Brew pot 101 help

[mrbeachroach]

Hello all.

Wanting to upgrade my brew pot. Currently I have a generic one. Couple of questions.

Feel free to answer some or all that applies.

Thanks.

1. Recommendations

2. What is the Spicket on the bottom of the pots for?

3. Necessary accessories

4. Do you mash /Sparge and boil in the pot?

5. To brew 10 gallon. Batches do you brew in

10 gallon pot or more?

 

[eric19312]

For 10 gallon batch you want either 15 gallon (3 vessel brew) or 20 gallon (BIAB). You can probably get away with 15 gal for the BIAB but it will be tight. You are saving buying only the one pot may as well splurge on the one you keep.

The spigot is for draining the pot. It is not required but at 5+ gallon brewing it is very nice to have. My brew kettle and mash tun each have 2 spigots.

I started with bayou classic pots from Amazon with DIY spigots (weldless bulkheads and ball valves) fron brewhardware.com. He has good information on the site about how to do it. My latest pot is 20 gallon Spike kettle. It’s super nice. Still using my 15 gallon bayou classics for HLT and mash tun and have to say I never had any issues with the weldless bulkheads.

 

[johngault007]

I use a 15 gallon Bayou Classic with a spicket (ball valve) on the bottom. For 10 gallon all-grain batches, that's about the smallest I'd prefer to go. The ball valve at the bottom makes it a little easier to extract the wort into a fermentation vessel of your choice. I pieced together two 90 degree elbow joints and a small MBT that rests at the bottom just above the majority of the settled trub. Again, not very fancy, but it works.

With my very low-tech setup I use a 55 quart coleman cooler as a mash tun to batch sparge and gravity feed it into my boil kettle. Again, the hardware store was my best friend and made a rectangular manifold from CPVC.

 

[estricklin]

I always recommend the cheap Concord pots on ebay to everyone. Get a step bit from Harbor Freight a weldless bulkhead kit from bargainfittings.com and you'll be set.

I just bought a stainless 25 gallon pot for $117 shipped on ebay.

 

[mrbeachroach]

I use a 15 gallon Bayou Classic with a spicket (ball valve) on the bottom. For 10 gallon all-grain batches, that's about the smallest I'd prefer to go. The ball valve at the bottom makes it a little easier to extract the wort into a fermentation vessel of your choice. I pieced together two 90 degree elbow joints and a small MBT that rests at the bottom just above the majority of the settled trub. Again, not very fancy, but it works.

With my very low-tech setup I use a 55 quart coleman cooler as a mash tun to batch sparge and gravity feed it into my boil kettle. Again, the hardware store was my best friend and made a rectangular manifold from CPVC.

John, did you make your own mash tun, or order it set up?

If so do you have pictures and how much money did you save?

 

[mrbeachroach]

For 10 gallon batch you want either 15 gallon (3 vessel brew) or 20 gallon (BIAB). You can probably get away with 15 gal for the BIAB but it will be tight. You are saving buying only the one pot may as well splurge on the one you keep.

The spigot is for draining the pot. It is not required but at 5+ gallon brewing it is very nice to have. My brew kettle and mash tun each have 2 spigots.

I started with bayou classic pots from Amazon with DIY spigots (weldless bulkheads and ball valves) fron brewhardware.com. He has good information on the site about how to do it. My latest pot is 20 gallon Spike kettle. It’s super nice. Still using my 15 gallon bayou classics for HLT and mash tun and have to say I never had any issues with the weldless bulkheads.

Eric, what are you using to mash out?

I understand that it is not the same as your brew kettle

 

[mrbeachroach]

I always recommend the cheap Concord pots on ebay to everyone. Get a step bit from Harbor Freight a weldless bulkhead kit from bargainfittings.com and you'll be set.

I just bought a stainless 25 gallon pot for $117 shipped on ebay.

Estricklin,

How can you drink 20 gallons of brew before it goes bad?

School me.

Right now I only make 5 gallon batches a few times a year.

What Possibilities does brewing 20 gallons at a time bring?

 

[eric19312]

Eric, what are you using to mash out?

