Easy Stovetop All-Grain Brewing (with pics)

[dogma9]

These are really cheap and much faster because they are so much more efficient than burners. I use 2, one straight, one rightangled. You can still use a burner too.

http://www.cedarcreeknetworks.com/heatstick.htm

all the cautions it gives on the website about overloading your circuits with them, i think i'll pass. or i'll be outside brewing for sure if i burn my house down lol

 

[jfr1111]

what about something like this, and sitting the pot on both eyes?

http://www.hotplates.com/Aroma-AHP-311-ARO1069.html?cv=

There's no mention of wattage, so there is no way to know how this thing performs, but most home ranges have a burner that is at least 12000-1800 watts, wich I very much doubt this can touch at 29,99$.

Just search for a turkey fryer if you want to do bigger batches. Or stick to partial boils or smaller batches. You can experiment/brew more if you stick to 3 gal batches. The downside is that if you produce something great, you'll have less of it, you have to bottle more often and you probably lose more % of the finished beer to trub than if you went for 5 gal+ batches. You're also limited in the amount of grain you can mash if the max liquor you can use if 4 gallons, so high ABV styles are tricky or outright impossible unless you brew a sixer of it.

 

[electronjunkie]

all the cautions it gives on the website about overloading your circuits with them, i think i'll pass. or i'll be outside brewing for sure if i burn my house down lol

Are you serious? You are much more likely to burn your house down with propane burners. He doesn't say anything about burning your house down. Just that you can wear out your breakers ie they will pop under less of a loadafter being stressed. Unless your wiring in your house or appt is totally screwed up you can plug in 2 1500 watt heat sticks into 2 circuits with no worries. If you are that worried about overloading your circuits don't plug in a toaster or vacuum cleaner either. The warning to take away from him is that you should use gfi outlets or gfi extension cords.

 

[bryston]

After some batches with DB partial mash method, I've brew my first batch all-grain yesterday evening! Yeah! The transition went smooth since both methods are somehow alike.

I struggled a bit to hold my temp during the mashing and sparging, but at the end, after some doubts, I end up having a wort that is currently fermenting!

Thanks for those great methods DB!

 

[Hannable1975]

I am sitting in the parking lot of the LHBS, like a kid on Christmas morning, waiting to get me some Vienna and hops - gonna step into AG with this method for the first time tomorrow morning. Doing the SMaSH APA in the OP.

Only Difference - with the last experiece I had with Nottingham, I'mma either get some US-05 ( i try to keep some on hand anyway ) - or may grab a smack pack of some Wyeast 1275 Thames Valley Ale yeast...

Here's Hoping.

 

[jfr1111]

Go with US-05, you will already have your hand fulls, no need to mess with starters on top of that

 

[Twofox]

I've just gotta say (again?), that I used this method to get into AG brewing and my life has changed! I can play violin and gosh darn it! People like me!

Ok, maybe not that great, but I've brewed 5-6 batches this way, and each time gets easier and goes smoother. This is a really easy way to AG brew.

Thanks again DB!

 

[lastsecondapex]

absolutely. any recipe with less than 13 lbs of grain will work.

Why is 13lbs the limit? I used your stovetop method for my first AG today. It was a recipe, based on this Rochefort 8 clone: https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f73/rochefort-8-clone-close-you-can-get-158933/

I added a half pound of oatmeal to the recipe and the total bill was over 15lbs... For my first AG it worked great and I was still able to bring a 24 qt pot to a rolling boil on an electric stove.

 

[Hannable1975]

Man - my airlock is gonna break from all that work - thing is going awesomely well! Either the second best or best all time activity for me - I must have done something right!

I'd like to say to anyone who has read this thread and thought they would like to try it, but are undecided : DO IT!

It was super easy, the directions are great.

A wonderful confidence building intro to AG brewing. My hats off to DeathBrewer!

