Easy Stovetop All-Grain Brewing (with pics)

[LLBrew24]

DeathBrewer:
this was very helpful, pics especially. we're doing our first full grain (90 min Clone) and were trying to figure logistics of still doing it stove top.
thanks a lot!

 

[bottlebomber]

You must have a Wolfe range to do a full 7 gallon boil on the stovetop...

 

[3rdto1st]

Great stuff, cant wait for my first AG, and this will be good because I live in apartments and can't brew outside.

Question, this may have been asked, but there are 90 pages, so i may as well ask again. The temperature strip on your carboy, where did you get it, and would you recommend it? Love the idea there.

 

[bottlebomber]

Question, this may have been asked, but there are 90 pages, so i may as well ask again. The temperature strip on your carboy, where did you get it, and would you recommend it? Love the idea there.

Its a Fermometer. They sell for about $2.95. Everybodies doing it

 

[LLBrew24]

you want your sparge to be about 170°F with the grains in it, but NOT OVER. this means i usually heat my sparge water to 185°F. once it gets to 185°F, i shut of the heat and drain the bag from the mash. it can be difficult lifting ~15 lbs of soaked grains and holding them for several minutes. a colander works really well but can get messy if you're not careful.

i use the help of my mash paddle to start things off:

look, it's plumbers grain!

then you add the grain bag to your sparge water and stir it up. the bags work great around the handles of my pot. you can use clamps or something if you'd like, but i just hold one side tight while i stir and then spread it across the handles like so:

let that sit 10 minutes, remove your grains and drain them again.

then set them aside to be disposed of. this is where you will need another container:

i usually throw mine away but they make fantastic compost.

Where did you get the awesome grain bag?? the one i got with my grains was shotty at best and yours seems reusable correct?

Thanks!

 

[bottlebomber]

Where did you get the awesome grain bag?? the one i got with my grains was shotty at best and yours seems reusable correct?

Thanks!

Its just a 24" nylon bag. You can get them basically at any HBS or online outfit

 

[RogueGoose85]

Just did a stove top all grain 2.5g batch. Worked perfectly. One tip: use a moist towel, rather dry, around the kettle when mashing. I stirred every 15 minutes for an hour, and maintained 152 the entire time - I was quite shocked. I say this because when I used a dry towel for a previous partial, I lost heat doing the same process.

Thanks to deathbrewer for making such a great thread - I can now all grain brew. Awesome.

 

[Twiztidkilla]

ive been looking for a good way to start all grain this is a good lesson thanks

 

[el_caro]

I love the simplicity of this system in being able to use minimal equipment but would be interested in opinions of Hot Side Aeration(HSA) in moving mash liquid to brew pot.

Must confess I have used DB's BIAB method for partial grain/extract to make Yoopers Dead Guy Clone and it has been a huge success. Just wondering if I should invest in a couple of taps and a new aluminium 40Litre stock pot to avoid HSA.

 

[Justibone]

HSA is largely considered to be a boogeyman for homebrewers. It is of concern to larger-scale brewers, but we usually don't worry about it.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f39/hot-side-aeration-oxidization-161364/

Read Revvy's reply (3rd one down).

 

[Elweydoloco]

Just a suggestion guys and you can try it out for yourselves, I get an EXTREMELY constant 155 degrees after I get to 155 using two burners on my gas stove, I flip off a burner then move the pot (stainless turkey fryer) on to one burner and turn it almost all the way down. It's insane how well it holds. However I've done a few batches and have it down to a science. The only other thing i can suggest, is an over the sink collander (Death recommended it in his post a collander anyway) as it's the right size for a turkey fryer and it's a little oversized so will work with most brew kettles I imagine. For the price it holds your grains nicely to let them drip out.

 

[tryn2brew]

I did my first all grain using this method, and it works great. I'm using Beersmith 2, and was wondering what Mash profile most are using for this method? And reasons for the choice.
Thanks for your input on this, and Thanks to DeathBrewer for this great tutorial.

 

[agenthucky]

I did my first all grain using this method, and it works great. I'm using Beersmith 2, and was wondering what Mash profile most are using for this method? And reasons for the choice.
Thanks for your input on this, and Thanks to DeathBrewer for this great tutorial.

The mash profile (schedule) will be different depending on what type of beer you want to brew. The brewery profile is determined by what equipement you use, as everyone is different, creating one tailored to your equipment will help make the results from the software more accurate.

 

[LVBen]

I did my first all grain using this method, and it works great. I'm using Beersmith 2, and was wondering what Mash profile most are using for this method? And reasons for the choice.
Thanks for your input on this, and Thanks to DeathBrewer for this great tutorial.

Beersmith 2 has BIAB mash profiles. Depending on what temperature you use, do light, medium, or full body.

