Five gallon AG now, ten in the future...

[milesvdustin]

Hello all. Sorry for all my noob questions, but I don't want to buy anything that won't work for a setup. I am getting a 15 gallon SS kettle, I have a 10 gallon round cooler already but need a mlt/hlt. Will another 10 gallon round cooler be good enough to use one for hlt and one for mlt and brew ten gallon batches? Or should I get a bigger rectangle cooler for mlt and use my ten gallon round for hlt? Or use the 10 gallon round for a mlt and get a five gallon round for hlt?. I have been searching for days on here but can't find anything definitive... I've read the sticky about mash tuns but I didn't really understand it. my preferred style of beer is hoppy ales and stuff like drifted, sn, dfh. so what setup will work best to brew mostly five but eventually ten gallon batches? Thanks!!!

Oh I'm getting the bayou classic 15 gal stainless kettle.

 

[Suthrncomfrt1884]

A 10 gallon cooler will be fine for doing 10 gallon batches, but you won't be able to go over a gravity of about 1.050. If you're fly sparging, then you can probably go a little higher.

The problem is, you don't want to get a MLT thats too big and use it for mostly 5 gallon batches. It will leave you with a shallow grain bed and you'll end up screwing up your efficiency.

 

[Stellrbrewr]

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/how-big-your-mash-tun-needs-123585/

get another 10 gallon round. should be able to do average strength 10 gallon batches with that and really strong 5 gallon batches.

 

[milesvdustin]

Yeah that's the thread that was confusing the heck out of me.

 

[JuanMoore]

Yeah that's the thread that was confusing the heck out of me.

Maybe we can clarify a little if you can be more specific, but I think Bobby's chart in the first post is pretty clear. You mention wanting to brew 10 gal batches. According to the chart, if you stayed with your current 10 gal cooler as your MLT, then the maximum gravity beer you could brew would be between 1.060 and 1.068 depending on what kind of efficiency you get. If you went up to a 13 gal MLT, you could brew beers up to 1.077-1.088.

Probably half of the beers I brew are 1.070 or above, so a 10 gal MLT was perfect when I was doing 5 gal batches, but way too small when I moved to 10 gal batches. If you mostly brew session beers or med gravity beers, a 10 gal MLT might work fine for 10 gal batches.

I know Bobby's chart asssumes a 1.25 quart/pound grist, but even if you plan on mashing a little thinner or thicker it's a great starting point, and should enable you to figure out what you'll need.