 

[Hannable1975]

Go with US-05, you will already have your hand fulls, no need to mess with starters on top of that

I ended up with a smackpack of the 1275. I smacked it when I started to get all my gear together - by the time to pitch it was swollen fully - and here at 26 hours later that thing is rockin!

( Now I just gotta bone up on washing yeast - at $7 I gotta stretch that yeast out ! )

 

[jfr1111]

I'm planning on washing/pitching slurry from dry yeast, so I'm with you on stretching the $. It's just that I don't want to mess with starters - yet. It's strange that I felt "ready" for AG the moment I started brewing but I can't see myself messing with starters anytime soon, dry yeast is just too convenient.

If the time comes I want to brew a Belgian, I might start bothering. For now, Fermentis does the job.

Glad you found it easy. It really is, especially if you have brewing software to help you. My first two batches, I did the claculations by hand just to prove myself I could do them (and actually understand about all the fun stuff). Now I just let Beersmith take me by the hand

 

[Mermaid]

Just wanted to chime in and say that BIAB is awesome, and very easy. I have to stick with smaller batches because the max I can boil is 5 gallons unless I split the batch into 2 kettles, but mashing in a 5 ga. kettle (kept in the oven) was super easy, as was the rest of the process.
Much preferred over wrangling with DME.
Plus, making smaller batches is nice because I can brew more often, and don't have to worry about where to store "all that beer"

 

[jfr1111]

I just store the beer in my belly, so it's not a problem. But yeah, BIAB is awesome. I had to mess with LME last brew and it was a sticky mess (that also scorched). The price you pay to up your OG.

 

[sportscrazed2]

I think I will try this. Was thinking of building a mlt but this seems easier. I just ordered a turkey fryer so I can do full boils. will probably do the mash on my stove then carry the pot to my deck for the boil. maybe i should heat the sparge water on the burner then sparge and then pour the wort on top?

 

[Marc]

Hey all, I'm new here. I didn't read this entire thread so forgive me if this has already been suggested-

On the issue of temp loss and lack of head space being conducive to heat retention...

If you're using a bigger pot or doing a partial mash maybe with less water, or for whatever other reason... has anyone thought of using a floating lid of sorts? I'm thinking even just a bit of al. foil shaped roughly to match the round shape of the pot floating on the mash water. My other thought was to cut a polyethylene bucket lid to the right diameter to nest in the pot and float on the mash to retain heat. Or maybe even make one out of wood? I'm thinking since wooden mash paddles are ok, that'd be as well.

 

[Marc]

If you went with the wood floating lid that fit well, you could even drill a hole in the middle and connect the beater of a hand mixer there and leave it there for the duration of the mash... and then turn the beater on periodically to agitate and maybe improve the efficiency.

 

[7mmSTW]

I have been using a method similar to this for BIAB. I bought an 8 Gal aluminum tamale steamer from wal mart for 22 bucks so I use it for my mash as it has a false bottom in it so I can use heat to maintain mash tems without burning the bag. I have found my stovetop has a hard time boiling 6.5 gallons of wort to a boil so once I'm done I transfer everything outside to my coleman camp stove which gets the job done very fast. My last batch I got 75% out of so I'm pretty happy with the results so far. Thanks DB

 

[Justibone]

... will probably do the mash on my stove then carry the pot to my deck for the boil. maybe i should heat the sparge water on the burner then sparge and then pour the wort on top?

Yeah. If you sparge, the sparge water should definitely go on the boil. Heating it on the stove is convenient, but slow. If you are mashing inside, then heat your sparge water inside as well, but if you are mashing outside the water heats up faster on the flame.

 

[BrewDocND]

I just did my first BIAB this weekend. Used a paint strainer bag (5-gal.), which cost $5 for 2. Used the rack from my slow cooker to make sure the bag didn't touch the bottom of the pot. Made a 1.75 gal batch of a very basic APA. It really was no harder than using malt extract. Just a little more sitting around during the mash, but a lot less hassle as far as stirring in extract, etc.