I understand that it is not the same as your brew kettle

I use a 15 gallon bayou classic with a NorCal full false bottom and a Blichman autosparge for my mash tun. The tun is heated with a PID controlled solenoid valve feeding a gas burner. I pump from under the false bottom back through the autosparge continuously during the mash.

 

[johngault007]

John, did you make your own mash tun, or order it set up?
If so do you have pictures and how much money did you save?

I made my mash tun. Not sure if the the pictures will show, but here are a couple

EDIT: I think I may have spent around $30 at the most. That's including the ball valve from the hardware store.

 

[mrbeachroach]

Intense.

 

[wilserbrewer]

Intense.

NOT INTENSE, yet works very well...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/ten-minute-cooler-mash-tun-conversion.125108/

A cooler mash tun can be extremely simple, even a short 8” stub of stainless braid can batch sparge wonderfully in a huge 110 qt cooler.

 

[augiedoggy]

another vote for the bayou classics here.. The taller dimensions have more advantages, I bought open box buys thats had no damage the 2 16 gallon kettles came with ball valves and weldless hardware to mount it for $125 shipped )(bought one from ebay and one from amazon) bought a 15 gallon as well that I use for my BK and drilled all the holes in that as well as many more in the others to mount an electric element, probe and other stuff like a float switch. I do use the bayou false bottom as well because I like how it seals to the rim inside the kettle. I recirculate so the large amount of deadspace under it is not an issue.

IMO If you can drill your own holes, a stainless kettle is a stainless kettle really, other than whether its built to handle the type of abuse you plan on giving it (or not). for gas a triclad bottom is a huge plus too
The demensions can however give one an advantage over another... For example a tall and narrow kettle will have a higher amount of liquid with say 5 gallons in it than a wider kettle which can be useful if using an electric element. also there will be more headspace at the top with a narrow kettle and a more efficient boil.
this is why the 1.2 ratio is takled about in many catalogs like northern brewer

 

[mj1angier]

Estricklin,

How can you drink 20 gallons of brew before it goes bad?

School me.

Right now I only make 5 gallon batches a few times a year.

What Possibilities does brewing 20 gallons at a time bring?

Not to answer for Estricklin, but I find that the more and better I brew, the more friends I have, lol.

But yes if you are the only person drinking in the house, it might be better for you to make smaller batches. If you keg (or plan to) there are smaller 1.6 gal and 2.6 kegs that are great for smaller batches. Down side is they cost as much as 5 gal kegs

 

[augiedoggy]

Estricklin,

How can you drink 20 gallons of brew before it goes bad?

School me.

Right now I only make 5 gallon batches a few times a year.

What Possibilities does brewing 20 gallons at a time bring?

He might be using propane too, If so theres a good chance he brews like 15 gallons at a time since boilovers are a lot harder to control with propane apparently... if your on electric you dont need so much headspace.. 20 gallon kettles are often chosen for 10 gallon brews with gas .

I started with 5 gallons but mostly brew 10 gallons at a time myself now.. I dont brew much during the summer too many other things going on... now hopefully ill be doing it all year on a 3bbl setup once the nano is open

 

[johngault007]

NOT INTENSE, yet works very well...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/ten-minute-cooler-mash-tun-conversion.125108/

A cooler mash tun can be extremely simple, even a short 8” stub of stainless braid can batch sparge wonderfully in a huge 110 qt cooler.

I agree, it's probably the exact opposite of insane. But it works very well, and when I made it, I was on a pretty tight budget. I decided on the rectangular manifold after researching both types. It seems like you can have issues with either the SS braid or the manifold, but after reading JP's How to Brew, and deciding that the manifold would reduce the issue of channeling a little easier, I went that route.

 

[mrbeachroach]

Not to answer for Estricklin, but I find that the more and better I brew, the more friends I have, lol.

View attachment 551285

But yes if you are the only person drinking in the house, it might be better for you to make smaller batches. If you keg (or plan to) there are smaller 1.6 gal and 2.6 kegs that are great for smaller batches. Down side is they cost as much as 5 gal kegs

How long will be here keep kegged?

 

[mongoose33]

NOT INTENSE, yet works very well...

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/forum/threads/ten-minute-cooler-mash-tun-conversion.125108/

A cooler mash tun can be extremely simple, even a short 8” stub of stainless braid can batch sparge wonderfully in a huge 110 qt cooler.

