Finally moving to all grain!

[brubrew]

Just finished cutting the top off of my keg. Not all that pretty, but it will work.



I'm planning on getting my fittings by the end of this month and hopefully doing my first all grain batch by October.

 

[NCGrayson]

what do you plan on mashing in?

 

[bwookie]

You and I are in the same boat! Just cut my keggle this weekend (no pictures, but yours looks better).... Used a sawzall and got a few neighbors attentions lol.... Fittings on order and mashtun in a cooler is my next step.

 

[Reaver]

Congrats... it was 6 months of collecting before I managed to get to a comfortable AG setup. Give it a go with the minimum equipment you can get your hands on. You'll soon figure out what those critical pieces are. After Mashtun + HLT(Cooler, drain kit, falsebottom), and larger Burner (I sprung for the Blichmann), a large boil Kettle (you have with the keg), and a chiller of some sort. Later on you'll want.... keg drain kit, drain screen (I've done some whole hops). I decided to go straight to 10gal because the upgrade from 5-10 was really minimal compared to other sizes. But just realize that when you do this... you need twice the fermentation space and storage (bottles or Kegs) for 1 batch.

 

[brubrew]

NCGrayson

I plan on mashing in this keg. Just ordered everything I needed from bargainfittings (1/2in bulkhead, thermometer, bazooka screen, etc...). I'm then planning on making a cover with reflectix radiant barrier to hold the mash temps. Saw some posts on here that made it seem pretty promising.

bwookie

I know about the neighbor thing, I'm currently working the night shift so I'm getting home at about 6ish. I was somewhat respectful and waited till 8 to start up my angle grinder, but man it was loud:rockin:.

I thought about using a cooler for my mash tun cause it will hold temps well, but since this hobby has taken over my life, I wanted room for expansion. I'm definately intrigued by doing a HERMS or RIMS setup with three keggles and moving to 10 gal batches.

Reaver

I have this weekends brewday, which will be a partial mash, then I'm planning on doing a AG in October. Hopefully soon enough to get a Christmas ale in. I currently have an 8 gal boil kettle so I'm going to stick with 5 gal batches till I can get another keg. After that happens I will work on the HLT. This was my way of getting into AG and having the ability to upgrade batch sizes.

 

[hopsalot]

NCGrayson

I plan on mashing in this keg. Just ordered everything I needed from bargainfittings (1/2in bulkhead, thermometer, bazooka screen, etc...). I'm then planning on making a cover with reflectix radiant barrier to hold the mash temps. Saw some posts on here that made it seem pretty promising.

I recommend that you drill the hole for the bulkhead to bazooka screen lower than usual, the bazooka screen works well in a cooler with a flat bottom but he concave bottom of a sanke keg will leave a lot of dead space, try to get the bazooka screen as low as possible

 

[brubrew]

The first hole went great, but the second one was a pain in my@ss.



Hopsalot

You are definitely right about the bazooka filter. I'm on my way to home depot now to make a false bottom. Hoping to do AG tonight if this thing holds water.

 

[fall-line]

You probably know this already, but most often when drilling stainless becomes a major pain it is because you are allowing the metal to become too hot, which hardens the steel, making the remaining drilling extremely difficult. Go slow (slow to medium speed) and use constant pressure on the bit and lots of cutting oil (3-1 oil works too). Take a break after each couple of 'steps' on the bit, or when you see more than a trace of smoke coming from the hole. If you ever see the bit or the edges of the hole start to get red, you've gone too far. Stop immediately and let it cool down.

I learned that lesson the hard way the first time I drilled a SS pot. Since then the above approach has made it a breeze.

I just thought I'd mention it for others that have not yet drilled a stainless vessel.

Your keg is looking great. Have fun with the migration to all grain! You'll love it.

 

[brubrew]

Yeah i was slowly getting that going slow was better on the second hole. I would take a water break when it started smoking.

 

[brubrew]

Well after about an hour of tinkering and an ungodly amount if plumbers tape I was finally able to stop all of the leaks. Held 15 gallons of water for about 20 minutes, i think it should be good. Now off to get my grain and home depot to make my false bottom.

 

[brubrew]

Well this is what happens when your LHBS doesn't have false bottoms. We'll see if this works.

 

[fall-line]

Is that a.. wait.. what is that?

 

[brubrew]

It's a pie pan.

 

[brubrew]

Lets see how this sun visor holds the temps.

 

[brubrew]

Just finished up the first batch. Brewed an IPA, I got about 52% efficiency. I know that's horrible, but I'm not complaining. Having to make a false bottom out of a pie pan on the fly, I'm glad I got over 50%. Definately planning on getting a real false bottom in the future.

I think my strike water might have been a little hot, I thought the keg would lose heat pretty rapidly, but it kept the temp for the entire mash within 1 degree. I think this is another reason my efficiency was low.

Wort tasted great before pitching the yeast, so I'm really excited to see how this beer turn out. I'm also extremely happy I didn't have to wait till August to move to AG. Even with 50% efficiency I still saved like $10 on extract.

 

[brubrew]

One more thing I think I failed to mention. I work the night shift, so to get this mashtun finished and do an AG batch I had to for go sleep. I've been up now, for 27 and 1/2 hours, all for the love of the beer. Now it's time for some sleep!:cross:

 

[j1laskey]

Are you getting 52% BIAB?

 

[j1laskey]

So......I have had a few beers, and realize now you are not BIAB. You might want to give it a try. You will be surprised with you efficiency.

 

[brubrew]

So......I have had a few beers, and realize now you are not BIAB. You might want to give it a try. You will be surprised with you efficiency.

I have done BIAB partial mashes with great success. I think I would get upper 70 to 80 % efficiency. I just never could do a full AG BIAB because my boil kettle is only 8 gallons, anything more than 6 lbs of malt and my kettle would over flow. Also I can't use the keg, because my burner is too small to hold it.

My next purchases will be another keg for a HLT, and a bigger burner. Looking at the Kick A Banjo Burner Plus, should have plenty of room for a keg.

After doing my first AG batch I realized how important a HLT is, I had every free pot on all four burners in my kitchen to get a 4 gal sparge.

 

[r8odecay]

My next purchases will be another keg for a HLT, and a bigger burner. Looking at the Kick A Banjo Burner Plus, should have plenty of room for a keg.

I believe that burner is not the best configuration for concave bottom keggles... People have modded them with angle iron or bbq racks to better fit the keg. I just got my SQ14 in the mail, it supports keggle great.

 

[brubrew]

I believe that burner is not the best configuration for concave bottom keggles... People have modded them with angle iron or bbq racks to better fit the keg. I just got my SQ14 in the mail, it supports keggle great.

Thanks for the input. It did look like it might not hold a keg very well. SQ14 is half the price which is a definite plus with my finances. Also sounds like the 10 inch burner flies through propane, and can be difficult to manually control temps without a PLC.