I'm pretty stoked about doing this just about weekly from now on and having complete creative control over the process.

 

[sportscrazed2]

Yeah. If you sparge, the sparge water should definitely go on the boil. Heating it on the stove is convenient, but slow. If you are mashing inside, then heat your sparge water inside as well, but if you are mashing outside the water heats up faster on the flame.

was thinking of mashing inside and sparging outside. save the propane for the boil by doing mash on stove. then mixing it with sparge water on the burner. will that work? probably do the entire thing indoors until winter is over unless i can get in a batch soon. my primary is tied up. will leaving the flame on low prevent most heat loss? also will i be alright doing a 5 gallon boil in a 7.5 gallon pot?

 

[Justibone]

was thinking of mashing inside and sparging outside.

That should be fine.

save the propane for the boil by doing mash on stove.

Also fine.

then mixing it with sparge water on the burner. will that work?

So you are going to use the burner to heat the sparge water? Or not. It doesn't matter, what you're saying is that mash water and sparge water will be combined into your boil, which will be outside on your propane setup. Okay, that's all good.

will leaving the flame on low prevent most heat loss?

When we did the mash outside on my buddy's propane, just a 1 min. burst of propane two or three times an hour was good enough to keep the temp up. I think if you keep the propane on low you will actually overheat your mash.

also will i be alright doing a 5 gallon boil in a 7.5 gallon pot?

Yes, provided you do one of three things:

1) mount a fan to blow on the surface of the liquid constantly
2) fill a spray bottle with cold water and watch for boilovers like a hawk
3) add Fermcap-S to the boil

Fermcap-S is proof that there is such a being as the "Beer Fairy". It is *magical*.

 

[sportscrazed2]

yeah i will heat the mash water on the stove and do it in the pot with a large mesh bag. then i will heat the sparge water on the deck then after letting the excess liquid drain out of the bag I will transfer it to sparge water on the burner. will leaving flame on stove on low prevent most temperature loss during the mash?

 

[Justibone]

If you want to prevent temp loss inside the house, a lot of people put the mash in the oven. Maybe you can do that, and maybe you can't, but unless you have a controller or something you are just going to have to watch the temperature to make sure it's steady.

 

[zman]

I am taking the BIAB Plunge today doing Yooers House Pale

 

[sportscrazed2]

i am thinking of doing something similar but on a turkey fryer. I was thinking of picking up a coleman xtreme cooler. then i would heat my sparge water before starting and store it in the cooler. i would then start the mash on the turkey fryer and keep the cooler on a table next to the turkey fryer. when it came time to sparge i would just lift the bag and use tubing connected to the cooler to rinse out the grain bag. would that work?

 

[Hannable1975]

I used this method ( Thanks again DB ) again last night ( to make a Maris Otter / Williamette SMaSH Blone I'm trying to figure out ) - using a turkey fryer I just bought this week. I followed the steps as they are on here, though - heating the mash, doughing in, setting to the side, and using another pot to heat the sparge water , and transferring the bag.

Worked like clockwork.


BTW - FWIW - I found and excellent screen style colander at America's Largest retailer, that has extensions on the sides - with is PERFECT for suspending the bag over the top of the pots hands free. Worth every bit of the $12 I paid for it.

 

[Justibone]

i am thinking of doing something similar but on a turkey fryer. I was thinking of picking up a coleman xtreme cooler. then i would heat my sparge water before starting and store it in the cooler. i would then start the mash on the turkey fryer and keep the cooler on a table next to the turkey fryer. when it came time to sparge i would just lift the bag and use tubing connected to the cooler to rinse out the grain bag. would that work?

Maybe?

Guess you'll have to try it and report back.

 

[joeunc]

is this correct?
We are basically using the correct amount of strike water to mash but using less to sparge and this what brings down the efficiency some. But the trade-off is stove top.

