First all grain: equipment question

[Durandal]

Hey all,

I'm just about ready to start an all grain batch, and I believe I have everything ready except for the monster brew kettle. So a 7+ gallon kettle is typically recommended because you're going to get at least 5 gallons of wort to work with.

Question is: do I really really need that? I have several five gallon kettles. Seems like I could just split the recipe in half, put a couple 5gals on the stove, and let them meet in the fermenter. Any reason why I couldn't do that until I can get my hands on a larger kettle?

 

[CA_Mouse]

You can do that, you would have to split your hop additions equally and any late additions of sugars or adjuncts.

As for kettle size... get something that you can live with for a long time. I went from a 5 gallon (read only boiling 4 gallons) to an 11 gallon (read boiling up to 9.5 gallons) doing 5.5 to 6 gallon batches I routinely have 8 to 8.5 gallons of wort to boil.

 

[Durandal]

Thanks, that's what my common sense pointed to, hops and other additions divided properly etc.

I really can't imagine going with larger than a 5 gallon batch. Other than that, what would be the reason for the much larger 10ish gallon sizes you're talking about?

 

[CA_Mouse]

with all grain you want to be able to boil the entire batch at one time to make sure that you have consistency throughout the entire batch. I brew 6 gallon batches, which requires that I have 6.5 gallons left in my kettle after boi off. There is trub and cold break material that I don't want in my fermenter. After fermentation, the yeast and any trub or hop matter that is in the fermenter needs to be left behind to have a clear beer. I want to be able to fill my 5 gallon kegs completely (they hold about 5.25 gallons), so 6 gallons into the fermenter and 5.25 gallons of finished beer.

 

[Conan]

The foam rising from a good boil can take up a lot of kettle room, too. I boil my 6.5 gallons for a 5 gallon final volume in an 8 gallon kettle and it foams over (or nearly so) on every batch. It sounds like you're on the stovetop for now- you definitely don't want a boilover. Splitting the batch should be fine, though. Kyle

 

[Durandal]

Wow, what a great time! In review, the two 5gals worked perfectly. I doubt I would be able to fit a 7.5 gal on my stovetop anyway, what with the microwave right over top.

Highlight moments of the day:

Wow, 170 degree water equals 152 exactly when adding the grain. Impressive.
Does the term 'Floorlauf' ring a bell for anyone else?
First real boil over.
After which I took the sticky kettle off the burner and set it on a hotpad on the counter to clean the stovetop. Guess what stuck to the bottom of the pot? Somehow I destroyed three hotpads before I figured that one out.

Amazing how you can essentially put in about 8 gallons, and it produces exactly 5 gallons. Cool stuff. Can't wait to crack this open in a few weeks.

 

[MindenMan]

Durandal, sounds like an average first AG. What did you Floorlauf in? You didn't mention any kind of a lauter/sparge tun.

 

[Conan]

I'm glad your temps and volumes worked out. That, to me, is the most satisfying part of the brewday itself. Hitting all the numbers and feeling like I really know what I'm doing.
By floorlauf I'm assuming you made a mess, and that mess is the boilover. Don't feel bad about the pads. I recently made a quick extract batch on the stove (first stovetop I've done in a few years) and had a terrible burnt rubber smell. It turns out I'd set my kettle down on a fermenter bucket grommet and it somehow stuck to the bottom.

MindenMan does bring up a good question I'd had as well. Are you BIAB'ing, or some other method? Just curious. Kyle