 

[tryn2brew]

I understand choosing light, medium, or full will affect the temperature of the mash and the resulting body, but since my equipment is very similar to what DeathBrewer is using for this tutorial, I was wondering if one of the default mash profiles fits best (BIAB or Single Infusion, etc...).

 

[Burgs]

Just wanted to say that this method works amazingly well for 2.5 gallon batch sizes. When you scale things down, you can make ginormous beers and all the grain will still fit in a 5 gallon pot. It has made my brewing life good.

 

[Burgs]

Just did a stove top all grain 2.5g batch. Worked perfectly. One tip: use a moist towel, rather dry, around the kettle when mashing. I stirred every 15 minutes for an hour, and maintained 152 the entire time - I was quite shocked. I say this because when I used a dry towel for a previous partial, I lost heat doing the same process.

Thanks to deathbrewer for making such a great thread - I can now all grain brew. Awesome.

Cheers to you RogueGoose - I'm doing the same thing! The way I see it, 2.5 gallon batch sizes mean I don't get sick of the same keg 1/2 way through and I can have a variety of brews around! :rockin:

 

[cutchemist42]

Question: When you put the stove top back over the mash, does that not increase the temp?

 

[Justibone]

Question: When you put the stove top back over the mash, does that not increase the temp?

Hmm? Could you phrase this more clearly?

What I think you meant to ask, is when you put the mash back on the stove, does it heat up? The answer is: it depends. It depends on 1) the stove and 2) how fast your mash pot loses heat. My buddy and I have done mashes before where bursts of flame have moved it back up a few degrees, just to keep the mash going near the temp we want... but it's not precise. You need to stir and have an accurate thermometer that reads within two degrees or so.

 

[cutchemist42]

Hmm? Could you phrase this more clearly?

What I think you meant to ask, is when you put the mash back on the stove, does it heat up? The answer is: it depends. It depends on 1) the stove and 2) how fast your mash pot loses heat. My buddy and I have done mashes before where bursts of flame have moved it back up a few degrees, just to keep the mash going near the temp we want... but it's not precise. You need to stir and have an accurate thermometer that reads within two degrees or so.

Okay. Let's say your stovetop brewing. Do you always keep the top of the pot off so that you can stir and look at the thermometer?

 

[ThickHead]

Okay. Let's say your stovetop brewing. Do you always keep the top of the pot off so that you can stir and look at the thermometer?

Using BeerSmith to calculate my strike-water temperature I typically hit my mash temperature right on the money (or within a degree or two either direction). I put the lid on and it (never stirring again) until my 60-90 minute mash is complete without a single degree of temp lost. I would assume that if you leave the lid off (continuously stirring your mash) that you will more than likely lose temperature during your mash. If this is the case you will want to pay close attention to your thermometer and manage the mash temp (turning your burner on and off) appropriately.

 

[Justibone]

Okay. Let's say your stovetop brewing. Do you always keep the top of the pot off so that you can stir and look at the thermometer?

You could, though that would take more attention, and obviously, more heat.

Recently I've tried covering and wrapping in a towel, and removing from the heat. I get about 10F loss per hour, so that's not good. I'm going to try a thicker towel next time.

I've heard of other people putting the whole pot in the oven to keep it warm. That could work if you were certain your pot handles wouldn't be damaged.

If you did leave the top off, and stir constantly, it would be a constant battle to hold a given temperature. I'd say it would work, but it wouldn't be easy or precise, IMO.

It would work, though!

(You should *always* remove the pot-lid during the boil, though.)

 

[agenthucky]

You could, though that would take more attention, and obviously, more heat.

Recently I've tried covering and wrapping in a towel, and removing from the heat. I get about 10F loss per hour, so that's not good. I'm going to try a thicker towel next time.

I've heard of other people putting the whole pot in the oven to keep it warm. That could work if you were certain your pot handles wouldn't be damaged.

If you did leave the top off, and stir constantly, it would be a constant battle to hold a given temperature. I'd say it would work, but it wouldn't be easy or precise, IMO.

It would work, though!

(You should *always* remove the pot-lid during the boil, though.)

When you put it in the oven, the oven should be at like 170F/180F for the lowest setting on the stove. This shouldn't damage any normal pot handles because the kettle can get that hot on the stove.

 

[borden]

When you put it in the oven, the oven should be at like 170F/180F for the lowest setting on the stove. This shouldn't damage any normal pot handles because the kettle can get that hot on the stove.

I've put my 5 gallon stainless pot in the oven for mashing as high as 200F, with the oven door open until it drops to 150 or so. Not that I'm advising 200 degrees, but sometimes I forget to turn the oven off and overheat it a bit. In any case, so far, so good --this method of keeping the mash at temperature has worked like a charm for me. I did an 80 minute mash the other day that started at 156F and ended at 155. I'll take that!