I have just such a thing. I have a short torpedo screen attached to the ball valve in mine, and in a moment of inspiration--since I batch sparged--I realized I could tie a hop sock over that torpedo screen and voila! Easy to vorlauf. Faster, no worrying about setting the grain bed.

IMO, the only reason to do those large manifolds is if you're going to fly sparge. Batch sparging worked so well for me that I was never tempted, and now that I BIAB, the wilserbag is the hop sock/screen.

 

[mj1angier]

How long will be here keep kegged?

LOL, I speak Red-neck, but I don't know what you are asking!!

 

[mongoose33]

Hello all.

Wanting to upgrade my brew pot. Currently I have a generic one. Couple of questions.

Feel free to answer some or all that applies.

1. Recommendations

When it came time to upgrade, a Spike kettle got my vote, and my dollars. One reason is that they have welded ports, not the "weldless" kind that sometimes can leak. It's just a much more solid unit given that no weldless fittings are involved.

I'm having them add an additional port for whirlpooling. Welded, of course.

2. What is the Spicket on the bottom of the pots for?

The spigot is for racking (draining) into a fermenter. Early on I used a siphon, and while they work, they're not...IMO optimal. Turn the valve on the spigot, and there you are.

3. Necessary accessories

Define necessary. I'm going to tell you what, FOR ME, is "necessary."

There's another thread on here someplace about upgrades you wish you'd bought at the beginning. I upgraded from a kettle with a weldless ball valve and weldless thermometer about it, which thermometer probe protruded about 3" into the kettle.

For me, getting a thermometer in the kettle is necessary. It helps me see when I'm close to boiling (important to avoid boilovers if you're not paying attention), and to see how I'm doing on chilling.

When I upgraded to the Spike kettle, I specified two ports on the bottom, which are about 70 degrees apart. The thermometer probe is only about an inch into the kettle, which allows me to easily do Brew-in-a-Bag (BIAB) brewing and when I hoist the bag, I'm not worried about the bag snagging on that temp probe.

I'm getting an additional port 4 inches higher and between the two lower ones to which I can attach a whirlpool arm. It hasn't been "necessary" to have one to this point, but I'm trying some different things and I want to be able to whirlpool. So now it's "necessary."

"Necessary" accessories include ball valves where applicable.

4. Do you mash /Sparge and boil in the pot?

I do BIAB. You need a 10-gallon kettle to do a 5-gallon BIAB. To do this with a 10-gallon batch...I'm thinking you may need a 20-gallon kettle. If you're doing a traditional mash tun, a 15-gallon kettle is minimum for 10-gallon batches.

Anyway, I line the kettle with a BIAB bag (I get mine from Wilserbag), and then mash in the kettle. When done mashing I hoist the bag, let it drain into the kettle, squeeze a bit to get some more of that sweet wort out of the spent grain, and begin the boil.

BIAB is a no-sparge method. You can do variations; some dunk the bag into sparge water to rinse the grain of additional sugars, some pour sparge water over the bag. You have to adjust water amounts, but the way I do it is not the only way.

5. To brew 10 gallon. Batches do you brew in 10 gallon pot or more?

More. I only do 5-gallon batches but I will have 6.5 gallons of wort, or a bit more, which boils down to about 5.5 gallons. You do the math for 10 gallons.

So you'd need a 15-gallon pot at minimum.

 

[johngault007]

IMO, the only reason to do those large manifolds is if you're going to fly sparge. Batch sparging worked so well for me that I was never tempted, and now that I BIAB, the wilserbag is the hop sock/screen.

The large manifold works very well for batch sparging. It's really a matter of personal preference between the two, as both can have great results. At the time I made mine, it was easier and/or cheaper to buy the CPVC and make it than find a manifold in my area. Probably took me 20-30 minutes to measure and cut the entire manifold.

 

[PADave]

Another vote for Spike kettles.

 

[estricklin]

Estricklin,

How can you drink 20 gallons of brew before it goes bad?

School me.

Right now I only make 5 gallon batches a few times a year.

What Possibilities does brewing 20 gallons at a time bring?

