Can all grain brewing be done with a 5 gallon brew pot?

[tweakerlime]

I just finished up brewing my first batch of extract beer (and i plan to stick with extract for a few more batches). From what I have read, all grain brewing is the way to go. I am limited in my pot size to 5 gallons because there is little space above my stove. I looked into the additional work/equipment (mainly a mash tun) required for switching to all grain brewing and i am getting stoked just thinking about it. Will it be possible to make a 5 gallon batch with this pot by just adding water after the boil? Or will i have to adjust the amount of ingredients in order to accommodate a smaller batch size?

 

[BendBrewer]

Mash tun? Stove Top? I wouldn't.

If you must brew on the stove and want to do all grain, look into Brew In A Bag (BIAB) methods.

 

[Acoma]

Yes.

 

[Revvy]

Read the info I posted here.

Another option is doing small stovetop batches as well. Read this

 

[tweakerlime]

Mash tun? Stove Top? I wouldn't.

If you must brew on the stove and want to do all grain, look into Brew In A Bag (BIAB) methods.

I have watched a few videos of brewers using a modified cooler for their mash tun. It seemed simple enough to do. I will certainly check out the BIAB method. Thanks

 

[tweakerlime]

Revvy, that is the exact kind of info I was looking for! First time poster on this forum here, and you all have exceeded my expectations. Thanks so much!

 

[BendBrewer]

I have watched a few videos of brewers using a modified cooler for their mash tun. It seemed simple enough to do. I will certainly check out the BIAB method. Thanks

Yeah, I use a cooler but I have 2 propane burners. It's a 3 vessel process that I wouldn't try to do on the stove and you're going to need another pot as well.

 

[seabass07]

BIAB sounds like a PITA for a 5 gallon pot. Not much room for water and grains.

 

[noggins]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/easy-stovetop-all-grain-brewing-pics-90132/

and

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

 

[Qhrumphf]

Another possibility, if you have the space, is to split a full boil between two 5 gallon pots, and adjust hop additions between them to keep the right utilization. I haven't done this yet myself, but have had it recommended a few times as I'm not limited so much by space as being limited to a weak electric stove that can't handle more than a 4 gallon boil.

 

[Wakadaka]

I am midway through my first AG batch (biermunchers cream of 3 crops) and it only had a 9lb grain bill. I mashed with 1.33qt/lb so 3 gallons, lose 1 to grain absorption, and then sparge with another two (I used 3, but I think 2 would be alright). You would only have 4 gallons in the pot.

I don't have an accurate way to measure the volume, but my guestimations put my efficiency over 70%.

So yes it could be done, but only with very small grain bills.

I would recommend partial mashes, which is what I plan to do in the future. Using as much grain as I can probably up to about 10lbs, then subbing in extract for the rest.

 

[atchinator]

Lots of folks do the boil on the stove when making AG brews - you just want to make sure that you have enough pot/kettle space to do it.

A single 5 gallon container might not be enough though. I do 23 liter batches (about 6 gallons - gotta love metric) and have 2 stainless steel crock pots that, together, hold well over 30 liters.

 

[mcaple1]

yes...why wouldnt you be able to do all grain...just scale down the recipe so that your pre-boil is within range of your current BK.

 

[atchinator]

Lots of folks do AG brews on the stove and it shouldn't be a problem depending on what the rest of your setup is like. If you do your mash in a bucket or cooler and not on the stove, then you should have plenty of stove top space.
I do 23 liter+ batches (about 6 gallons - gotta love metric!) all the time using two 18 liter crock pots.

 

[uncommonsense]

Another possibility, if you have the space, is to split a full boil between two 5 gallon pots, and adjust hop additions between them to keep the right utilization. I haven't done this yet myself, but have had it recommended a few times as I'm not limited so much by space as being limited to a weak electric stove that can't handle more than a 4 gallon boil.

