First AG attemp... 3 Gal batch?

I only have a 5 gal brew pot, and only have four extract brews under my belt, but would like to venture into all grain brewing just for an experiment. My lack of supplies in a problem, but can I brew up a 3 gallon AG batch with my brewpot? Other than a brain bag, better thermometer, and a cooler for mashing what additional equipment would I need??

 

im far from an expert, but heres my 2 cents. i just recently made a recipe on beer tools for a 3 gallon AG and i still need almost 5.5 gallons going into the kettle.
i would personally look into a bigger pot, a cooler, and an outdoor burner. i know there are some people who do AG on the stove but i wouldnt want to mess with boiling that much liquid on a stove.

 

I do plenty of 2.5 gallons batches in my 5 gallon brew pot...there are several of my recipe in the mr beer thread...It really depends on your boiloff rate as to what size pot you need....I can get between 3 and 4 gallons down to 2.5, so your 5 gallon pot will be fine.

Most people doing small batches do 2.5 gallons as opposed to three, becasue you can ferment in a three gallon container AND the recipes are easier to scale from a 5 gallon recipe.

When doing those I used an unmodified 2 gallon cooler, with a folding steamer in the bottom, then rubberbanded a grain bag inside of it...the strainer lifts the grain bag above the spigot and prevents "stuck sparges."

Beyond that you don't really nedd anything else besinde what you already have.

 

Do a two gallon batch of all grain, but add 3 pounds of DME at the end of the boil, then top up to 5 gallons in the fermenter with water. That's a partial mash and a decent alternative until you get a larger pot.

 

Here's the 2.5 gallon AG recipes I did for the Mr Beer people...

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/785533-post702.html

Here's the overview of the process showing the cooler I used...http://www.homebrewtalk.com/738927-post659.html

http://www.homebrewtalk.com/739377-post660.html

 

I agree that small batches are great. I've done three so far with outstanding results. You could take them in two ways. Leave it as a small batch or as Bobby mentioned, toss in some DME to make it up to 5 gallons.

I can see that a useful tool to have is a refractometer if you are going all grain or mini mash. I sometimes wonder what my gravity is during the boil and wish I had one for instant measurement. Reevy, do you have one?

Either way, go for it.

 

nope....I go with the hydrometer...which I have enough trouble reading without cheaters on....I figured that I'll never be able to read a refractometer...

 

This is what I used to do - I would develop my recipes to have as much base grain as possible to end with about 4 1/2 gallons in my brew pot and then would just do DME/LME for the rest. I made some really good beer this way.

 

Hmm timely topic, I just finished brewing my first AG batch after 3 5 gallon batches about 10 minutes ago. I'm going with the small AG batches right now because I don't have a propane burner or a big enough pot yet. I'm working with a 4 gallon pot and a 3 gallon "bubba keg" mash tun. I'd say go for it, what's the worst that could happen? make a mess, learn something, and make some beer?

I was shooting for 2.5 gallons of a Mild Brown, somewhere around 1.038-1.040 OG as a small batch AG test. It worked out well but there were some issues.

Ingredient list:
4 lbs Marris Otter
1 oz Black
1 oz chocolate
0.5oz East Kent for 60 minutes
0.5oz East Kent for 5 minutes

Pitched with White Labs British Ale yeast

My issues I need to work on for next time
1. Boil off rate. I boiled off A LOT more than I expected leaving me with about 1.5gallons of 1.071 wort after a 60 minute boil. This was by far my biggest issue. I had to add 2 quarts of water to bring the OG back down to 1.048.
2. As a result of problem 1 I ended up with 2.25 gallons of wort, not as much as I'd hoped for
3. I was trying to use the hybrid sparging method described above. I don't think I kept enough water on the grains to maximize my efficiency even though it wasn't too bad (68%)
4. I wasn't sure when to stop sparging, so I ran until 1.011 OG. I might have ended up with some tannins, but I'm just going to RDWHAHB.
5. I needed to dough in with another 5 degrees or so and figure out where I'm loosing heat in my cooler. I doughed in with 5.15 quarts of 162 F water and was shooting for 151F but after 5 minutes was down to a 148 F mash, which dropped to 140 after 60 minutes. I did try and draw some off(the top. Dummy, use the spigot!) to boil and return to the mash, but in hindsight that was a failure

 

I just worked this simple 2.5 gallon recipe up today for my first all-grain soon...

5.4% ABV American Pale Ale (32 IBU)

5 pounds 2-row
.25 pounds crystal 20L
.5 oz. cascade @ 60
.5 oz. cascade @15
and S-05 yeast

A 2.5 gallon recipe is the perfect size to get a full case of beer when you bottle, so its a nice size to me.

 

I am another user and advocate of the 2.5 gallon batch size. Aside from practical equipment/space issues, it also makes sense because I am the lone consumer of my endeavours 98% of the time.

Additionally, for really "big" brews, two cases would last a LONG time, and one case (2.5 gallons) makes much more sense-- for me-- for these big beers.

 

I've seen some really bad refractometers that I can't read with 20/20. The one I just got directly from Hong Kong off ebay is amazingly crystal clear. Several guys in my brew club were pissed to find that I paid $20 less for a better unit.

 

Really??? You got a name/model number?

SCORE if I can find one I can read...