Pretty much what the others have said, but I mostly just brew 5-10 gallon batches. Beer will KEEP a long time, like years, it just won't last that long around here. My in-laws will freakin destroy a keg of pumpkin beer in an evening. The wife drinks my beer, I give some to our local club members and my other friends. Oh and......I work in the oilfields and I have thirsty friends......really.......really thirsty. Heck I barely drink half of what I brew, and that's ok.

This is actually my 2nd 25 gallon pot, this one is going into my electric setup and will be used as a mash tun. I have been using propane but that's changing soon hopefully.

I have a lot of recipes that I've worked on for years so I'm not scared to brew large quantities of them; I'm really lazy and brewing 10-20 gallons isn't much harder than brewing 5.

I bottle most of what I brew, I do own 2 kegs though. I've kept beers for 6-12 months quit often though they mostly are gone withing 3. Some have been kept for years but that was more or less on purpose.

 

[mrbeachroach]

1. Recommendations

When it came time to upgrade, a Spike kettle got my vote, and my dollars. One reason is that they have welded ports, not the "weldless" kind that sometimes can leak. It's just a much more solid unit given that no weldless fittings are involved.

I'm having them add an additional port for whirlpooling. Welded, of course.

2. What is the Spicket on the bottom of the pots for?

The spigot is for racking (draining) into a fermenter. Early on I used a siphon, and while they work, they're not...IMO optimal. Turn the valve on the spigot, and there you are.

3. Necessary accessories

Define necessary. I'm going to tell you what, FOR ME, is "necessary."

There's another thread on here someplace about upgrades you wish you'd bought at the beginning. I upgraded from a kettle with a weldless ball valve and weldless thermometer about it, which thermometer probe protruded about 3" into the kettle.

For me, getting a thermometer in the kettle is necessary. It helps me see when I'm close to boiling (important to avoid boilovers if you're not paying attention), and to see how I'm doing on chilling.

When I upgraded to the Spike kettle, I specified two ports on the bottom, which are about 70 degrees apart. The thermometer probe is only about an inch into the kettle, which allows me to easily do Brew-in-a-Bag (BIAB) brewing and when I hoist the bag, I'm not worried about the bag snagging on that temp probe.

I'm getting an additional port 4 inches higher and between the two lower ones to which I can attach a whirlpool arm. It hasn't been "necessary" to have one to this point, but I'm trying some different things and I want to be able to whirlpool. So now it's "necessary."

"Necessary" accessories include ball valves where applicable.

4. Do you mash /Sparge and boil in the pot?

I do BIAB. You need a 10-gallon kettle to do a 5-gallon BIAB. To do this with a 10-gallon batch...I'm thinking you may need a 20-gallon kettle. If you're doing a traditional mash tun, a 15-gallon kettle is minimum for 10-gallon batches.

Anyway, I line the kettle with a BIAB bag (I get mine from Wilserbag), and then mash in the kettle. When done mashing I hoist the bag, let it drain into the kettle, squeeze a bit to get some more of that sweet wort out of the spent grain, and begin the boil.

BIAB is a no-sparge method. You can do variations; some dunk the bag into sparge water to rinse the grain of additional sugars, some pour sparge water over the bag. You have to adjust water amounts, but the way I do it is not the only way.

5. To brew 10 gallon. Batches do you brew in 10 gallon pot or more?

More. I only do 5-gallon batches but I will have 6.5 gallons of wort, or a bit more, which boils down to about 5.5 gallons. You do the math for 10 gallons.

So you'd need a 15-gallon pot at minimum.

Mongoose, thank you for taking the time to write this out it's extremely helpful.

Is it correct to say that if you brew in a bag you do not need a false bottom bottom?

 

[mrbeachroach]

Pretty much what the others have said, but I mostly just brew 5-10 gallon batches. Beer will KEEP a long time, like years, it just won't last that long around here. My in-laws will freakin destroy a keg of pumpkin beer in an evening. The wife drinks my beer, I give some to our local club members and my other friends. Oh and......I work in the oilfields and I have thirsty friends......really.......really thirsty. Heck I barely drink half of what I brew, and that's ok.

This is actually my 2nd 25 gallon pot, this one is going into my electric setup and will be used as a mash tun. I have been using propane but that's changing soon hopefully.

I have a lot of recipes that I've worked on for years so I'm not scared to brew large quantities of them; I'm really lazy and brewing 10-20 gallons isn't much harder than brewing 5.

