All-Grain Brewing with Extract Brewing Equipment (pics)

[DRoyLenz]

Thanks for the advice DRoy and for the original post.

When I got home from work yesterday, my Simcoe/Citra was still bubbling away. However, I was still a little upset with myself, so I decided to brew an AG Bitter. I used Brew365 to calculate the temp of my strike water, and, after adding the grains, I waited 15 minutes, checked the temp of the mash, only to find that I was off 2 degrees again (152 instead of 154). I added a little water, stirred and check the temp again. However, when I checked the temp, I, for some reason, grabbed a different thermometer. The second thermometer measured 154 degrees. Out of curiosity, I put my original thermometer in, and it still measured 152. My conclusion is that my original thermometer (which I used on my first batch) was the culprit.

After the initial addition of water, the mash stayed at 154 degrees the rest of the way. I think that my problem is now solved.

The rest of the second AG experience went pretty well. Although my hops additions were supposed to be at 60, 20 and 10, with irish moss at 15. However, when I put my irish moss in, I, inexplicably, grabbed my last hop addition, and put it in as well. I know that the 5 extra minutes probably won't affect the beer that much, but I am still very irritated that I made that mistake.

Oh well, I checked this morning and the bitter is bubbling away. Now, I just have to wait a month or so to taste the final product.

Thanks again DRoy for the advice and for the original post.

I'm glad you worked it out. I'm still relatively new to brewing, about 12 batches in, and I'll tell you, I do something wrong everytime. The degree of which varies, from screwed up hop schedules to dropping things in the cooled wort, but I almost never repeat the same error twice. It's all part of learning. Happy Brewing and let me know if you have any more questions!

 

[user 53515]

I goofed this method up a bit this past wknd during the sparge. Instead of putting my grainbag back in the kettle and then slowly pouring sparge water over the grain, I put all the sparge water into the kettle first and then just threw the grainbag in and started stirring. Still came out pretty close to the expected OG anyway.

Otherwise it was a fun first 2.5 gallon AG brew Thanks for the tips. I brewed up Biermuncher's Oktoberfast Ale scaled down to 2.5 gallons in Beersmith. Bubbling away nicely at around 2.75 gallons at 1.058 for 3 days now. Ferm chamber is set at 61-62F.

Note 1 : Preheating the oven to 170 (and then turning it off as soon as I put my kettle in) resulted in only losing 0.4degrees over the full hour (went from 154.2 to 153.8 over 60 minutes). Note that I didn't open up the oven to stir at all. Next time I probably will. Might need more hot mash water if I do.

Note 2: I heated my sparge water to 178 degrees, but when I put in my grain and stirred I could only get the grain bed up to 161 degrees. I stirred for 10 mins and it was OK. Next time I'll push my sparge water up to 185 or so to try and get the grain bed up closer to 170 (but not over so as to prevent tannins).

Note 3: I'm too cheap to spend $25 on an aluminum 8 gallon pot (Walmart has em in stock right now!) and/or $40-50 on a cooler MLT, so this method fits my apartment brewing spot on.

 

[MetallHed]

I'm gonna be using this method for an american wheat, hopefully this weekend. Thanks to the OP and DeathBrewer for their tutorials to help this n00b make goodazz bier!

:rockin:



BTW I dont see a pic of the final product like promised... but it's been a year...lol

 

[rico567]

Great tutorial for making the transition to AG- and also BIAB. I was fortunate that I snagged a bargain on a 30 qt. SS pot when I started brewing, so that two years later, when I was ready to go AG, it served quite well to make full 5-gallon batches.*

*Note1: Five gallon extract batches were marginal for me on our kitchen stove until I insulated the brewpot.

*Note2: A full 6.5 boil in a 7.5 gal pot is possible, but I believe my use of Fermcap-S has made it far, far easier to eliminate the boilover issue.

 

[Chips]

*Note1: Five gallon extract batches were marginal for me on our kitchen stove until I insulated the brewpot.

Hi Rico...what did you use to insulate your pot? I've been looking to do something similar as well. Is your stove gas or electric?
Thanks!

 

[rico567]

I got some automotive firewall insulation from JC Whitney.....also the hi-temperature adhesive and foil tape. Not difficult to apply, and it's held up very well for two years.....including the heat of sitting on top of a turkey fryer burner since I went AG a year ago June. I've got a lot of the insulation left over, but there's probably no practical way for me to send it to you. Don't know how difficult it'll be for you to order that up in ON.....

