A plethora of questions (not pinatas)

[Brule]

So I've been writing down questions and ideas that have come up and instead of making many posts, I wanted to condense them into one. Any response is very much appreciated and thank you in advance.

1. Are oxygen absorbing caps the smart way for a run of the mill brew? The cost is pretty similar but are they really effective? I've heard of them being best used in longer aging brews, like a barleywine.

2. Does h202 have any use as a way to add oxygen to one's wort? I suppose there would have to be a wait as to avoid killing the yeast. I saw it mentioned in passing somewhere but was wondering if there was any solid info/history with it.

3. When steeping grain, would a 2 part steep work better? I'm thinking of it acting similar to a batch sparge. Would tannin extraction be the main problem?

4. I live in an apartment and don't really have the room to go all grain so I'm looking at a partial mash. Would a 5g igloo cooler be a good choice for 5g batches?

5. Thinking of adding honey in an ESB.... horrible idea or just bad?

Have more but think that's enough to impose for the moment. Thanks again for any input.

 

[Philsc]

I like the three amigos reference.
I live in a tiny space and do 2.5 gallon AG batches on the stove. There are instructions on this site for doing 5Gal brew in a bag thus eliminating the mash tun. AG need not take up tons of space, apparently.

 

[Brule]

I like the three amigos reference.
I live in a tiny space and do 2.5 gallon AG batches on the stove. There are instructions on this site for doing 5Gal brew in a bag thus eliminating the mash tun. AG need not take up tons of space, apparently.

I've read some on the brew in a bag method and it does look interesting. I worry my electric stove wouldn't maintain the best temps. I'm also hoping to move to partial mash then all grain in the future as soon as my living situation changes, so I figure I might as well get going in that direction ASAP.

 

[BillTheSlink]

1. Are oxygen absorbing caps the smart way for a run of the mill brew? The cost is pretty similar but are they really effective? I've heard of them being best used in longer aging brews, like a barleywine.

There all I have used (one time) and plan to use. I have both types in my inventory. Whether or not they do anything, I cannot say. But when you look at the two, from Northern Brewer at least, the o2 absorbing caps seem to be slightly heavier and of a different alloy. If I hadn't opened the bag I could weigh the two for you, but I've taken some out. For what you pay I am happy with the O2 absorbing caps.

Partial mash is doable on a stove. There is a link here. Let me find it:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-partial-mash-brewing-pics-75231/

But I've heard people say they couldn't get full boil on very large batches like brew in a bag on the stove; I can't comment as I have a serious propane burner (they eat the gas up like nobodies business just for future reference), but you can always cut it down and do a smaller batch size. There's been a podcast on it here while back.

 

[Berlbrew]

I've spent A LOT of time trying to assess whether or not I could go AG in my small apartment that has no balcony. My conclusion is, it's possible. It's not easy and definitely not ideal, but it's possible. As for boiling, I too have an electric stove that sucks. I recall seeing a thread here (that I can't find at the moment) that involved wrapping insulated metal bubble-type wrap around a 5-6 gallon pot which gave it the ability to do full boils from the electric range.

In the end I decided to go AG but I moved my operation to the parking lot behind my building where I have a hose spigot and a comfortable amount of room. Come winter I'm sure I will either make it work inside or do a couple extract batches.

 

[RedIrocZ-28]

For those contemplating moving to Brew In a Bag AG, stop contemplating and do it already! If ever there was 1 piece of advice in your life that you received and after the advice came true, you said to yourself, "WOW... that really was that easy! WHY didn't I do this before?!"

This is one of those times.

#1) Oxygen caps, use them if you prefer. Otherwise file this one behind the Plastic vs. glass vs. stainless steel fermenter debate and directly behind the Aluminum vs. stainless steel boil pot. They all work, and they all have their supporters and people who claim to have had a bad experience with them. Bottom line is use what you want, it doesn't make one d*mn bit of difference.

#2) Does Hydrogen Peroxide have any benefit for oxygenating your wort? Hmm... Well, H2O2 does breakdown into separate Hydrogen and Oxygen atoms and molecules if left exposed, however, not certain that I would want it in my wort as the add some other trace ingredients don't they? Its been many years since I have looked at the list on the side of a bottle. Although, I have heard of using this method in the fish tanking world to oxygenate your water if you have a power outage and our bubbler/filter stops working for days.

#3) Steeping grains only need to be steeped for such a short amount of time because they are already almost fully converted and you're just basically doing a sparge or rinsing of the grains to get the sugars you want. 2 part steep, sounds like more work for little to no gains.

#4) a 5gal cooler will have enough space for you to do 12.5lb grainbills, meaning you can make some light stouts and porters, and pretty much everything else in an AG batch. Its big enough that partial mashes would seem like a waste of time because you HAVE the space for AG.

#5) Honey to an ESB? Try it, I am sure its been done before, don't go overboard.

 

[Brule]

Thanks for the great responses. I just got back from the casino and made a few hundred at blackjack (<3 me some blackjack, how I bought the PC I'm on) and instead of doing the smart thing and paying bills with it, I'm looking at what to buy for this addiction.

partial mash/AG equipment
turkey fryer/propane burner
kegs+equipment
bulk ingredient purchase
more buckets/carboys
high quality scale, thermometer
etc.....

Seems like there's always more and more things to put on my "want to buy" list. It's bad when I'm already looking at large conical fermenters and trying to figure out whose garage or basement I could keep it in...

 

[khiddy]

Keep an eye on craigslist, there's usually good stuff there for the brewer who is patient...

 

[Slainte]

Dude,

After five extract batched, I read DeathBrewer's stove-top all grain post:
www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-pics-90132/
I made the switch to AG, and let me tell you brother - it is so rewarding. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Give it a try, you'll be glad you did.

Sláinte