Easy Stovetop All-Grain Brewing (with pics)

[DeathBrewer]

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

 

[postman]

Sorry for a late reply to a question asked earlier. I call small batch all grain brewing "Mini All Grain." The recipes I order are mostly from Northern Brewer. I like them, reasonably priced in the All Grain section. Also, I love that they give ingredients so I could always just half their recipes if I wanted to.

I just picked up a pair of paint straining bags from Lowes the other day for less than $2. I'm sticking with the All Grain / Mini mash b/c they've produced the best beer so far, and are the cheapest. Cheap Good Beer.

Even if I step up to full AG, I may stay with the grain bags for simplicity.

 

[Hammy71]

Thanks for the great tutorial Death. Doesn't seem much different then the way I've been doing Mini-mash kits....so I'm thinking it won't be much more than to by one more big pot and I'm on my way...to at least experiment.... Thanks!!

 

[gwood]

Great post DB. This is a great way to get good beer without all the expensive equipment (this coming from sombody that HAS the equipment).

I mash this way quite a bit and the results have been great. It keeps me in the house with the SWMBO chatting it up, it saves a ton on propane (I was filling two 20lbs every two months), and it makes clean up a breeze.

It's funny that I now prefer this method vs. being outside all night. If anything, I'll mash/sparge on the stove while watching a movie with the SWMBO and then take the results outside to the beast and boil er' up.

 

[The Pol]

I am pretty damn impressed that you can brew indoors on a stove like that.

I used to brew indoors with coolers, BUT, I boiled outside with my propane burner.

Id expect nothing less from DEATH himself

 

[BlackCoffeeandBourbon]

I am so fired up after reading this. I am going to grab my father in law's large aluminum pot and give AG a shot over the long weekend!

 

[Hugh_Jass]

Death,
Could you also use a covered roaster pan with grain in a loosely tied 24x24 bag. Add water slightly above desired temp and place grain into oven at desired temp?

 

[DeathBrewer]

sure. it would work the same as a stockpot.

i would try to HIT my temp when i added grain and then MAINTAIN with oven.

 

[ApolloSpeed]

Lately I have been brewing partial and half-mashes.

this is what I do too..... I'm getting to were I only use 2-3 lbs of extract per 5.5 gallon batch.

 

[GroovePuppy]

Planning Oakham JHB for my next batch and my LHBS doesn't sell Extra Light DME. This seems like a good way to get the results without building a mash tun.

So when I plug the details into BeerSmith is this the profile called "Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge"? (The recipe calls for 2 row Pale Malt which I assume means light body.) For a 7.8lb grain bill it suggests 9.78QT @ 161F.

 

[Hugh_Jass]

sure. it would work the same as a stockpot.

i would try to HIT my temp when i added grain and then MAINTAIN with oven.

won't the grain drop the water temp? I was thinking of having water above desired temp., and add to grain because of anticipated water temp drop.

Thanks for letting me pick your brain

 

[DeathBrewer]

yes, sorry if that was unclear. you want it to be above your mash temp (usually about 12°F above, in my experience) so that when you add the grains and stir, you are right where you want to be.

The point is, you want to try and calculate so that when you drop the grains in and stir it up, you are at your desired temp. cooling/heating after the grains are in there is a real pain.

 

[DeathBrewer]

Planning Oakham JHB for my next batch and my LHBS doesn't sell Extra Light DME. This seems like a good way to get the results without building a mash tun.

So when I plug the details into BeerSmith is this the profile called "Single Infusion, Light Body, Batch Sparge"? (The recipe calls for 2 row Pale Malt which I assume means light body.) For a 7.8lb grain bill it suggests 9.78QT @ 161F.

beersmiths mashing stuff is kind of confusing and really doesn't help much wit the way i do things.

i'm assuming light body means that you have enough water so it isn't really THICK, but i may be wrong. i'm sure it has nothing to do with the grain type.

that looks just fine, tho...but the temp will depend on your equipment and circumstances.

 

[dontman]

beersmiths mashing stuff is kind of confusing and really doesn't help much wit the way i do things.

i'm assuming light body means that you have enough water so it isn't really THICK, but i may be wrong. i'm sure it has nothing to do with the grain type.

that looks just fine, tho...but the temp will depend on your equipment and circumstances.

No, light body, in this instance, refers strictly to the mash temp. At between 148 and 152 you get "light body" 154 "medium body" and 156 - 158 "Full body"

Since you quote your target originally, Death, as 154, I assume you are aiming for the midground of effectiveness between the two enzymes and medium body.

 

[DeathBrewer]

ahh...gotcha. that makes sense and indeed i was shooting for "medium body" for the banana bread! i usually make my beer more dry, shooting for the 150-152 range.

 

[dontman]

yep! that's a good way to boil down a large volume:

i don't like to do that, tho, because cooling is a PITA.

True. On both counts. My last brew was a strong Belgian with 16 # grainbill for a 5.5 G batch. I collected 9 gallon of wort and boiled in two pots to 6 in 90 minutes. Worked great.

At the end I carefully transferred both to my 10 gallon pot with an IC and cooled it in 15 minutes. PITA, yes, but it works during the cold months. Actually I am getting a new Viking cooktop for X'mas from the wife so this will all be moot for me in the near future.

 

[GroovePuppy]

For the JHB I think the "Light Body" is the one @150F for a real low SRM like the commercial version.

One thing I realized you don't get with this method is the filtration. The cooler mash tun instructions I've seen show the wort recirculated before taking the runnings. Do you have another way of clarifying or do you just make cloudier beers?