I just did that saturday it worked out well enough. luckly the boiling started 10 min apart, i was able to chill one then the other. I have two 5 gal pots, i want to start brewing outside with a bigger pot but i have to save up for the outdoor burner.

 

[lestershy]

YES YOU CAN!
I am currently using a modified cooler for a mash tun and doing split boils in two pots on my stove top. I've done it a handful of times now and it seems to work. I essentially just boil my first and second runnings seperately. Just do it!

 

[ThickHead]

Something else to consider is this.

Although it would require an additional pot. It's worth a thought.

 

[MikeinCT]

You can do the five + gallon batch with this combo. You mash 10 lbs of grain with 3.5 gallons water. Then sparge twice with 2 gallons each. The issue is the full boil and here is where you don't want to fill your one pot up to the top. I would hold aside a gallon of the wort and boil the rest with the hops.

good luck, Mike

 

[duckmanco]

Partial mash might be worth looking into as well. I have no plans to go all grain just yet but wanted to see if I could get more out of specialty grains rather than just steeping them, and just to try mashing in general. I'll be kegging my first PM batch later this week and I'm hoping its going to be good.

Also the 5 gallon pot works great for 5 gallon pm batches with about 6 pounds of grain. It also lends itself to extract late additions. I only boil the wort I collect from the mash and then at flame out I add the extract. Worked real well all two times I've done it thus far.

 

[jiggs_casey]

You can definitely do 5 gallon all grain batches, even on the stove!

You will need something to use as a mash tun. I use a rectagular igloo cooler. The conversion is fairly straightforward and there are a number of videos on youtube to show you how.

Not so sure about the 'multi vessel' operation either. You can batch sparge and save yourself a lot of hassle.

Heat sparge water with your boil pot. Add heated sparge water to mash tun. Add grains. Mash! Drain wort into boil pot. Heave boil pot onto stove. Boil wort. Cool wort. Transfer cooled wort to primary. Add yeast to primary. Seal lid and add airlock. Disco!

 

[gclay]

I just did a 5 gallon batch with a 4 gallon pot. Use beersmith and lock your batch size to equipment, for me I boil 3.25 gallon and top off to 5 gallons in fermenter.

 

[tweakerlime]

Lots of options it seems. A couple of you referenced Beersmith to figure out the appropriate amount of ingredients. I downloaded the trial version and was a little lost. I'll tinker around with it again after work, and hopefully I'll fully understand it soon.

 

[stevedasleeve]

Just to jump on here, I have around 40 all grain batches under my belt, all done in the kitchen. My most recent ones I use two pots for the boil and top off with water depending on the gravity before pitching.

My main pot is 6-7ish gallons and I use another smaller one to catch the last of the runnings. I hop most of my beers with FWH in the main pot and boil the smaller pot during the (typically) 70 minute boils, adding to the main pot as it boils off. Generally I'll add hops during the last 20 mins and often I have at that point added all the second pot to the main boils, but not always.

This is great for me for two main reasons - boilovers are completely avoided since I can allow for substantial headroom, and I don't have to dump the extra liquid from the sparge if I go over. In fatc I deliberately go over so i can brew this way.

I no longer take preboil gravity, or even worry about it until the end of the boil. Then I take take a reading and eyball it to see if I am likely to need to add water to the fermenter (I have 1-2 gallons of filtered cold water on hand)

Depending on the amount of hot/cold break/hop sludge I leave behind I will add 0-1.5 gallons of water to get 5.5-6 gallons in the fermenter.

I don't sweat the hop additions too much, my calculations take into account the variability of my efficiency which changes a bit from beer to beer 60-72% and the possibility of dilution.

FWIW!

 

[mcaple1]

If you are having an issue with beersmith...I suggest brewtarget...its freeware and there is a really good youtube tutorial out there...will tell yo everything you need to know...and it has a mash wizard in it that worked perfectly for me. Strike water, amount for sparge water....etc. Check it out!