 

[natewv]

So for my first all grain I want to make Yooper's Stone Ruination clone with the following ingredients:

14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 93.33 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %

I do not have a mash tun, but I do have a 15 gallon, 6 gallon, and 2 x 3 gallon pots, a turkey fryer, and a big old grain bag. Can I mash this BIAB/stovetop style, and if so how, and what pots do I use for what?

 

[copyright1997]

So for my first all grain I want to make Yooper's Stone Ruination clone with the following ingredients:

14 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 93.33 %
1 lbs Caramel/Crystal Malt - 20L (20.0 SRM) Grain 6.67 %

I do not have a mash tun, but I do have a 15 gallon, 6 gallon, and 2 x 3 gallon pots, a turkey fryer, and a big old grain bag. Can I mash this BIAB/stovetop style, and if so how, and what pots do I use for what?

Plugging the grains into BeerSmith tells me that you will need about 4.7 gallons of water for the mash plus the space required by the 15 pounds of grains, and it says 5.86 for the total mash volume (which will be tight in the 6 gallon container). For the batch sparge step, you will need 3.16 additional gallons (plus the grains), so the 3 gallon pots won't do but you could use the 15 gallon one.

If it were me, my bigger concern would be the weight of the grains bag. You have 15 pounds of grains, beer smith estimates grain absorption at 1.8 gallons (= another 15-16 pounds OR MORE since the mash water is slow to come out of the bag), which you get to lift from the 152 degree mash and from the 170 degree sparge. I am also trying to stick a colander UNDER the bag that I have pulled up and holding above my shoulder height with one hand. To me, this is the hardest part of this method and I managed to drop the bag into the hot sparge liquid once....all over myself and the kitchen (ceiling, walls, wood floors, refrigerator, ...)

 

[Justibone]

When you put it in the oven, the oven should be at like 170F/180F for the lowest setting on the stove. This shouldn't damage any normal pot handles because the kettle can get that hot on the stove.

It made the handles on my pot kinda soft and malleable. They are either plastic or silicone... It didn't damage them but it had me worried for a bit.

 

[Justibone]

So for my first all grain I want to make Yooper's Stone Ruination clone with the following ingredients:

I agree with Copy, this is going to be tough to do. I recommend using some extract for this one, and only doing a partial (maybe half?) mash.

 

[natewv]

Plugging the grains into BeerSmith tells me that you will need about 4.7 gallons of water for the mash plus the space required by the 15 pounds of grains, and it says 5.86 for the total mash volume (which will be tight in the 6 gallon container). For the batch sparge step, you will need 3.16 additional gallons (plus the grains), so the 3 gallon pots won't do but you could use the 15 gallon one.

If it were me, my bigger concern would be the weight of the grains bag. You have 15 pounds of grains, beer smith estimates grain absorption at 1.8 gallons (= another 15-16 pounds OR MORE since the mash water is slow to come out of the bag), which you get to lift from the 152 degree mash and from the 170 degree sparge. I am also trying to stick a colander UNDER the bag that I have pulled up and holding above my shoulder height with one hand. To me, this is the hardest part of this method and I managed to drop the bag into the hot sparge liquid once....all over myself and the kitchen (ceiling, walls, wood floors, refrigerator, ...)

The 15 gallon one came with a huge strainer too, so I am not as worried about holding the grain bag since it will be in the strainer, plus I won't know how hard it is until I try, so why not, ha! I'm asking this in another thread...but I'm really at a loss about how to determine all the water stuff. I'm trying to use brewtarget because I am cheap.

These replies are helpful so I'm sorry to reiterate my question (I'm dumb plus this will be my first AG) but precisely what pots will I be using for what? I have no clue about water quantites (or really temps, lol) so I'll use yours and the recipe's. I hope I am not jacking the wrong thread, but hopefully you can check out my assumed process and help me figure my sh*t out.

*I heat 4.7 gallons of water to 166 (so I mash at 152?) in the 15 gallon pot. Maybe keep the lid on and insulate with a sleeping bag. (is that 5.8 gallons what your tool calculates to be the 'space' taken up by the strike water and the grains)?
I do not see a mash time so I ASSUME an hour?

*Heat up 3.2 gallons of sparge water to 170 in the 6 gallon pot.
EDIT: Wait, I thought you needed more sparge water per pound of grain vs less?
Drain grains for a couple of minutes, transfer them to the sparge pot, let sit for 10 minutes, drain again, discard grains.

*Transfer sparge wort to original wort pot and add any addition water to achieve (i'm guessing here) 6.25 gallons. Move on with my boil and hop schedule. When I need to cool, I may have to transfer the wort to the smaller pot...since my new big pot won't fit in the big bucket I have for the ice I use in addition to my wort chiller...is that OK?

 

[Justibone]

A 60 minute mash is usually sufficient, and with your quantity of 2-row, I can't imagine it wouldn't be. The only way to be sure, though, is an iodine test (google it).

A 90 minute mash is also a possibility.