Planning on getting a turkey fryer after Turkey Day. Now I know what I'm doing with the extra pot I'll end up with! :rockin:

 

[gwood]

For the JHB I think the "Light Body" is the one @150F for a real low SRM like the commercial version.

One thing I realized you don't get with this method is the filtration. The cooler mash tun instructions I've seen show the wort recirculated before taking the runnings. Do you have another way of clarifying or do you just make cloudier beers?

Planning on getting a turkey fryer after Turkey Day. Now I know what I'm doing with the extra pot I'll end up with! :rockin:

I do a combo of irish moss, cold crashing, and gelatin in the kegs and I've gotten absolutely clear beer with similar methods that DB has described.

 

[DeathBrewer]

all you are doing with recirculation or "vorlaufing" is getting the grain and particles out of the wort. the bags i've seen and used have a fine enough mesh, much more so than you would get from a false bottom or even a coil. not much gets through and it sets a grain bed up in its own way...it always pours through the bottom of the bag, after all.

if you have TOO much grain in the boil, you could get some tannins or astringency. this is why you vorlauf, not for clarity. but anything in the boil will fall out in the primary after fermentation regardless. this is not a problem with this method, anyway...i do not notice any difference between this and my batches using the other method.

now, if you want a brilliantly clean, extra clear ale, you CAN go to extremes. a friend of mine filters at every stage. he vorlaufs and has an inline filter for the mash. he recirculates and has a filter for the boil, and he sometimes filters after fermentation is complete (with a wine plate filter.) this makes some great beer with excellent clarity and they are indeed very smooth. however, it is a lot of work and i could get very close using my method and simply filtering after fermentation is complete. it just depends on how anal retentive you want to be.

in any case, my beers certainly aren't cloudy, the SMaSH i have on the counter now has brilliant clarity after only two weeks in the primary...i can see the whole bottom bit of trub

 

[rtockst]

i'm not sure what you mean by the stainless. you can use any type of pot you want. i left my equipment locked at my friends house once and had a friend bring over a couple ceramic pots to use.

I mean I've heard that you shouldn't boil your wort in an aluminum pot, so only ceramic or stainless steel stockpots should be used. I can't remember the reason... something to do with acidity?

 

[DeathBrewer]

i'd run a search on this forum "aluminum vs. stainless steel" and you will find a lot of argument that aluminum works just fine.

i've always been a fan of stainless steel just because it's way cooler

from everything i've read, you can mash and boil in aluminum...no problem.

(EDIT: you can boil in aluminum...whoops!)

 

[rtockst]

well holy crap! I didn't know it was one of those subjects people actually argue over... I thought it was one that was pretty much unanimously decided on. I will have to check that out. Using a cheap aluminum pot compared to a 75 dollar stainless pot would be great

 

[Ben25]

So I definitely want to try this method, but the only problem is I have a 30 qt pot and a 16 qt pot. Is there any way it would be possible using this equipment? Or do I need a bigger pot?

 

[Malticulous]

I think I'm going to add your Vienna/Northern Brewer SMaSH to my too brew list but I will use one of my MLTs. What advantage does this method have over just using a MLT? My stove top has a microwave over it so close that my 30 quart pot doesn't fit anyway.

 

[amishland]

Hey DB, thanks for the advice in my thread earlier, I used this method today.

I added both pans to 4 gallons added some (9#) DME and had a full boil in the garage. Cant wait to taste this, and to try more batches of other recipes.

 

[DeathBrewer]

So I definitely want to try this method, but the only problem is I have a 30 qt pot and a 16 qt pot. Is there any way it would be possible using this equipment? Or do I need a bigger pot?

you could do a smaller batch, or a lighter ABV beer, or you could do a partial mash. basically, you are limited to the amount of grain you can use by the size of your pot.

there are other ways, tho. you could mash in your larger pot, then heat up the sparge water in your small pot. after you mash is done, you can sparge by pouring the sparge water over the grains in a colander. this method is not as effective as the tea-bag method of dunking the grains, but it does work.

 

[DeathBrewer]

I think I'm going to add your Vienna/Northern Brewer SMaSH to my too brew list but I will use one of my MLTs. What advantage does this method have over just using a MLT? My stove top has a microwave over it so close that my 30 quart pot doesn't fit anyway.

no advantage, except convenience. i just wanted to show people that you don't need all this fancy equipment to do an all-grain batch.

definitely try out my SMaSH. it's the bomb

 

[OLB]

Great thread. I've only done two batches of extract but felt like I would try your partial mash technique next. After reading this it seems like I should give this a shot instead. Is it too big a jump in technique?

Also, FYI for those looking to get a second large pot. If you prefer SS over aluminum, the 30 Qt turkey fryer kits at Sports Authority (in my area anyway) come in both varieties and cost less than $40.

 

[DeathBrewer]

i use a 30 qt pot for almost all my 5 gallon batches, no matter which method i use. that'll work great.

check out my PM thread...i think it's probably best to start with that.

no matter what, you can't read too much before you move forward. the more you know, the better off your first go will be.

 

[LakeErieBrew]

DB, I think I'm going to try EdWort's Haus Ale (all grain) using the stove top method. Any tips for mash water volume and sparge water volume?

I'm going to mash on my stove and sparge/boil on a propane burner outside. Any suggestions or tips are welcome.

I'm a bit new to this and I don't quite understand the water/grain relationship for mashing and sparging.

Thanks!