I don't have immersion chiller yet and use my sink to cool the wort so it will only hold a 5 gallon pot. My grain bills would be around 10-12 lbs which would be a mash of just over 3 to 3.4 gallons. I will use my cooler for this. So then I could sparge with about 2 gallons or a little more in my 5 gallon kettle and add the mash back to it which should be under 3 gallons now and get a close to 5 gallon boil (4.5 or so) could top off with water to make the 5 gallons in the fermentor, but less water needed than for partial mash correct.

That seems like a plan unless someone has an idea to cool a larger than 5 gallon pot without a chiller.

thanks

 

[electronjunkie]

is this correct?
That seems like a plan unless someone has an idea to cool a larger than 5 gallon pot without a chiller.

thanks

I use one of those party buckets from Walmart/Target/Lowes/Home Depot that you use for ice and beverages. I have several gallons of water, 50 frozen water bottles, and ice from my icemaker I use to cool the wort. Works great. The ice and bottles go outside the wort in the bucket of course. My brewpot is 6.5 gallon aluminum. Stir the wort and it cools pretty fast.

 

[Justibone]

That seems like a plan unless someone has an idea to cool a larger than 5 gallon pot without a chiller.

I guess some people just leave their hot wort in the fermenter bucket and let it cool down overnight, pitching the yeast the next day. Otherwise you could always cool it in the tub instead of the sink. There are always options... but your option doesn't sound bad.

 

[ErieShores]

I did a quick search of this thread and found nothing, but what mash profile setting using this technique would be appropriate while using Beer Smith?

 

[joeunc]

try Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out

 

[ErieShores]

try Single Infusion, Medium Body, No Mash Out

Bingo! Thanks

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

Thanks for the thread!! I am doing my first all grain using BIAB and it's going great. It's a 5 gal batch of Watney's Cream Stout from Midwest. I have about 15 extract/specialty grains/hops kits under my belt.

The only problem I had was that I thought I should mash the base grains (9lbs 2row) and then steep the specialty grains separately like I usually do with the other kits. Oops hehe! I'm pretty sure I will be fine soaking them for 30 mins at 150degF.

But I'm a tad worried because the specialty grains were: 12oz Crystal 50/60, 12oz chocolate malt, 8oz roasted barley, and 8oz flaked barley. Do these particular grains need to be mashed? I thiiink I remember hearing that (too late)? I'm sure everything will be fine though! They are marked on the label as specialty grains so thats why I treated them like that.

If there is any way you can edit your original post to include instructions to add specialty grains to the mash along with base grains that would help AG newbs like me from getting confused there! Thanks again!

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

I was doing other things so didn't finish with the BIAB untill pretty late last nite. Everything went great! I cant wait to go out and get another kit today.

Has anyone addressed partial boils and BIAB? I was only able to get about 3.5g into the fermenter after final 60m roiling boil. Everything seemed normal to me! I just topped off with 1.5g water, pitched and stirred.

 

[Justibone]

Has anyone addressed partial boils and BIAB? I was only able to get about 3.5g into the fermenter after final 60m roiling boil. Everything seemed normal to me! I just topped off with 1.5g water, pitched and stirred.

A good read of Deathbrewer's thread will tell you *everything* about BIAB, I believe.

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

 

[MikeRoBrew1]

Sorry but I am not talking about partial mash, but partial boil. Deathbrewer does a full 5 gal boil. I'm not really worried about it, just curious.

 

[Justibone]

Oh, well, partial boil is no big deal. Some of the more experienced brewers seem to think it's sub-optimal, but fine if that's your only option.

Is that what you were asking?

 

[Mookie]

Should be a sticky

 

[krisagon]

I did my first BIAB session last week, and it was great. My one tip is to make sure you have a SECOND/SPARE big pot (other than your main brew pot) to carry the bag outside in to dispense the grain.

Bag runoff is really sticky when it hits the floor!