I bottle most of what I brew, I do own 2 kegs though. I've kept beers for 6-12 months quit often though they mostly are gone withing 3. Some have been kept for years but that was more or less on purpose.

I have forgotten almost how to bottle, but if I start making batches like this then I will definitely bottle because I'm finding that that may be more efficient long-term, and for swapping.

 

[mongoose33]

Mongoose, thank you for taking the time to write this out it's extremely helpful.

Is it correct to say that if you brew in a bag you do not need a false bottom bottom?

That's correct. I've thought about getting a false bottom for recirculation purposes--that's an advanced technique with which you need not concern yourself at this point--but I don't have one, and you don't need one.

If you're familiar w/ a traditional mash tun arrangement, the sweet wort is drawn off using a manifold or torpedo screen or some such on the bottom of the mash tun. You start by letting the wort trickle out of the valve on the bottom of the mash tun very slowly--the grain bed will settle and "set" and form its own filter. Takes about a quart or maybe a bit more of this trickle for it to run clear, and then you transfer that to the boil kettle. Variations on this them include brewers who line the mash tun with a BiAB bag, or like me, put a hop sock over the torpedo screen to help filter out the grain bits. BTW, this process is called "vorlauf."

With BIAB, rather than removing the wort from the grain, you remove the grain from the wort. There hasn't been much of a downside to BIAB that I can see, other than needing some way to hoist the bag out of the kettle. I have a pulley attached to one of the garage door tracks in my garage to hoist it up; I also added a screw eye to the ceiling elsewhere in the garage so i can brew in front of a window and use a fan to draw the steam outside.

If you do this on a stove in the kitchen, figuring out a way to hoist the bag and let it drain is the issue. If you have a third hand or someone to help, you can lift the bag and put a stainless colander on top of the kettle and let the bag sit on that. I did that for a while even though I have a pulley setup, but decided it was faster and more effective to simply squeeze the bag using a pair of rubberized gloves.

 

[mrbeachroach]

That's correct. I've thought about getting a false bottom for recirculation purposes--that's an advanced technique with which you need not concern yourself at this point--but I don't have one, and you don't need one.

If you're familiar w/ a traditional mash tun arrangement, the sweet wort is drawn off using a manifold or torpedo screen or some such on the bottom of the mash tun. You start by letting the wort trickle out of the valve on the bottom of the mash tun very slowly--the grain bed will settle and "set" and form its own filter. Takes about a quart or maybe a bit more of this trickle for it to run clear, and then you transfer that to the boil kettle. Variations on this them include brewers who line the mash tun with a BiAB bag, or like me, put a hop sock over the torpedo screen to help filter out the grain bits. BTW, this process is called "vorlauf."

With BIAB, rather than removing the wort from the grain, you remove the grain from the wort. There hasn't been much of a downside to BIAB that I can see, other than needing some way to hoist the bag out of the kettle. I have a pulley attached to one of the garage door tracks in my garage to hoist it up; I also added a screw eye to the ceiling elsewhere in the garage so i can brew in front of a window and use a fan to draw the steam outside.

If you do this on a stove in the kitchen, figuring out a way to hoist the bag and let it drain is the issue. If you have a third hand or someone to help, you can lift the bag and put a stainless colander on top of the kettle and let the bag sit on that. I did that for a while even though I have a pulley setup, but decided it was faster and more effective to simply squeeze the bag using a pair of rubberized gloves.

View attachment 551861 View attachment 551862 View attachment 551863

Very helpful. I see in the pictures you brew in the garage., so long as the doors are open no problem with propane and carbon monoxide?

Also since I've never mAde my own liquid malt extract, it's hard to understand that it's going to come out like it does when you order it in the can at the LHBS. Hard to imagine that it thickens up that much, and does not get watered down with the liquid in the hot liquor tank.

 

[mongoose33]

Very helpful. I see in the pictures you brew in the garage., so long as the doors are open no problem with propane and carbon monoxide?

As long as the flames are blue, no issue. If you think about it, those who have propane stoves aren't doing anything materially different w/r/t CO. I open the door(s) so as to let the moisture escape.