 

[Chips]

That's good news it can withstand the heat of a turkey fryer (I also use one for BIAB). We have similar 'super auto parts' stores here, so perhaps I'll look for some next time I'm driving by one of those stores.
Thanks for the info!

 

[user 53515]

2 Questions actually :

@Droylenz when you refer to efficiency in this thread, are you talking about extraction efficiency (mash efficiency) or total brewhouse efficiency?

Also, how do you prevent splashing when pouring the mash water and sparge water to and from the bucket? I can't manage to do it without splashing.

 

[DRoyLenz]

2 Questions actually :

@Droylenz when you refer to efficiency in this thread, are you talking about extraction efficiency (mash efficiency) or total brewhouse efficiency?

Also, how do you prevent splashing when pouring the mash water and sparge water to and from the bucket? I can't manage to do it without splashing.

Hey All, thanks for the notes. I've been away from the Brewing Community for a couple months now, only checking in once and awhile. Irony is, I work to support my beer habit, but work is taking up too much time to enjoy my beer habit.

First question, total brewhouse efficiency was used (I think, it's been awhile since I've read this post).

Second question, this is the one part of the process I would like to iron out a bit more. I can't do a very good job of keeping the splashing down without an extra set of hands. I just pour gently and hope the HSA isn't too bad.

 

[DeadNutsBrewing]

Great post. Im gonna have to try this very soon. Christmas brewday?

 

[Spidey13]

Great thread. I'm an extract/steeping grains brewer who has just switched to 2.5 gallon batches so I can brew more often and have more different beers on hand. I'm wanting to go to all-grain and will probably try this method to get started.

I have a 5 gallon stainless steel pot and a 3 gallon aluminum pot. I plan on mashing in the 5 gallon pot and heating the sparge water in the 3 gallon pot. Instead of taking the bag ouf of the 5 gal pot, pouring the wort out, putting the bag back in the 5 gal pot and then pouring the sparge water over it, would it be OK if I just lifted the bag out of the 5 gal pot, then put the bag into the 3 gal pot with the sparge water already in it and, after 10 minutes, lifted the bag out of there and poured that wort into the 5 gal pot? It seems like less steps but I'm not sure if there could be some reasons not to do it this way.

Thanks.

 

[cyclonite]

I have a 5 gallon stainless steel pot and a 3 gallon aluminum pot. I plan on mashing in the 5 gallon pot and heating the sparge water in the 3 gallon pot. Instead of taking the bag ouf of the 5 gal pot, pouring the wort out, putting the bag back in the 5 gal pot and then pouring the sparge water over it, would it be OK if I just lifted the bag out of the 5 gal pot, then put the bag into the 3 gal pot with the sparge water already in it and, after 10 minutes, lifted the bag out of there and poured that wort into the 5 gal pot? It seems like less steps but I'm not sure if there could be some reasons not to do it this way.

This is exactly what I do, and it works great! I consistently get 75% or higher efficiency this way. The only other thing I would recommend is to get your own grain mill so that you can mill your grain finer than most brew shops do (since you don't have to worry about a stuck sparge using BIAB). I was previously around 70% efficiency using this method. After I got my mill, I am always 75% or over (usually around 78-81)

 

[Steigede]

I don't think anyone has asked this yet, but is there any concern with using paint strainer bags? what are those made of? are they going to leech anything harmful into the beer?

 

[DeadNutsBrewing]

I've used paint strainer bags many times before and I have never noticed anything off tasting

 

[Steigede]

I'm more worried about harmful chemicals that could leak into the beer.

 

[jrodskreet]

cool

 

[Alistechbumb]

Going to brew my first all grain SMaSH this week. Fantastic Pics and tutorial Thanks for posting!!!!

 

[toxdoc49]

You really should, it got me so stoked about brewing AG that I'm already working on my next recipe.

I learned A TON too... and it only adds an hour and a half, maybe 2 hours to the brew time...

yes, an OLD thread I know. As I am also just starting on AG, I assume no mashout step since you are already sparging at 170 F. I plan to include a mashout step; just for my sake, prior to sparging.