Twofox
Well-Known Member
You'll need to take the temperature of the grain.
Just don't use an **** thermometer...
(sorry couldn't help myself)
Edit: Fixed
You'll need to take the temperature of the grain.
Looking for some help with doing a big beer using this method. I wanted to throw together something like the Stone Anniversary Ale clones discussed here.
For my equipment setup, I have one 5 gallon pot, one 9 gallon pot (w/ spigot), and one 10 gallon pot that I use as my main boiling kettle.
The way I see it I have 2 options. One would be to mash twice in the 5 gallon pot, using half the grain bill each time and then combine into the kettle. Alternatively I think I could use two grain bags and throw all the malt in the 9 gallon pot. I'm not sure how well I'd be able to avoid dough balls in the lower bag if I did that though. Or maybe there are other options? Any opinions/advice?
Separate from this, how do you guys do your water calculations in more complicated scenarios like this? Would http://www.brew365.com/mash_sparge_water_calculator.php give accurate water totals for the BIAB method if I treat the "sparge water" amount as the amount of water I'd need in my boiling kettle for dunking the grains in after the mash?
especially when it is so easy to just replace the 2-row with extract. The beer will be just as good...you are still using a large portion of grain and there is nothing wrong with extract.
Death, I'm looking into doing this stovetop AG method but on a smaller 2.5 gallon scale:
Have one question: After mashing in, what do you think will be the difference between
1) transferring the grain bag to a different kettle with 185F sparge water to get the grain to the desired 170F (as you describe), or
2) just adding a few quarts of boiling water directly onto the mash to get it to 170F (step infusion?)
Do you think there will be a difference in efficiency of the extraction?
Death, I'm looking into doing this stovetop AG method but on a smaller 2.5 gallon scale:
Have one question: After mashing in, what do you think will be the difference between
1) transferring the grain bag to a different kettle with 185F sparge water to get the grain to the desired 170F (as you describe), or
2) just adding a few quarts of boiling water directly onto the mash to get it to 170F (step infusion?)
Do you think there will be a difference in efficiency of the extraction?
Death, I'm looking into doing this stovetop AG method but on a smaller 2.5 gallon scale:
Have one question: After mashing in, what do you think will be the difference between
1) transferring the grain bag to a different kettle with 185F sparge water to get the grain to the desired 170F (as you describe), or
2) just adding a few quarts of boiling water directly onto the mash to get it to 170F (step infusion?)
Do you think there will be a difference in efficiency of the extraction?
I'm gonna buy another bag, but was wondering if anyone had a suggestion as to a stronger bag that I could get.
I've been doing this method for a while now, and I have a couple of comments on the bags.
I've tried using the 5g paint strainers, and I've found them to be a little too small for my 5g pot and 10lb of grain. They squished the grain way too much and the effieciency is way low. I went ahead and bought the recommended grain bag and it has worked great for about five or six brewdays until the last one, when I started to get a rip at the seam. I'm gonna buy another bag, but was wondering if anyone had a suggestion as to a stronger bag that I could get.
Being me I'd probably just use two of the paint strainer bags
Can you elaborate on this a little more? I recently switched to the paint strainer bags I got from Lowe's and they worked great. I put my actual grain bag away damp and it grew mold. That's that. Anyway, I switched, and the paint strainer bag worked just as well, it even has an elastic to keep it from going in the pot!
Have you done another brew with the paint strainer? Was it just bad luck? I figured I would get another actual grain bag, but I wasn't in a hurry.
let us know
Just as an update, I'm buying a few more of the same bag. My last bag I turned inside out (seam out) in order to help with cleanup, but I'm gonna try using the bag seam in and see if it lasts. I'll post later if this works.
And use enough sparge water so that you don't have to top off before boil.
As far as that goes, your mash ratio is a little thicker than what I normally use. The only time I mashed that thick I really took a hit on the efficiency. Personally, with 8 pounds of grain and trying to hit 6 gals preboil, I would mash with 3 gallons and sparge with the same or maybe a little more, depending on how much you want to squeeze a hot grain bag.
lol...sick as in "dense", as in "more solids than water"
You would have to use a 5 gallon pot with more water.
Check out the "Can I Mash It?" Calculator here:
http://www.rackers.org/calcs.shtml
Leave yourself at least 3/4 gallon of space to work with, and that's pushin' it...I usually leave a gallon to stir and take up the bag.
I decided I'm going to try it with an american wheat, but scaled to a 2.5 gallon batch so I can use my current equipment on the stove and still do a full boil.
2lb. American 2-row
2lb. Wheat Malt
.5oz. Willamette (60 mins.)
.5oz. Cascade (15 mins.)
Mash in 1.5 gallons at 150* for 60 mins.
Sparge in 1.5 gallons at 170* for 10 mins.
Pre-boil anticipated SG 1.038; Final OG 1.045
Thinking about just using American Ale (Wyeast).
What do you think, doods?!
:rockin:
I decided I'm going to try it with an american wheat, but scaled to a 2.5 gallon batch so I can use my current equipment on the stove and still do a full boil.
2lb. American 2-row
2lb. Wheat Malt
.5oz. Willamette (60 mins.)
.5oz. Cascade (15 mins.)
Mash in 1.5 gallons at 150* for 60 mins.
Sparge in 1.5 gallons at 170* for 10 mins.
Pre-boil anticipated SG 1.038; Final OG 1.045
Thinking about just using American Ale (Wyeast).
What do you think, doods?!
:rockin:
I decided I'm going to try it with an american wheat, but scaled to a 2.5 gallon batch so I can use my current equipment on the stove and still do a full boil.
2lb. American 2-row
2lb. Wheat Malt
.5oz. Willamette (60 mins.)
.5oz. Cascade (15 mins.)
Mash in 1.5 gallons at 150* for 60 mins.
Sparge in 1.5 gallons at 170* for 10 mins.
Pre-boil anticipated SG 1.038; Final OG 1.045
Thinking about just using American Ale (Wyeast).
What do you think, doods?!
:rockin:
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