During the dead of winter I will brew using the window fan exhaust method because my garage is insulated and I don't want moisture building up in that insulation. I'll crack the service door of the garage and put another propane heater inside it to heat up the incoming air. Even when it's darned cold outside I can keep the garage close to 60 degrees using this approach.

Also since I've never mAde my own liquid malt extract, it's hard to understand that it's going to come out like it does when you order it in the can at the LHBS. Hard to imagine that it thickens up that much, and does not get watered down with the liquid in the hot liquor tank.

You're not making extract when you do all-grain, you're making wort. Extract is concentrated wort, left either in its much thicker "liquid" form, or in the dry powder form.

What you'll produce using all-grain methods is a wort that is essentially the same as what you have after stirring the extract into the boil water. It won't be thick, it'll be watery.

 

[mrbeachroach]

As long as the flames are blue, no issue. If you think about it, those who have propane stoves aren't doing anything materially different w/r/t CO. I open the door(s) so as to let the moisture escape.

During the dead of winter I will brew using the window fan exhaust method because my garage is insulated and I don't want moisture building up in that insulation. I'll crack the service door of the garage and put another propane heater inside it to heat up the incoming air. Even when it's darned cold outside I can keep the garage close to 60 degrees using this approach.



You're not making extract when you do all-grain, you're making wort. Extract is concentrated wort, left either in its much thicker "liquid" form, or in the dry powder form.

What you'll produce using all-grain methods is a wort that is essentially the same as what you have after stirring the extract into the boil water. It won't be thick, it'll be watery.

Mongoose, thank you for the solid advise. Makes it seam less concerning to the old brewer learning new all grain tricks.

 

[mrbeachroach]

1. Recommendations


4. Do you mash /Sparge and boil in the pot?

I do BIAB. You need a 10-gallon kettle to do a 5-gallon BIAB. To do this with a 10-gallon batch...I'm thinking you may need a 20-gallon kettle. If you're doing a traditional mash tun, a 15-gallon kettle is minimum for 10-gallon batches.

Anyway, I line the kettle with a BIAB bag (I get mine from Wilserbag), and then mash in the kettle. When done mashing I hoist the bag, let it drain into the kettle, squeeze a bit to get some more of that sweet wort out of the spent grain, and begin the boil.

BIAB is a no-sparge method. You can do variations; some dunk the bag into sparge water to rinse the grain of additional sugars, some pour sparge water over the bag. You have to adjust water amounts, but the way I do it is not the only way.



------ am I reading correctly that you dont use a separate mash tun now because of the BIAB method. If so does this require a bit more babying the pot and temp, or have you found a way around that with your burner skills, or the thickness and quality of your spike pot.

Also what's the mash out range? Solid 150 degrees or 150-160-165. How much variance can be allowed to still maximize the mash.

 

[mongoose33]

Mongoose, thank you for the solid advise. Makes it seam less concerning to the old brewer learning new all grain tricks.

Since you know the process from the boil forward, it's not as difficult to master all grain as it might be if you were just starting out.

There are three major places with which to concern yourself as you move to all-grain (assuming you do BIAB which is simpler than a traditional mash tun as you don't worry about setting the grain bed or lautering).

1. Water. You need to get the water right. You can't depend on your tap water to be right--it might be, might not be, but without a water analysis you can't know. A lot of brewers start with distilled or reverse-osmosis water and build up a water profile from that. My own water is very alkaline, which in my case means it is only really suitable for very dark beers (think Stout). My usual--and this is mine, not yours--approach is to use a gallon of that tap water, not softened, and add 6.25 gallons of RO water to it, for a starting place of 7.25 gallons for my BIAB system.

I then add various salts and maybe Lactic Acid to bring the water to a place where it will work well with the grain bill I have.

2. Mash temp. During a 1-hour mash, you will get different results depending on whether you mash high (say, 157 degrees) or low (say, 149 degrees). A high temp will increase mouthfeel and result in a higher final gravity; a low temp will make a more fermentable wort and result in a somewhat drier finish. Many brewers aim for about 152-153 degrees or so as a nice compromise between those two, but specific recipes will recommend a particular mash temp.

