best method?

[treacheroustexan]

Hey all, I currently brew extracts in my small apartment. I use a 5 gal pot and it boils 3 gallons nicely. I really want to start all grain brewing. What method do you guys recommend? I can brew outside but I only have a patio not a garage so I want to brew inside because I will be doing a lot of winter brewing. I was thinking about splitting the boil between two pots or just giving up snd doing 3 gal BIAB. Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[906_brewer]

I brew in the kitchen in winter most of the time, mostly 3 gallon batches. I batch sparge with a 7 gallon round cooler, sometimes I will parti-gyle brew and do two batches at the same time. I live in the UP and brewing outside all day can be brutal in the dead of winter.

 

[RM-MN]

I do a bunch of 2 1/2 gallon batches in the kitchen and have found that BIAB works out well for me. If you can get your grains milled fine and have good time management you can do an all grain batch in the same time as an extract with steeping grains but you would get half as big a batch. If your boil pot is big enough and your stove can boil 6 1/2 gallons you can do a 5 gallon batch in about the same amount of time, the extra time being what more it takes to heat up the bigger quantity of water. The only extra equipment you have to have to BIAB brew is the bag but you might be well off to add your own mill to that so you control the milling quality.

 

[ericbw]

Hey all, I currently brew extracts in my small apartment. I use a 5 gal pot and it boils 3 gallons nicely. I really want to start all grain brewing. What method do you guys recommend? I can brew outside but I only have a patio not a garage so I want to brew inside because I will be doing a lot of winter brewing. I was thinking about splitting the boil between two pots or just giving up snd doing 3 gal BIAB. Any ideas? Thanks.

What do you mean by "giving up?"

Smaller all grain batches will get you into all grain, if that's your goal.

I use a 5 gallon cooler with a bag in it. It's easier to clean that way. You could do 3 gallon batches if you added that. With a valve, it's about a $50 investment.

 

[hafmpty]

I don't know if I would say there is a "best method" per se. There is the whole BIAB vs. 2-3 Vessel thing. When I first read your question I immediately thought of a couple videos I saw on YouTube. Here's a link.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=C31po7svhxw

If for some reason it doesn't work just search for Ben's Homebrew Countertop Brewing. There are two parts. I linked to the first because he shows his equipment. It's probably stuff you have laying around already. Cheap and easy way to get started with a more "traditional" approach. The other way to do it would be the BIAB route though your 5gal pot will probably limit you to a 2-2.5gal batch. That's not all that bad though if your just wanting to give all grain a try.


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[chickypad]

As was alluded to "best method" is a pretty relative term. To get 6+ gal to boil inside you may need to go with a heating element of some sort. I'm with RM-MN though, when I don't feel like firing up my 10 gal outdoor system I do 2.5-3 gal all grain batches BIAB in my old 5 gal pot and have cut the time down to a little over 3 hrs. It's also pretty easy to do 5 gal partial mashes that only require 1-2 lb of extract. I do end up dunk sparging most of the time unless it's a very small beer as I can't fit the full mash in the 5 gal pot, but that doesn't bother me as I have a cheap second pot (aluminum tamale pot). You can certainly split the boil too if you prefer, lots of folks to that.