I Have That AG "tick" Going, Along with a Few Questions...

Yessur!!!


I have been brewing for over 13 years, and most of those years have been from extract. In the past 2 years I have been PM'ing. During my last partial Mash, I was looking at my Mash Tun, and it Dawned on me. A 48 Quart PM Mash Tun. Hey, I can AG!!! So, during the past week I have sawed the top off a keg, and also did the same to a second keg along with a 7/8ths hole to boot for a HLT. All that is left is an order from More Beer for a few compression fittings and a sight glass. Now, my question...
My Mash tun is a rectangular 48 quart Coleman with a PVC "Siphoning" system for lautering. Anyone here have a pic of what they use along the lines of a rectangular Sparge Arm for something like this? (I have an idea, but wanted to check out some other cofigurations before I went assembling something).

I am sure that I will have a few more questions for you guys/gals here, but this one here is the most bearing on my mind at the moment. I plan on moving up to 10 gallon batches in the near future, and I think that this Mash Tun should work out just fine until I figure out what my entire system will be.



Incase your wondering, my HLT will be a 15 Gallon Keg that will be Gravity fed with a Propane burner underneath. Looking forward to your replies. BREW ON!!!

 

I batch sparge so I can't help with a flysparge question.

But I will say this...you'll be glad you went AG.

The beer will absolutely have a different taste.

 

You bet you can AG if you can PM. Like you say it is just a matter of scale!

Not to dissuade you if you are set on fly sparging, but many people are switching to batch sparging techniques these days. This system is probably most similar to what you already do for your PMs, and it is really easy to pick up. It also means that you won't need a fly sparge arm or manifold (a cheap SS braid to lauter through is all you will need, plus the standard fittings for a valve on the cooler as you would already do).

Those rectangular coolers are really popular with batch spargers. I don't have one of those (I have a round one) but you can see my signature for instructions on how I modified mine into a mash tun.

Cheers, and best of luck with your first AG brew! Sounds like you are well on your way!

 

Batch Sparge/Fly Sparge. You gotta help me out here. What's the difference?

 

Here is my mash tun with and without the fly sparge manifold. I WAY overdid my fly sparging manifold. In my defense I was bored and the weather sucked so I couldn't brew. The holes on the fly sparge manifold are drilled on the top so I get even distribution. For my pickup manifold at the bottom I went with small drilled holes rather than the slots most people seem to use.





I batch sparge more often than I fly sparge, my efficiency is usually about 5% less with batch sparging (but still over 80%). I use whatever I feel like at the time.

 

Check out the wiki for the details (fly, batch). Basically though with fly sparging you are adding in sparge water at the same rate you run out into the kettle. With batch sparging you add all the water at once (or at least in a couple large doses) and then run out all at one time. There are more issues with fly sparging but you can get higher efficiencies with it.

 

PM sent Bradsul

 

I'd say if you're just getting into AG, go the batch sparge method first. Simpler and less additional equipment to deal with. You'll also cut down your brew time.

Think of fly sparging as setting a slow flow sprinkler over your grains and continually flooding the grain bed as you drain off the wort. It requires keeping a constant flow of a constant temperature water flowing continuously.

Think of batch sparging as simple, reheating another batch of water, and once you've drained your initial mash of wort, closing the valve on the tun and dumping in another batch of hot water and (in my case) giving a slight stir and letting sit for 3-5 mintues and draining again. Repeating the process to your liking (a whole different debate).

 

I'll second that! I just tapped my first ag brew last night (it wasn't quite carbed enough but I just couldn't help myself ) and I'm hooked!

 

Ok, no one has said it yet but 13 years brewing and you hadn't had this itch to all grain until now? I guess the hobby is something different to everyone but as soon as I knew it could be done cheaply and easily, I never looked back to extracts.

 

I just did my 1st 10 gal batch this weekend and I also have a 48 qt cooler. I was just able to fit 25lbs of grain and my strike water into it. It was close but it fit. I'm going to look at either smaller grain bills or a thicker mash for my next one. 1gal/lb as apposed to 1.25/1

 

I'm an idiot. I stand there on my ladder for 40 minutes sprinkling 168dF water from my HLT through plastic tubing to fly sparge. But I get around 90% efficiency. I'm going to mind it more when it gets cold, so I'm trying to devise a rotating sparge arm similar to those automatic tractor sprinklers, if such a device can be made to work.