To get to that temp, you need your strike water to be hotter than the target temp, as the grist will bring down that temp--and a larger grain bill will bring it down more, as will the grist if it's cold (I use room temp). In my case, using an 11# grain bill, I'll probably start with the strike water at about 159 degrees, maybe 160. [when I did a traditional mash tun starting w/ 4.25 gallons not 7.25 as I do now, I started with strike water of 168 degrees, as the grist was a larger proportion of the total, and it would bring the temp down more relative to the amount].

If you undershoot or overshoot the temp by a bit, it won't matter much. Under- or over-shoot by a lot, and you either have to cool it or heat it. If on a stove or a burner, you can carefully add a little heat, stirring the mash gently to move the heat around. It won't rise through the mash as much as you might think, as the mash is thicker than water and the grist itself impedes temperature movement. So gently stir. You also want to be careful that you don't add so much heat that you melt the bag.

If you overshoot, a few ice cubes might be enough to bring it down.

3. The crush. Mash efficiency--the proportion of maximum sugars you get out of the mash--is partly related to the size of the particles produced when you crush the grain prior to mashing in. Since you're starting you'll probably have your LHBS crush the grain for you. Such places tend to crush a little more coarsely, which makes for larger particles which tend not to convert quite as much. One remedy for this is to ask them to double-crush the grain for you. That will help some. Another is to increase the size of the grain bill a bit to accommodate that. A third, and my guess is that this is where you'll be headed, is to get your own grain mill and control the crush yourself. Some use a Corona-style mill, which is the cheapest route; others something like the Cereal Killer mill which, at or near that price point, is IMO about the best option.

Hopefully that wasn't too much--this can be as complicated as you like, or as simple as you like. You can probably guess in which camp I fall.

But it's not horribly complicated. I started out doing extract brews, but when I moved to all-grain, there was no looking back. I was hooked, and I believe the beer is far better.

 

[mongoose33]

------ am I reading correctly that you dont use a separate mash tun now because of the BIAB method. If so does this require a bit more babying the pot and temp, or have you found a way around that with your burner skills, or the thickness and quality of your spike pot.

Also what's the mash out range? Solid 150 degrees or 150-160-165. How much variance can be allowed to still maximize the mash.

No, I don't use a separate mash tun--that's the beauty of BIAB, the boil kettle is the mash tun. Just lift the bag, the wort stays behind, boil away.

I wrote about the temp issues in my previous post. Some of this is empirical, i.e., you simply need to find some reasonable starting values for temps, and see what you get.

Further, and I didn't write this in the previous post, you'll want to insulate the kettle during the mash so as to hold temps. I use a sort of a quilt-type thing to wrap my kettle to hold heat. Pic below. Some use a sleeping bag, some use reflectix insulation, there is a bunch of options.

Additionally, there's no "mash out" where you quickly increase the temp of the mash to denature the enzymes. I've never done that. I can see where in a commercial brewing setup you might need to do that to maintain consistency, but not in what we do. No need.

Here's what I do: Strike temp at 159 or 160; grain bill about 11 or 12 pounds. I bring the water to the strike temp in the kettle. I'll make sure it stabilizes at my temp, stirring to ensure the heat is evenly distributed through the water. I brew on a Hellfire burner so there's some retained heat in that burner, so I wait a couple minutes for that residual heat to make it into the kettle.

Once I'm happy w/ the water temp (takes maybe 5 minutes, it's not rocket science), I'll put the bag in, stretching it out around the mouth of the kettle and cinching it tight. Then in goes the grist. Don't worry about the bag not fully expanding initially--the grist will take care of that. I slowly pour in the grist, gently stirring as I do to incorporate the grist into the water. Too fast and I'll get dough balls which will float. You'll always get some, just press them against the side of the kettle to break them up.

Then, once I've got the grain incorporated, I add the kettle lid and cover it up and wait. At 15 and 30 minutes, I'll unwrap, stir, and rewrap. I also check pH at 15 minutes or a bit later, but you don't have to do that. If you have a good water spreadsheet (Brunwater or EZwater), you'll probably be OK with that.

At the end of 60 minutes, I hoist the bag, start the burner heating the wort, and squeeze out what I can. Then wait for the wort to come to a boil.

Voila! I find BIAB to be simpler and more relaxing than traditional mash tun. YMMV.

 

[PADave]

Another option for keeping the mash warm.