to brewing!

Any tips on where to get grain? We have a local "more beer" store (current spot for supplies), but I'll bet there is cheaper stuff online somewhere.

 

[mikescooling]

I like More Beer, I try to buy from them because they have treated me well. More Beer has all the stuff I need, witch is a lot of stuff, not many shops can say that. I just got 25 ML vials with caps that are autoclave-able. I'd do test run with water and check for leaks, heating times. Or the heck with it jump in.

 

[jett78]

More Beer is good. .. Not much cheaper online, plus you'll end up paying for shipping. The More Beer by me gives 10% for AHA members, not sure if they all do. $35 a year membership and comes with a Zymurgy mag subscription. . Pays for itself quick!

If you don't mind me asking, where are you located?

 

[Bigelow92]

Forget a grain mill, blender all the way... It's super time consuming (you have to do 1-2 cups at a time) but I get awesome efficiency!

There's a guy on here who posted a while back who's brewed a few award winning beers using his blender. I followed his lead and never looked back.

Lets you get an even grind on every grain, not all grains crush equally.

 

[whiteboy87]

i like the convenience of More Beer and the prices aren't too bad. I like to be able to grab things on impulse and not have to wait for it to ship.
Gonna have to look into the AHA
I'm in the SF Bay Area. I use the MB in Mt. View.

 

[n240sxguy]

Wait a minute! You use a blender? How does that work? Do you BIAB? Otherwise what's your filter bed? I've got a blendtec I can make flour with. How much are you grinding yours?

 

[Bigelow92]

Wait a minute! You use a blender? How does that work? Do you BIAB? Otherwise what's your filter bed? I've got a blendtec I can make flour with. How much are you grinding yours?

Yes, I typically only do it when I BIAB, but i always give my carapils, crystal and melanoiden malts a few good blips on low power since theyre hards to grind.

Flours bad because it will slip through the mesh but Nylon grain bags can hold a much finer grind since you don't gotta worry about a stuck sparge. I'll try and find the original tutorial for crushing grain with a blender.

I always get a better efficiency with the blender than with the mill.


***p.s. I dig the username man... I've got a 95 coupe with a complete a s15 Silvia exterior conversion and an'02 s15 SR20DET 6speed swap with a Garrett GT35R top-mount. Loooove the 240's. Were puttin the finishing touches on my bosses tube-frame '95 coupe with a friggen bored out LS1 X^)

 

[n240sxguy]

Damn I'm jealous! I had a 95 SE 5 spd. Had a disagreement with a tree. All cosmetic, but enough to total it. I should've found a dealer to buy it back for me. I had a 91 MR2 turbo after that that I sold before I got married. Wish I had it back too.

 

[Bigelow92]

Aw for shame! Trees can be very persuasive. My buddies got a MR 2 he just took to LA with his girlfriend. It's about stock but damn I love those cars.

 

[whiteboy87]

Brew day did NOT go as planned, but I still had fun.

1. Mash tun false bottom failed and I had to take the grain out by hand to fix it.

2. Water calculations were off and I ended up with extra wort.

3. Had issues with the o-rings on the therminator and leaked a bit of wert during cooling/transfer.

At the end of the day I have something in the fermenter and its bubbling away!

OG read 1.03
Efficiency was terrible due to my water miscalculation.

 

[n240sxguy]

1. What do you have for a mash tun? How did it fail?
2. How big of a batch were you making? How much wort did you end up with?
3. Now you know what to fix for next time.
You can keep some DME on hand to band aid issues like that. At least salvage the batch that way.

 

[jett78]

Bummer about issues. 1.030 OG, guessing you'll end up with about 2-3% ABV.

What exactly happened to the false bottom? get clogged?

How many gallons did you mash in with and what was your starting boil volume?

Lets get this figured out so your next batch will go smoother.

 

[whiteboy87]

Mash tun is a converted cooler. False bottom clogged because I had it set up incorrectly (first time using it)

Target volume was 5 gallons, but my current dip tube requires water to be rather high before it will start the siphon required to drain the kettle. The extra water I had to add put me closer to 7 gallons (maybe more). Filled a 6 gallon carboy with plenty left in the kettle. Thinking of buying a dip tube from bargain fittings to remedy this. Any other suggestions? Dip tube now is copper pipe with a 90 degree bend.

 

[n240sxguy]

Did you have a long piece of tubing on the opposite side of the dip tube? Gotta have that to maintain the siphon to drain down below the valve. Depending on what exactly the dip tube is like, you may be able to get a small piece of tubing from a hardware store and do it yourself.

 

[whiteboy87]

Looking at my keggle, I think the bulkhead is positioned too high. My dip tube has to go down about 4 1/2 inches to reach the bottom of the keg. The pics I have looked at show the bulkhead positioned lower on the keg...

 

[whiteboy87]

Did you have a long piece of tubing on the opposite side of the dip tube? Gotta have that to maintain the siphon to drain down below the valve. Depending on what exactly the dip tube is like, you may be able to get a small piece of tubing from a hardware store and do it yourself.

I had the long tubing. The issue is getting the siphon started. I guess I can pour some clean water in to start the siphon into my mash tun. From kettle to fermenter isn't really an issue with the amount of wort I the kettle at that time.

 

[n240sxguy]

4-1/2" drop on the dip tube would mean you'd need more wort to get things going. I think mine drops down about 2-1/2". I always have 11-12 gallons to collect, so it would be an issue for me. What was your grain bill? Did you add water to get more wort, or keep sparging? Just trying to figure out why the OG was that low. I guess if you added two gallons of water it could do that.

 

[jett78]

You said you got a stuck mash, could it be because you opened your valve too much to start your transfer to your brew kettle? Just a thought. When opening up that valve, you need to start it slow, opening it full throttle will quickly suck the mash down and good chance of a stuck mash.

 

[whiteboy87]

4-1/2" drop on the dip tube would mean you'd need more wort to get things going. I think mine drops down about 2-1/2". I always have 11-12 gallons to collect, so it would be an issue for me. What was your grain bill? Did you add water to get more wort, or keep sparging? Just trying to figure out why the OG was that low. I guess if you added two gallons of water it could do that.

I added the water to be able to sparge. Sparge water volume was not enough to start the siphon.
My grain bill was 8.5# (8# 2-row, .5# crystal 15L).
My plan is to start brewing 10 gallon batches. With the water volumes needed for that I think I will be ok. I just wanted to start small so mistakes wouldn't be as devastating.

 

[whiteboy87]

You said you got a stuck mash, could it be because you opened your valve too much to start your transfer to your brew kettle? Just a thought. When opening up that valve, you need to start it slow, opening it full throttle will quickly suck the mash down and good chance of a stuck mash.

I think that may have played a part in the stuck mash initially. My mid-sparge fix was replacing a nut above the false bottom and it closed a fairly large space.

 

[jett78]

Don't get discouraged. .. I know I did after spending big $ on my single tier all grain system and had a few issues. All part of the experience. With the vast knowledge on this site and a little tweaking, we will get this figured out and you'll be drinking and sharing awesome home brews

 

[whiteboy87]

Bummer about issues. 1.030 OG, guessing you'll end up with about 2-3% ABV.

Just racked into my secondary. Took a reading of 1.00. Your prediction is right on point

 

[whiteboy87]

Just racked into keg. Smells very yeasty/bread-like, but I do have a stuffed nose so who knows.

Ready for round 2. Might try another batch on Saturday if time permits.